GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- It was 15 years ago today -- Nov. 19, 2004 -- when an average basketball game turned into one of the most infamous brawls in all of sports.
The Detroit Pistons were down 97-82 to the Indiana Pacers when Ben Wallace went up for a layup and was fouled by Ron Artest. Wallace pushed Artest, a fight broke out but didn't amount to much.
Then, a fan threw a drink at Artest, and he immediately charged at the fan. This led to a brawl between players and spectators, spanning multiple rows of seats all the way back to the court and lasting for several minutes.
The NBA suspended nine players for a total of 146 games, and the players lost a total of $11 million in salary. Five players were charged with assault and eventually sentenced to a year of probation and community service. Five fans also faced criminal charges and were banned from Pistons home games for life.
Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season and lost nearly $5 million in salary. Wallace got a six-game suspension and lost $400,000.
In response to the brawl, the league made changes to the rules that wouldn't allow teams to play zone defense, forced teams to advance the ball beyond half court in eight seconds instead of 10 and "gave the little guy an opportunity to play again," Jerry Colangelo told The Athletic.
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The result? A game that is easier to watch with a quick offense driven by analytics and valuing the three-point play.
The NBA has since mot had an incident even close to the one in Auburn Hills. There have been altercations between fans and players, but nothing that involved more than a push and some curse words.
It was pure chaos and something the NBA -- or any other sport, for that matter -- hopefully will never have to experience again.
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