Pistons center/forward Isaiah Stewart may be in a tough spot.
Stewart punched the Suns’ Drew Eubanks in the face in the back tunnel of Footprint Center prior to Wednesday’s game against Phoenix. It was first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania..
Eubanks admitted that the incident occurred and that Stewart sucker punched him as he was trying to enter the building. According to Arizona Sports.
After the altercation, Eubanks was seen warming up on the court and said he was good to play while blaming Stewart for his punches. “soft.”
The cause of the altercation is unclear, but The Athletic reported that the two players were “chest-to-chest” before receiving the punch.
Mr Stewart punched Eubanks near the lips and police had to become involved in the altercation to separate the pair.
The NBA has received footage of the incident and will review it.
Stewart had been ruled out of Wednesday’s game before this incident with Eubanks, and had been dealing with an ankle injury for the past seven games, all of which he missed.
He has spent the past four seasons with the Pistons, appearing in 35 games this season.
Stewart averaged 11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
He is shooting 47 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from 3-point range.
The spat isn’t the first time Stewart has found himself a potential target for the NBA.
In 2021, Stewart was involved in an ugly incident in which he attempted to charge LeBron James and other Lakers players after a bloodied fight over a rebound.
The Piston player had to be restrained by teammates and security.
But the Suns and Pistons don’t have much of a rivalry or bad blood.
But Pistons coach Monty Williams was previously the head coach in Phoenix, so they have a connection.
