Angry Ex-Husky Isaiah Stewart Arrested, Cited for Pre-Game Punch in Phoenix
Isaiah Stewart, former University of Washington center now with the Detroit Pistons, was arrested for assault in Phoenix on Wednesday night after punching Suns power forward Drew Eubanks while the two NBA players were entering the arena and had words.
The 6-foot-8, 250-pound Stewart, who was dealing with a sprained left ankle injury and not going to play, was issued a citation and released, Phoenix police said. He should probably expect to face league discipline over the matter.
Eubanks, a 6-foot-10 player formerly of Oregon State, was uninjured, later played 18 minutes in the game and scored 6 points in the Suns' 116-100 loss.
For Stewart, it was another angry outburst as a pro basketball player. In 2021, he was involved in an on-court altercation with the Lakers' LeBron James that led to the league meting out a two-game suspension to him and James sitting out one game.
An Indiana native, Stewart played just the 2019-20 season as a freshman for the Huskies and is remembered as a soft-spoken, well-mannered individual, though he offered the following memorable quote near the end of that lone college campaign.
"I'm pretty angry pretty much every game," Stewart said of his hard-working efforts.
In his fifth NBA season, Stewart averages 11 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, but he has felt plenty of frustration while playing for a Detroit franchise that has been a perennial loser throughout his entire career.
Following Wednesday night's game and the 16-point defeat to the Suns, Detroit stands 8-46 — which is the worst record in the league.
Eubanks said the altercation began when he entered the arena, an argument ensued, he and Stewart went chest to chest and the latter threw a punch. Security intervened, separating the players.
Kevin Durant, the Suns' standout who began his NBA career with the Seattle Sonics, later weighed in on the situation.
"Keep the game first, there's a lot of noise," Durant said. "It's unfortunate what happened before the game, it's supposed to be a brotherhood. But I also understand dudes get into stuff. We try to avoid that in this league. Hopefully we can move on from it."
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