NBA fights are fake.
Not that we condone violence, especially in light of some of the Memphis Grizzlies guard’s recently alleged actions. Ja Morant. But most players can’t even pretend to be crazy and keep a straight face during these duels that require 30 people to get rid of for some reason. The last impromptu WWEA style skirmish occurred Sunday afternoon during the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks game when Luka Dončić and Devin Booker came face to face as if on the road to Wrestlemania.
Neither Dončić nor Booker could even keep a straight face as they tried to go all the way before being pulled apart by their teammates. No one even looks angry, so it’s hard to call these fights. Here’s what every NBA encounter looks like when the guys face each other to be moved by a wave of players, assistant coaches, coaches and referees.
The next time two players decide they want to get “jiggy” and act like they’re about to fight, nobody should interfere, and let’s see what happens. Unless it’s Draymond Green we never know what he might do but beyond that just let them go and see how long they stand there looking deep into each other’s eyes before deciding they look stupid.
Players don’t want to fight, and they shouldn’t. It’s an emotional game, but most find they’re making way too much money to land any punches. It’s not worth the shot. NBA players don’t need “street credibility”, especially guys at the level of Luka and D-Book. The same goes for Morant and what he’s going through right now.
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Better to get away. Talking trash is fine, but back it up by dropping buckets, as these players regularly do. Fans who want mock fights will watch WWE or AEW. There’s no place for that on an NBA court. It just gets corny every time.