Joel Embiid inadvertently punched Lonzo Ball in the hair today, but nothing tops Carlos Boozer sucker-punching referee Danny Crawford in 2013.
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It goes without saying that basketball is a non-contact sport. However, the nature of the sport is such that tempers often get frayed, and people get needlessly physical.
There are a ton of scenarios possible in which an on-court fight could break out in seemingly innocuous circumstances. The likes of Kermit Washington and Ron Artest have indeed swung and hit punches in separate incidents.
Newly signed Lakers forward and LeBron James contemporary Carmelo Anthony himself is guilty of sucker-punching an opponent in the Knicks-Nuggets brawl, back in 2006.
These are cases where the punches landing on people made an actual difference – because it was intentional. However, what Joel Embiid did today, punching Lonzo Ball in the hair, is a pretty rare sort of incident.
20 replays later, the above gif still looks downright hilarious every time you rewatch it. But what we’re about to show you will probably top that by a pretty good distance.
Carlos Boozer punched a referee on his sack, foreshadowing Joel Embiid and his punch on Lonzo Ball
Carlos Boozer was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as a 2nd-round pick back in 2002. Boozer was never really a great defender, but he was tough as nails – especially on the offensive glass.
He also had an array of post moves that could often rival the very best power forwards in the business. There was a time when he, along with David West and Zach Randolph, were considered the NBA’s premier post scorers.
In the clip below, Boozer is an 11th-year veteran taking old-as-dirt Dirk back to high school. He dove into the lane, made a ball fake and reverse-pivoted for the easy and-one layup.
It was indeed a pretty move, but what followed is something as far from ‘pretty’ as possible. Carlos Boozer punched the air in jubilation for the and-one he got. The only problem with his punch was that he was unaware of referee Danny Crawford coming over.
Crawford got squarely hit in the abdominal area – possibly the toughest place a man can get hit in. Despite the obvious pain Danny Crawford suffered, you simply can’t help yourself watching this clip.
Carlos Boozer apologized profusely – after all, what had happened was basically out of his control. But he will stay immortalized by this clip, which is still the first suggestion YouTube gives you when you type in his name.
