USA Today via Reuters
Jan 28, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) goes up for a shot against Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) and forward Blake Griffin (left) during the second quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Jan 28, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) goes up for a shot against Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) and forward Blake Griffin (left) during the second quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
In the aftermath of the altercation between LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart, both players were certainly looking at punitive action. And expectedly, the league has imposed fines and suspensions on both LeBron and Stewart. They gave LeBron a $284,000 fine. Whereas they gave Isaiah Stewart a $45,000 fine and not $950,000. Here’s the clarification:
Following the confirmation of suspensions for LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart, social media went berserk. With no official confirmation of the fines imposed at first, a fake Twitter handle baffled the internet. A fake Twitter handle, claiming to be Bleacher Report, tweeted that the NBA had fined Stewart $950,000 for the altercation. Even the username was BleacherReporf, which should’ve been a hint for NBA fans on Twitter.
BREAKING: Isaiah Stewart has been fined $950,000 for the altercation with LeBron James last night, per @ShamsCharania. pic.twitter.com/5DR4gz33fx
— Bleacher Report ➐ (@BIeacherReporf) November 22, 2021
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This same handle makes absurd claims with simultaneous tweets claiming they fined LeBron $500,000 and James Harden wants out of Brooklyn. These absurd and false claims confused fans who believed the information at face value.
Hence, several fans took to Twitter in amazement of this tweet. This is how they responded.
NBA fans respond to fake news about LeBron James – Isaiah Stewart fight
He obviously lost control here but a fine of just under $1m for Isaiah Stewart seems pretty wild…pic.twitter.com/YEWfiZIttg
— Jimmy Stone (@JimmyStone_) November 22, 2021
Isaiah Stewart only making $3M and his fine is $950k 😭
— West Coast Kelli 🏁 (@Freddie_kelli) November 22, 2021
Isaiah Stewart when he saw how much that fine was pic.twitter.com/2K2ZcdE4gk
— Rodney (@ResearchRod) November 22, 2021
And Isaiah Stewart gets a $950,000 fine for catching LeBron's fist with his face?! https://t.co/K9SSxqaN4o
— Gav (@TheGavaldo) November 23, 2021
If the NBA fined Isaiah Stewart $950,000 how much are they going to fine LeBron? Probably much less because Stewart really showed his ass last night & couldn’t control his temper.
— Stephen with a PH (@WheatFree32) November 22, 2021
Corruption! That’s more than Artest got fined for attacking a fan.
— Alabama Dynasty (@SilveredLineN) November 22, 2021
Is that your definition of self-defense? That is what you call retaliation, especially in an over-aggressive manner; and that was why he was heavily fined. Would we have a decent game if everyone started retaliating for every hard foul against them?
— Frank G Traub (@FrankGTraub1) November 23, 2021
What does this mean for the Lakers and Pistons?
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The Lakers played at the Madison Square Garden against the Knicks without LeBron. This is the only game he will miss as part of his one-game suspension. Whereas, they suspended Stewart for two games, so he is also set to miss Detroit’s game against the Bucks tomorrow. This was only the second time in his 19-year long NBA career that LeBron James was ejected from a game.
USA Today via Reuters
Nov 21, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) has blood around his right eye after an altercation with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (not pictured) during the third quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
According to the NBA, Stewart was “escalating an on-court altercation by repeatedly and aggressively pursuing … James in an unsportsmanlike manner.” Whereas, James merited the suspension “for recklessly hitting Stewart in the face and initiating an on-court altercation.”
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However, the two sides meet again on Sunday as Pistons face the Lakers at the Staples Center, which will become Crypto.com Arena from Christmas. This fixture will be the game the teams would look forward to the most.
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