Isaiah Stewart, the Detroit Pistons’ tough center and power forward, is familiar with the spotlight, often not for positive reasons.
Things got heated during a game between the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 30, 2025.
The Pistons lost 123-104, but the score wasn’t the big story. A wild fight broke out in the second quarter, ending with five players and two coaches getting ejected.
Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons’ tough-guy center, was in the middle again.
A fight breaks out between the Pistons and Timberwolves
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 31, 2025
Donte DiVincenzo, Naz Reid, Ron Holland, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser, Pistons HC J. B. Bickerstaff and Wolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni were all ejected pic.twitter.com/TJA3OczOxB
It all started at about 8:36 left in the half. The Pistons were up 39-30, and tension was already brewing.
Just moments earlier, Stewart had bumped Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo hard after a whistle, earning himself a technical foul.
Then, on the next play, Pistons rookie Ron Holland II fouled Timberwolves forward Naz Reid by slapping the ball out of his hands near the baseline.
Words were exchanged. DiVincenzo stepped in to separate them, grabbing Holland’s jersey. That’s when things exploded.
Suddenly, all 10 players on the court were involved.
7 PLAYERS/COACHES GOT EJECTED 🤯 pic.twitter.com/v6tnLIfUd6
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 31, 2025
Stewart jumped in, and it turned into a full-on scrum.
Coaches, trainers, and staff rushed over to break it up. When the dust settled, the refs ejected Stewart, Holland, Pistons guard Marcus Sasser, and Minnesota’s Reid and DiVincenzo.
Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni got tossed, too. It was chaos.
As of today, March 31, 2025, the NBA hasn’t dropped the hammer with a ban.
Stewart’s still playing for Detroit, and no official statements suggest he’s facing more than a fine or a short suspension, if anything.
Still, this incident is just the latest chapter in Stewart’s saga of on-court flare-ups.
Stewart’s Tough Guy Reputation Isn’t New; Wild Incidents Over The Years Have Fueled His “BadBoy” Persona
On November 21, 2021, the game against the Los Angeles Lakers put Stewart on the map for all the wrong reasons.
While jostling for position during a free throw, LeBron James caught Stewart in the face with an elbow.
Blood poured from a gash above Stewart’s eye, and he lost it.
Isaiah Stewart wanted all the smoke with LeBron James on this day 2 years ago 👀
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 21, 2023
Stewart was suspended for 2 games, while LeBron got suspended for only 1 game.pic.twitter.com/XVGPlqwDlA
He charged at James not once, but multiple times, as teammates, coaches, and staff scrambled to hold him back.
The scene was chaos as Stewart’s rage was raw, and the crowd couldn’t look away.
The NBA suspended him for two games for “escalating an on-court altercation.” James received a one-game ban, his first ever, for starting it.
Stewart needed eight stitches to close the wound, but the incident stitched his name into NBA infamy.
Fast forward to Valentine’s Day 2024, and Stewart was back in the headlines.
Before a game against the Phoenix Suns, he allegedly punched Suns player Drew Eubanks in the tunnels of the Footprint Center.
It started with an argument that turned physical chest to chest tension exploded when Stewart swung, leaving Eubanks with a minor injury.
Phoenix Police arrested Stewart, cited him for assault, and let him go, but the investigation lingered.
The Suns called it “unprovoked,” while the Pistons hinted there might’ve been more to the story.
The NBA promised to review the footage, and Stewart’s rep as a loose cannon grew even bigger.
Earlier this year, on January 29, 2025, Stewart racked up six flagrant foul points in the 2024-25 season, crossing the league’s threshold for automatic discipline.
Isaiah Stewart EJECTED after flagrant foul 2 on Thomas Bryant 😳 pic.twitter.com/vJDkNb1rul
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 30, 2025
The tipping point was A Flagrant 2 foul against the Indiana Pacers on January 29. After getting ejected, he didn’t stop there. He made “inappropriate and objectionable gestures” toward the Pacers’ bench and crowd.
The NBA responded with a one-game suspension without pay and a $50,000 fine.
Stewart missed the game on January 31 against the Dallas Mavericks due to his bobblehead night. Talk about bad timing.
Stewart clashed with Marcus Smart of the Washington Wizards a few weeks before his latest ejection.
After a no-call on a layup, Smart followed Stewart to the Pistons’ bench, barking at him.
Stewart didn’t back down, and the two got into a heated exchange. The referees handed out double technicals, and teammates had to step in before it got uglier.
No suspension resulted from this one, but it bumped Stewart’s season total to 14 technicals and kept his flagrant foul count at 6. The league is keeping a close eye on him.
There’s no word yet on bans or fines from the NBA. Given Stewart’s track record, he might look at more than a slap on the wrist.
The league is still reviewing the footage, and with five players and two coaches involved, it has a lot to sort out.
It’s another headache for the Pistons in a season where they’ve sometimes shown too much fight.
This wasn’t the famous “Malice at the Palace” from 2004, but it’s another rough chapter for Detroit basketball.
Fans are frustrated, some are entertained, and everyone’s waiting to see what the NBA does next. Time will tell.
