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Moussa Diabate #14 and Miles Bridges #0 of the Charlotte Hornets fight Jalen Duren #0 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half of a basketball game at Spectrum Center on February 09, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Perhaps the biggest storyline coming out of the NBA’s Monday night slate of games was a massive brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets. The fight, which took minutes to subside, resulted in the ejection of a total of four players, one of whom was Isaiah Stewart, nicknamed ‘Beef Stew’, who is no stranger to on-court confrontations.
Stewart wasn’t even in the game when the brawl began, but he entered the court and began confronting Miles Bridges of the Hornets. The two exchanged multiple blows, and once the commotion finally subsided, he was taken directly into the locker room. By the end, Stewart, Bridges, Jalen Duren, and Moussa Diabate were all ejected in what has been the biggest fight of the 2025-26 NBA season.
While Stewart is by no means a first-time offender, along with the fact that he came off the bench to get involved, there is an expectation that he will be suspended for a long period of time. Speaking on the Run It Back show, former All-Star Demarcus Cousins believes Stewart could miss at least 20-25 games.
“It’s gonna be more than that, this isn’t a 1st-time offender, and he left the bench,” Cousins said after his co-host, Lou Williams, predicted Stewart would be suspended ten games. “I’m thinking 20 to 25 (game suspension), to be honest.”
Isaiah Stewart Ejected In Pistons-Hornets Brawl
Stewart is what’s known as an enforcer in the NBA. While he is a solid player in his own right, as one of the best rim-protectors in the league this season, he makes headlines for his involvement in fights.
Directly after the brawl, NBA insider Bobby Marks dropped his prediction on the punishment Stewart could be facing.
We aren’t going to see Isaiah Stewart for a very long time.
Repeater offender status will certainly come into play.
“We aren’t going to see Isaiah Stewart for a very long time,” he wrote in a post on X. “Repeater offender status will certainly come into play.”
According to Yahoo Sports, Stewart has been involved in at least six on-court confrontations that led to either an ejection or suspension since late 2023. Perhaps most famously, he’s had multiple confrontations with LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, who the Pistons’ big man is clearly not a fan of.
While he hadn’t been in a brawl relatively recently, Stewart did not hold back against the Hornets on Monday night.
“I wanted him to avoid this type of situation… and going through his career with a reputation that is not necessarily deserved,” Cousins added on Stewart. “I think he’s a good kid. I’ve gotten to know him a little bit over the past couple of years, so I don’t want that label on his name.”
How many games will Isaiah Stewart be suspended? 🤔
“That’s a 10 piece lemon pepper, extra crispy.” – Lou Williams
“More than that…this isn’t a 1st-time offender and he left the bench.”
@boogiecousins thinks Beef Stew will miss 20-25 games 😬
@MichelleDBeadle | @TeamLou23
Cousins added that overall, he liked seeing the raised tensions between the Pistons and Hornets, and hopes the two teams match up again in the first round of the playoffs.
Pistons Coach And Isaiah Stewart On The Fight
Detroit ended up winning the game over Charlotte, but in the postgame press conference, the third-quarter brawl between the two teams dominated questions from reporters. Speaking after the victory, Pistons’ head coach J.B. Bickerstaff commented on what he saw.
“You see it one way, I see it another way,” Bickerstaff said. “Obviously, and I repeat, we don’t want it to get to that point. But when you go back and watch the film, they ran multiple guys at JD (Jalen Duren). JD and Stew consider themselves to be brothers, and if you run two guys at one guy, you’ve already crossed the line. Human instinct tells him to protect his little brother.”
JB on Stew getting involved: “Duren and Stew consider themselves to be brothers. If you run two guys at one guy and you’ve already crossed the line, human instinct tells him to protect his little brother.”
Regarding his decision to leave the bench and enter the melee, Stewart himself made a brief comment about his actions.
“You do not expect me to stay on the bench,” Stewart said in the tunnel after being ejected. “[Expletive] that [expletive]. The [expletive] I was drafted to Detroit for.”
Duren, who was a part of the initial fight before Stewart got involved, commented about what happened from his perspective in the game.
“Emotions were flaring,” Duren said. “At the end of the day, we would love to keep it basketball, but things happen. Everybody was just playing hard.”
If Stewart does end up receiving a major suspension, perhaps as long as the 20-25 games as Cousins projected, that could keep him out for much of the rest of the regular season. This year, he is averaging ten points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.7 blocks in 48 games, and his absence would be a major cause for concern for the East-leading Pistons.
For now, Stewart, as well as Duren, Bridges, and Diabate, will wait to hear from the league to find out their official punishments.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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