All-Time NBA Punching Team: Starting Lineup And Bench

Tempers do flare in the NBA, it is natural in the heat of competition. Fights happen across the NBA almost every week and that will never change because professional athletes want to win as badly as one can imagine. While most fights hardly end in punches getting swung, it does happen, rather, unfortunately. We have seen fist-fights and punches thrown multiple times throughout history, and some of the biggest “villains” in that regard have been some all-time great talents.

Draymond Green is in news recently after he completely punched out his own teammate, Jordan Poole. Tempers do flare, but there is no reason for an experienced member of the team to attack a youngster after he was arguably more important during last year’s Finals run. Poole is clearly not a violent person, but he got the brunt of the attack after a video was just released of the interaction. To make matters worse, it seems Green is getting slightly alienated by his own teammates as Stephen Curry has rushed to the defense of the 23-year-old:

“It was a specific Tweet about – insinuating that JP’s attitude or something has changed since he’s been in this training camp… It’s absolute BS. Andre addressed it yesterday with his Tweet, you can kinda leave it at that. JP’s been great. There’s nothing that warranted the situation yesterday. I want to make that clear. It’s also something we feel like won’t derail our season, and that’s with Draymond a part of that. And the rest of it hard when speculation becomes opinion turns into borderline fact of what actually happened. I hate that it kind of became part of the narrative, it’s not fair to JP.”

Luckily for Draymond, this is not the first time a high-profile player has been involved with throwing the first punch and he won’t be the last. We have compiled an all-time great team of serial offenders that have iconically thrown the first punch at another player. Amazingly, this team is incredibly talented and would actually win a championship if they were all on the same team. Here is the All-Time Punching Team headlined by Draymond Green, who joins a talented crew of stars.

Michael Jordan

We have seen many great players in NBA history, but not a single one was greater than Michael Jordan. He won 6 NBA titles, 6 Finals MVPs, 10 scoring titles, and had a dominant 11-year span that will never be repeated by any player. Michael dominated all the competition during the 1990s and by his second season, many were already claiming that they were witnessing the best player ever. But he was not a perfect human being, by any means. He famously punched out his own teammate, Steve Kerr, giving him a black eye.

Essentially, it came down to Jordan employing his famous form of leadership style by testing his own teammates to see if they were up for the challenge during a heated practice session. Kerr stepped up, talked smack, and got a smack to his own face. Kerr did mention how Jordan respected him after that, especially after the GOAT called to apologize a day later. This was an ugly situation that ended up on positive terms because championships were won.

Ron Artest

Perhaps the ugliest brawl in NBA history came down to Ron Artest swinging at fans in the stands. The rather unstable figure was an elite defensive player in his prime, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award and making 4 All-Defensive Team selections. A sturdy figure with a powerful physique, Artest was truly a force on the defensive side of the floor and also intimidating when he decided to take his talents to the stands.

Artest retaliated when a bottle was thrown at his head, and he jumped into the stands and attacked who he thought was the perpetrator. In fact, it turned out Artest attacked the wrong person, but it was still an ugly situation all around. As expected, Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season, which included 73 games in the regular season and 13 in the playoffs. Artest ended up losing $4,997,500 in player salary for the year.

Draymond Green

The most recent inclusion to the All-Time Punching Team, Draymond Green, completely decked his own teammate in a now-released video. Nobody knows how that video came out because it just made matters completely worse. Back in the day, there were hardly recordings of incidents happening in practice. Now, it seems every week there is at least one person holding a camera at players. Fights do happen at practice, but they hardly ever get leaked from what we have seen throughout NBA history.

We are living in the social media era, unfortunately for Draymond Green, so this does not look good for the player’s future in Golden State. Remember, the Warriors need to pay Poole and Andrew Wiggins, meaning Green could be on the out if this situation does escalate. We do not know whether contractual issues had something to do with the fight, but it might have played a role because there is no doubt Poole is a better player at this moment in time.

Ben Wallace

While Ron Artest made matters worse in the Malice At The Palace incident, Ben Wallace actually started it when the center drove to the basket for a layup. Artest fouled him rather hard at the end of the game, and Big Ben decided that was not the right time for a foul of that magnitude. Wallace walked up to Artest and shoved him rather hard, kick-starting a brawl that will go down in sports history.

Wallace was considered undersized for most centers because he was only 6’9”, but he was completely muscle-bound and had one of the greatest physiques known to any sport. Of course, he was not always even-tempered. Despite not being an offensive threat, Big Ben had a resume of Hall of Fame caliber because of his defensive abilities and he is also a renowned player for the All-Time Punching Team.

Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon became known as one of the most respected and admired players for his rather calm demeanor and excellent post moves. But even if his faith greatly improved his temper, Hakeem was not one to mess around when frustrated or disrespected. There were three major incidents that stand out when remembering The Dream’s boxing career, one against Billy Paultz, another against Michael Cage, and a third one against Vernon Maxwell. Starting with Paultz, there is still debate as to whether Hakeem slapped or punched him.

As for the second incident against Michael Cage, there is no doubt that Hakeem punched him. It started out in a tussle before Olajuwon landed a left jab to the face. The third one is the most famous, as Hakeem felt disrespected by Maxwell during a game, slapping him and sparking a big reaction from Vernon, who even tried to stab Olajuwon as retaliation. Considering Hakeem’s incredible resume, which includes 2 titles and 2 Finals MVPs, he is the starting center for the All-Time Punching Team.

Bench

Rajon Rondo

Alright, the Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul beef has created endless social media memes for NBA fans across the world. There are many reasons why the two point guards are closely linked, but their fight is the most famous one. During a tightly contested encounter between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers, Rondo and Paul got into it. It was certainly not a good look for either of them.

Rondo threw the first punch… But he did not initiate it physically. Chris Paul placed his finger in Rondo’s face in a disrespectful manner, and Rondo immediately reacted by throwing punches. But wait… Did Rondo first spit on Paul when looking at a slo-mo cam? A punch did land on Paul’s face, and that initiated a brawl that did last a few seconds. This could have been a build-up of a nearly ten-year beef between the two.

Chris Paul

The player to receive the hits from Rondo, Paul, did throw punches of his own. The legendary point guard was jawing at Rondo for a while before placing his finger in the opponent’s face. What did Chris Paul expect? Rondo threw punches, and Paul had no choice but to react in the same manner. It wasn’t the most stylistic fight as seen in some MMA events, but it was certainly a memorable brawl for NBA fans.

As expected, Paul received a 2-game suspension for his actions while Rondo received 3 games. Brandon Ingram, the man who started the brawl between the two teams in the first place, received 4 games. From the onset, it looked like Paul started the interaction, but Rondo threw the first punch. But when slowing it down further, it seemed Rondo spit on Paul’s face. Just an ugly situation from start to finish.

Julius Erving

Many might not remember this, but Julius Erving once engaged in a brawl with legendary Celtics star Larry Bird. Erving and Bird were locking arms up the court, and it just escalated from there. It ended up with the often classy Dr. J throwing punches at the legendary opponent. It was not a few seconds later that we saw both players scrambling on the floor.

But there is no doubt that Erving landed quite a few shots on Larry Bird’s mug, and it was amazing to see that kind of output from a basketball player and not a boxer. Larry Bird did not go down without a fight, as expected, and retaliated in the same manner… Or at least he tried to. Bird was held back by Charles Barkley and Moses Malone and did not land a single hit on Dr. J. In the end, Erving earned his way into the All-Time Punching Team.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Alright, Kent Benson seemed to be completely knocked out by a right hook by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The slender center took a hard elbow to the stomach that rocked him, and after regaining his composure, he slid to the right and let out a direct hook to Benson’s jaw. Benson hit the floor, and that was the end of that. One-punch knockout. It did seem like somewhat of a cheap shot since Benson was not even looking at Kareem, but hey, who are we to judge?

Abdul-Jabbar was not really a fighter and just wanted to win games and destroy opponents with the sky hook more than anything. But clearly, when elbowed in the gut, he responds in not the nicest way. Benson did play 11 seasons in the NBA but he is mainly remembered for getting knocked out by arguably the greatest center who ever lived, so add that to the resume.

Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the best pundits around because of his hilarity and willingness to speak his mind. Of course, his “TV beef” with Charles Barkley is a hilarious one because they are always throwing verbal jabs at each other. But once upon a time, there were physical jabs thrown as well. No, it is not the one that happened on “Inside The NBA”. Two dominant big men, Shaq and Barkley, engaged in a shuffle on the NBA court during a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.

The fight went like this, in chronological order: Shaq shoved Barkley, Chuck threw the ball at Shaq’s head, and the Lakers center started swinging. Amazingly, Barkley ended up on top of Shaq (which he claims meant he won the fight). While Barkley’s confidence should be applauded, he is very lucky players broke up the fight because it is hard to believe O’Neal would lose a fight to anybody. Luckily for NBA fans, we get to relive the drama almost every week on Inside The NBA.

What Would The All-Time Punching Team Look Like Together On The Court?

Clearly, the star power (and punching power) of the All-Time Punching Team is elite. Michael Jordan punching Steve Kerr in the face and giving him a black eye will go down in history, and so will Draymond Green’s explosion on Jordan Poole. As for the rest of the starters, Ron Artest might be the biggest example of what can go wrong in an NBA brawl and the two big men (Ben Wallace and Hakeem Olajuwon) were clearly not to be messed with by any means. Talent-wise, this lineup would completely dominate any team on both ends of the floor.

Jordan was capable of starting at point guard, as seen during the 1989 season when he almost averaged a triple-double at that position. Ron Artest would be Jordan’s “Scottie Pippen” on defense, and Draymond would be another defensive enforcer. In the paint, Hakeem would be the go-to scorer while Big Ben also occupies the defensive end at an elite level. No doubt, scoring against these players would be impossible.

The bench… Is even more complete. Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo can both come in and play pivotal roles in moving the ball and playing perimeter defense at elite levels. To complete the lineup in a more consistent manner, Paul or Rondo can step in alongside Michael Jordan to dominate the offensive side of the floor as well. In terms of backup forwards and bigs, the bench is complete. Julius Erving is an elite offensive player when he attacks the basket and will make the game look beautiful while doing so.

Shaq and Kareem? Two dominant centers on the offensive side of the floor that can step in at any given moment to dominate the paint alongside Hakeem Olajuwon and Big Ben. No doubt, the All-Time Punching Team would finish a season to win an NBA championship without a single doubt. No team in history will compare to their defensive abilities, paint scoring, or all-around dominance. Of course, the evidence of each of these players throwing punches and causing damage should strike fear in opposing teams as well. The All-Time Punching Team, ladies and gentlemen.

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