Kyrie Irving Offers To Pay Teammates’ Fines After Brawl

Kyrie Irving was left shocked after a scuffle broke out during a Dallas Mavericks vs Phoenix Suns game.

In the Mavericks rout of the Suns, a serious situation happened in the second half when Phoenix center Jusf Nurkic ran over Mavericks center Daniel Gafford in the paint — earning an offensive foul in the process.

This situation spiraled out of control quickly. Naji Marshall, Nurkic, and P.J. Washington all got into a scuffle that led to the three being ejected. During the heated moment where all three players let their emotions get the best of them, Irving’s reaction has become the talk of sports media because of how flabbergasted he was as the madness unfolded around him.

In a video of the moment, Irving can be seen staring ahead at the chaos with his mouth open. He’s like a deer in headlights — stuck trying to figure out whether he should intervene or just watch and see what happens. He elects to do the latter and it worked out for him because he didn’t get ejected.

When asked about his reaction afterward by the press, Irving had a joke to say. “Maybe that's just the way we end 2024, where somebody actually swings in the NBA,” Irving said. “Maybe that will help our ratings.”

Irving then cleared it up by admitting he was actually bamboozled by the situation. “I was a little confused, it happened so quickly,” he admitted. “Moments like that, I feel like people are protecting themselves. You've got to put your hands up and at least swing back.”

“I'll take care of their fines and throw that shit under the rug, excuse my language,” he continued. “It's part of basketball sometimes.”

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd weighed in on the matter as well after the game. “Protecting each other, that’s what that was,” he said. “Teammates, emotions can get high. For our guys to protect one another, we talk about it, it was displayed tonight. It was good to see those guys protect each other.”