Isaiah Stewart’s Latest Suspension Adds to Long Disciplinary History Since Being Drafted

Isaiah Stewart's seven-game suspension for leaving the bench to start fighting Charlotte Hornets Miles Bridges Tuesday night is the longest of many disciplinary actions taken by the league against Stewart.

When someone on a basketball team is considered an "enforcer", they're usually a bigger forward or center who isn't afraid to utilize five of the six fouls they're allowed to commit every game. Someone who isn't afraid to push buttons and capitalize on mental weaknesses of opponents. An enforcer is someone who enjoys playing physical on the court and someone who enjoys instigating physical altercations because he knows it's going to get the offender disciplined.

The "enforcer" role in 2026 instigates, they don't attempt to knock an opponent out clean in front of thousands of people because of a basketball play went wrong. Once upon a time, running out of the bench area to purposefully fight someone who was fighting a teammate might've been considered honorable despite discipline from the league.

Now, Stewart looked foolish charging at an opponent he knew people would immediately try to hold him back from. It's a long history of Stewart making himself unavailable for the Pistons due to unchecked emotions.

Jalen Duren Moussa Diabat — Feb 9, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) goes to the basket against Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabaté (14) during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Fifth suspension in six NBA seasons

Isaiah Stewart's suspension received the amount of games that are consistent with incidents in the past like this. Leaving the bench area to escalate an ongoing issue has been given a three to four game suspension in the past.

However, Stewart's history of being suspended and fined likely contributed to his lengthier suspension. While he was the NBA's Head of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars explained Draymond Green's history of offending contributed to his one-game suspension during the NBA playoffs in 2023. ESPN's Christopher Russo felt the NBA was too soft on Stewart.

"This is incredibly soft for Stewart. Patrick Ewing took one step off the bench and got suspended for game six of an NBA second round series by Stern and it cost them a second round series against the Heat...and he gets seven games in the middle of February? That's absurd. He should've gotten 25 games for doing what he did."
ESPN's Christopher Russo

Stewart's first incident was arguably his most infamous one, even after this brawl against the Charlotte Hornets. In just his second year in the NBA, Isaiah Stewart ate an inadvertent but nasty elbow to the eye from LeBron James following a free throw attempt from Jerami Grant. Stewart was relentless in his pursuit of fighting James for striking him and it resulted in just a two-game suspension.

Isaiah Stewart was given a three-game suspension in 2024 after punching and pushing Phoenix Suns center Drew Eubanks as players arrived to the Footprint Center. Stewart was arrested by Phoenix police for the strike and released later with an assault citation.

Stewart reached a flagrant foul threshold that earned him a one-game suspension at the beginning of 2025. Later that same season in April 2025, the Pistons and Timberwolves got into a brawl that resulted in multiple ejections, but Stewart received a two-game suspension due to his history of offending, while other players received one-game suspensions.

The impact of this suspension

Losing Duren and Stewart together is certainly going to make driving into the paint easier for other teams for the next two games. However, the Detroit Pistons sit comfortably at the top of the Eastern conference with a win-loss record of 39-13.

Three of the next four games are against teams currently in the playoffs, including another game against the New York Knicks. The Knicks currently sit at No. 3 in the Eastern conference. The Boston Celtics currently sit 5.5 games behind Detroit at No. 2 with a record of 34-19.