Dwight Howard, Lance Stephenson get ejected after nasty brawl in BIG3 debuts
Midway through Saturday's game between the Los Angeles Riot and the Miami 305 in the 3-on-3 basketball league, the former NBA stars got into an all-out brawl that eventually spilled into the stands.
The two got into a verbal exchange on the baseline following a scuffle between Stephenson and another player on the Riot during a play near half court.
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5 Dwight Howard and Lance Stephenson got ejected for a scuffle in the BIG 3.
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5 The scuffle got nasty near the baseline.
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The altercation quickly got physical, however, with Howard initiating contact by pushing Stephenson as the two headed closer to the stands.
While in the stands, Stephenson was able to tackle Howard to the ground while fans rushed to exit the area.
Both Howard, 39, and Stephenson, 34, were playing in their first BIG3 games, three years removed from their last outings in the NBA.
Howard, who spent 18 seasons in the NBA, was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in April alongside 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony.
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5 Lance Stephenson, while a member of the Pacers, gestures to the crowd to be quiet during during the fourth quarter of the Pacers' win over the Nets at Barclays Center on Nov. 9, 2013.
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5 The scuffle then spilled over into the stands.
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During his career, Howard was an eight-time All-Star, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and won an NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020.
After controversially being left off the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team in 2021, Howard said being inducted into the Hall of Fame was a 'solidified feeling,' during an interview with Forbes in April.
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5 Dwight Howard looks on during the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame announcement on April 5, 2025 at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio.
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'It's more so a solidified feeling,' Howard said then. 'It's more like planted in the ground, plastered on the wall of forever. In Lamb's book of life, that's how that feeling is.'
'Melo and I have been disrespected in a lot of regards when it comes to our careers, because of our longevity,' Howard added. 'We both came in at 18-19 years of age and we played a very long time and we outlasted what the average career would be.
'When we talk about it being satisfaction, it's the fact that we know that there's only 4,800 guys who have ever played in the NBA in the history of the world. There's only been 0.9 percent of that group that has been an All-Star. It's been only 0.2 percent that has been a Hall of Famer.'
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