Robert Horry is renowned for his remarkable career with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. His clutch performances in critical moments were instrumental in securing seven NBA championships with these teams, solidifying his legacy as a true postseason hero.
Unknown to many, Horry also played for another NBA team, the Phoenix Suns, where his most famous moment didn’t involve making a game-winner. Instead, it was him throwing a towel in the face of his head coach, Danny Ainge.
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Horry’s time with the Suns was short-lived, lasting only 32 games during the 1996-97 season. However, it was an eventful year, as his actions sparked a heated exchange with the Suns players, heightening tensions in the locker room. In an interview on “Byron Scott’s Fast Break,” Horry recalled the incident and explained how it unfolded.
Words were exchanged
Horry recalled that he was playing well in a game against the Boston Celtics when he was subbed out for Danny Manning. The move irked Horry, who confronted Ainge about it.
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“So I said, ‘Why you subbing me?’ He said, ‘Shut the f—k up and go sit down.’ I’m walking then I said, ‘Did he just say what I think he said?'” Horry narrated. “So I went down and said, ‘Who you f—cking talking to like that?’ He said, ‘You.’ I said, ‘Man, f—k you.’ And that’s when I threw the towel in his face.”
After the game, things went from bad to worse as a few Suns players, led by big man Joe Kleine, took exception to Horry’s actions and went after him in the locker room.
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“Joe Kleine comes in and says, ‘Man, we don’t f—cking do that around here,” Horry continued. “I said, ‘Man, you shut the f—k up, you big-headed MF.’ I’m hot, you know? I’m hot in the locker room. So I said, ‘I’mma whoop your big-headed ass right now.'”
Tensions kept on rising as Horry’s teammates on the Houston Rockets, Mark Bryant and Chucky Brown, stood up, ready to take up for Big Shot Rob. Fortunately, Suns assistant coach Paul Silas provided a voice of reason. He brought Horry to the back of the locker room to calm him down.
Danny’s words were the last straw
Ainge’s fighting words were the last straw for Horry. Traded to the Suns as part of a package that brought former league MVP Charles Barkley to Houston, Horry was keen on continuing his winning ways after capturing two NBA titles in his four seasons with the Rockets.
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However, it was crystal clear to him that wasn’t going to happen in Phoenix, primarily because of the Suns’ poor culture.
“You talk about culture…We get there and we practicin’, dudes don’t wanna practice, dudes don’t even wanna come to practice. It was just like no wonder we were kicking your a– in the playoffs, because you guys don’t practice hard,” Horry relayed. “We always said we gotta make our practices so hard that the games are easy. Man, these dudes are sittin’ on the sidelines, I think if we’d have had cigars, they’d be smoking cigars, man.”
Horry received a two-game suspension for the towel-throwing incident and not long after that, he was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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“Then Danny A called me after my suspension. He said, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know — I probably just won you another championship. I said, ‘Why?'” Horry recalled. “He said, ‘Because I just traded you to the Lakers.'”
Horry didn’t even bother to say anything else after he learned of the trade. He put the phone down, packed his things and headed straight to the City of Angels, where he would team up with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and complete a rare “three-peat” from 2000 to 2002.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.