Right up with his accolades, Matt Barnes’ never-back-down attitude has come to define his NBA career. The former Golden State Warriors star, however, paid enough for his comments and confrontations. Now recently, Barnes took a trip down memory lane in a video shared by All the Smoke’s Instagram handle. The 2017 NBA champ played a game where he tried to recall how much these controversies cost him—and his reactions were as entertaining as the incidents themselves.
First up was December 2014, when Barnes, then with the LA Clippers, kicked a water bottle into the stands during a game against the Washington Wizards. Remembering the moment, Barnes chuckled, “That was a good one. That was a fan talking sh*t in D.C. And I kicked that [bottle] and hit him right in the chest and sprayed him. That was probably like… 35,000.” Well, His guess wasn’t too far off—the real fine was $25,000.
Next, Barnes recalled one of his more infamous moments—a fight involving then-New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher, reportedly over Barnes’ estranged wife. His words after the altercation—“Violence is never the answer, but sometimes it is”—earned him a fine. “That one was 50,” Barnes said confidently. In reality, the NBA fined him $35,000 for those comments.
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Then came, in discussion, the time in May 2015 when Barnes was fined for inappropriate comments aimed at James Harden’s mother, Monja Willis, during a Clippers game against the Houston Rockets. Barnes admitted, “Oh, that was a James Harden situation. I think that was a 50 ball… That one hurt.”
Allegedly, Barnes made offensive remarks to Willis but later denied the reports, saying he didn’t know who she was at the time. He did apologize afterward, but it did leave a $50,000 dent in his wallet.
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Further in All the Smoke’s IG video, Barnes revisited his 2016 confrontation with Milwaukee Bucks forward John Henson. After being ejected late from the game, Barnes tried to storm into the Bucks’ locker room. “About to do more than verbally. Luckily, he ran out the back. That was 25 or 30,” he said. The actual fine? A $40,000 penalty that came in the form of a one-game suspension.
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The time when Matt Barnes was fined for venting out against the frustration of being fined
The last incident that was narrated to the former Lakers star on All the Smoke’s IG video was the time when, in November 2013, he failed to leave the court in a timely manner upon ejection. And later used inappropriate language on X (then Twitter).
“That was the Serge Ibaka in LA. Got kicked out the game. And then I said, ‘I’m done. Tired of taking up for these beeps. All it does is give me fines. That was probably like 25 for the ejection and maybe 15 for not leaving in a timely fashion. Plus the inappropriate language. So total, maybe the 40-45,” Barnes recalled. The actual figure was $25,000 in total. “Oh, I got my money’s worth on that one,” Matt humorously said upon hearing the real amount.
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The drama unfolded during a Clippers-Thunder game when Serge Ibaka got into it with Blake Griffin. Naturally, Barnes couldn’t just stand by and watch his teammate take the heat. He jumped in, shoving Ibaka with both hands and, as expected, things escalated. Both players were ejected, with the NBA cracking down on Barnes for stepping in and turning a two-man scuffle into something bigger. And from his tweet back then, it seems Matt Barnes learned his lesson.
His own altercations, however, had no end even after this 2013 incident. No wonder the total amount from all the fines discussed in All the Smoke video amount to $175,000.
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