2023 has already provided its fair share of wild moments in the NBA, it seems like and another one was added on Friday night. The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic headed into their game with both sides having recovered from slow starts to the season.
Still, not many would have tuned into the game, but that won’t be the case when these teams meet next time around. With the Magic leading 83-73 late in the third quarter, Austin Rivers and Mo Bamba, who was on the bench, exchanged punches and the situation escalated into a wild brawl.
A total of 5 players ended up getting ejected and the Magic went on to win 127-120. Not long after he got ejected, Bamba took Instagram to take a shot at Rivers, who fired right back at him.
Mo Bamba and Austin Rivers 😭 pic.twitter.com/ZCwzKnc5aL
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 4, 2023
“Buddy I went at you 1 on 5 !!! With no back up!! U needed ur team mates other wise u would of been chocked out. Talking about find out . We only know u from an old rap song… not hoops. Stfu. And Orlando my city, ask around an actually find out. They don’t mess with u there… facts!
Hands up if you predicted this beef taking place this year! Rivers is referring to rapper Sheck Wes’ single titled “Mo Bamba” from 2017, which became quite popular. Wes and Bamba were childhood friends and the latter did get some fame thanks to the song. His career, unfortunately, hasn’t quite panned out as many would have expected after being selected with the 6th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, hence the jab from Rivers that people only know Bamba because of the rap. As for Rivers claiming Orlando is his city, he did win back-to-back Florida 6A state championships when he was in high school and was quite a sensation back then.
Expect The NBA To Hand Out Suspensions To Both Rivers And Bamba
We saw Donovan Mitchell and Dillon Brooks get into an altercation recently, which resulted in Mitchell getting fined $20k while Brooks was suspended for a game as he started it. There were no punches thrown in that instance, though, so you would think both Rivers and Bamba might see suspensions for more than one game.
The NBA does not want to see incidents like these on the court as it does not reflect well on the league. They have been very serious with regard to incidents like these ever since the Malice at the Palace, and the fact that there have been more of them recently would be a cause of concern.
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