LeBron James gets first NBA suspension, to miss Los Angeles Lakers' next game vs Knicks

LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart were made to pay for their actions during the Los Angeles Lakers vs Detroit Pistons NBA game with both players now handed a suspension for the involvement in the brawl. The brawl between LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart erupted in the third quarter of the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons following an elbow by James on Stewart. In the end, it was the Los Angeles Lakers who went on to win the game beating Detroit Pistons.

Lebron James suspended

According to the tweet from Athletics Shams Charania, LeBron James received one-game suspension while Isaiah Stewart was suspended for two games for their involvement in a brawl during Los Angeles Lakers- Detriot Pistons game. Another Tweet read that LeBron James was suspended for the next game against New York Knicks after recklessly hitting Stewart in the face and initiating an on-court altercation. On the other hand, Stewart was handed a suspension for escalating an on-court altercation by repeatedly and aggressively pursuing (James) in an unsportsmanlike manner. The suspension is the first for LeBron James in his NBA career after 1,583 games and 39,276 minutes played.

NBA: LeBron James, Isaiah Stewart elbow incident

Both James and Detroit Piston's Stewart contested a rebound on a second free-throw attempt but it was James' elbow that hit Stewart. The Pistons star stumbled backwards, bleeding from near his eye. James went over to apologise but Stewart was having none of it. He regained his feet and immediately charged at LeBron James before players from both teams intervened to stop the fight from getting ugly.

During the brawl, Stewart was separated from security and teammates and taken away, however, the Pistons star broke free and made a second charge at LeBron James only to be stopped in his track once again. Once things settled down both the players were sent to their locker rooms. Russell Westbrook was also hit with a technical foul for his role in the fight.

This was the second time that LeBron James has been ejected in his career. The first time he received ejection was back in 2018 when referee Kane Fitzgerald hit him with a technical foul for arguing a non-call in a game against the Miami Heat. James, back then, played for Cleveland Cavaliers and was ejected for throwing an air punch at Fitzgerald before charging at him and verbally abusing the official.