NBA practices happen away from the public's watch. However, every basketball fan knows how important these practices are for teams that are vying for a championship. But while the public isn't aware of what exactly happens inside practices, there's no doubt that there have been some interesting stories that fans would've wanted to see before their eyes.
On the other hand, there are also times when practices simply get out of hand. Let's rank the 10 craziest NBA practice stories.
10. Kobe Bryant calls his Laker teammates ‘bums'
There's no question that the Purple and Gold was in its dark years during Kobe Bryant's final stretch of his career. However, before he officially left, Bryant continued to make his mark in Los Angeles.
In fact, during the 2014-15 season, former teammate Jeremy Lin claimed Bryant called his teammates “bums” and said goodbye just before the trade deadline. However, no one was traded at the deadline.
9. Grant Williams pokes Luka Doncic
Getting under the skin of Luka Doncic doesn't have a happy ending. In fact, former Mavericks big man Grant Williams felt that during practice when he decided to get under the Slovenian star's skin. Doncic went ham and destroyed his teammate by showcasing his entire repertoire. Fans probably would've loved to see Luka put out his entire arsenal.
8. Jimmy Butler's scrimmage takeover with third-stringers
Jimmy Butler and the Minnesota Timberwolves' relationship didn't really have a happy ending. Butler was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. But before then, the Timberwolves decided to make Butler practice, despite his pending trade request.
Butler was assigned to third-stringers against the team's starting unit. However, Butler had a field day by dominating the scrimmage and taunting the starting unit on his own. To make matters interesting, Butler dominated the session by only scoring one bucket.
7. Metta World Peace shows up to Pacers practice in a bathrobe
Usually, when showing up for practice, basketball players know that it's important to show up ready to work. However for Metta World Peace, then known as Ron Artest, he showed up in a bathrobe.
Recovering from a surgery to repair his torn ligament, World Peace showed up in a robe and a cast. However, the NBA champion decided to do so, so that he won't push himself too hard at practice.
6. Jail Blazers' broomstick brawl
The Portland Trail Blazers, at one time referred to as the Jail Blazers, had a lot of drama going on with their myriad of off-court issues, one of which included two goliath seven-footers in Korean center Ha Seung-Jin and Bosnian center Nedzad Sinanovic fighting on the practice court.
As expected, chaos ensued and the damage was done, including a broken wooden dowel that Ha wielded as a weapon.
5. Bobby Portis fractures Nikola Mirotic's face
The Chicago Bulls have never been the same since Michael Jordan's departure and Derrick Rose's major injury. However, they did turn some heads in 2017 but for the wrong reasons.
The one-time NBA champion Bobby Portis got so physical and didn't hold back on saying pleasantries against teammate and European star Nikola Mirotic. Things got heated and punches were thrown, resulting in a fractured nose for Mirotic.
4. Jordan Poole gets punched by Draymond Green
Fresh from winning an NBA championship together, everyone would expect that the Golden State Warriors were going to extend their dynasty. However, things went completely south.
In a practice session during the offseason, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole got heated, triggering a punch from the controversial Green. The punch connected, and fast-forward to today, Poole is playing for the lowly Wizards squad.
3. Latrell Sprewell assaults his coach
At one point in his NBA career, Latrell Sprewell was one of the rising stars in the league. However, the four-time All-Star's career trajectory drastically changed after he decided to choke Golden State Warriors coach P. J. Carlesimo.
After the two were broken up, Sprewell came back to land a punch to put the icing in the cake. The promising forward faced a 68-game suspension, and things were never the same after that.
2. Nate Robinson steals James Harden's car
The Oklahoma City Thunder were a special team during Kevin Durant's era. Aside from reaching new heights for the franchise, the team also had some interesting stories to tell behind the scenes.
At one practice day, Kevin Durant claimed that Nate Robinson decided to go missing. Later that day, teammate James Harden realized his car was missing only to find out that the former Slam Dunk Contest champion decided to park it at a car wash without his knowledge.
1. Michael Jordan schools Hornets players in his 50s
The Charlotte Hornets were hardly relevant in the NBA for as long as fans could remember. In fact, even His Airness Michael Jordan tried his best to whip the players into shape after taking ownership of the team, literally. A retired Jordan showed up in practice ready to play and decided to outplay the players in his team one-on-one, reminding everyone how terrible Charlotte was.
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