The Choke | Latrell Sprewell’s Career-Defining ASSAULT On His Head Coach

[@olsmellyknuckles9653]

I remember him more as the idiot who said he couldn’t feed his family with a 21M dollar contract and then never signed another one.

[@buddahforce2462]

Bro it's okay to blink once a while

[@ICONOCLAST]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💦💦💦👏🏼👏🏼 We almost got one at 1:13 but his eyes were like nahhh

[@jaybolton2535]

Thanks for making me stare into his eyes!!! 😂😂

[@buddahforce2462]

@@ICONOCLAST lmaoooo!!!

[@thinkinginsideout4053]

He's like staring straight to our souls. 😂

[@Birenball]

Never. I’m the Cal Ripken of not blinking 🤣🤣🤣

[@dondurrty]

During MJ’s first retirement, Spree got the SG spot for the All NBA First Team

[@llydrsn]

That's right, kids. The Golden State Warriors were once a sh*t show of a franchise. Looking at them now, we can say that no matter how moribund your favorite team is, there is always hope.

[@zacharyyamashita8554]

Yep, I became an official Warriors fan in 2006, after watching the Shaq/Kobe lakers, when I first got into the NBA at age 8.

[@kornelliuskevin8040]

Except if you are clippers fan..

[@Tutankamion196]

​@@kornelliuskevin8040Or a Knicks fan, which thankfully I'm not.

[@wilcee238]

Not for the Mets

[@crowfather0249]

​@@kornelliuskevin8040The Clippers are good, though. If Kawhi hadn't gotten hurt, they might've beat Phoenix.

[@jakep1979]

Also at the ripe age of 35 where he was no longer considered a bonafide starter but never the less still a solid player, Timberwolves offered Sprewell a contract extension worth $21 million over 3 years (which was half then what he was making per year in his last contract), but Sprewell turned it down & publicly expressed outrage, declaring, "I have a family to feed!!" Never played in the NBA again.

[@dedricklane4899]

Wow I remember that

[@sunflash101]

Dude was just an idiot. Blessed with good genetics but it shocks me how a grown ass man has so little control over his emotions and pride. Absolute embarrassment of a human to be honest.

[@gamechanger114]

I remember reading that in a newspaper. I chuckled because I started wondering what he was feeding his family, to where money is going out the window that quickly😅. Then, I wondered if he "declined" 21 million saying such a bold statement like that, what is he going to do going forward because if they were going to offer more a deal would've already been done before that story leaked. Only options at that point was to go back on the bold statement and basically beg for the 21 million or accept even less money. I just remember thinking how stupid it was to say that publicly.

[@richborn6700]

And then he was in the stands during the '22 playoffs being shown on camera Game 3. The game where we completely fell apart. I blame Sprewell for bringing bad energy back to Target Center and ruining the Wolves momentum

[@dedricklane4899]

@@richborn6700 Na Karl Anthony Towns is just the most nonchalant star ever.

[@Hains22]

As a Knicks fan, I will always love Sprewell

[@17thN.O]

I will always love Sprewell too. He was the original Westbrook who I also love.

[@BrooklynBalla]

Spree was exactly what we needed at that time.We don’t even sniff the 99 finals without him.

[@chrisg9842]

​@BrooklynBalla or that shot from Allan Houston

[@kerry-j4m]

Assaulting your coach for absolutely-NOTHING. Regular working folks have to put up with much worse from their jobs. Spoiled athletes get away with-TOO-much in the nba,most of them are bat-&&&& crazy,used to everyone catering to their every whim,kissing their &&&.Women falling all over them,etc,etc,...Where do I sign-up ??? LOL.

[@BrooklynBalla]

@@chrisg9842 Facts,it sucks Ewings knees couldn’t hold up for the finals.

[@thebasketballhistorian3291]

For the young ones who've never seen Sprewell play, the "closest" modern equivalent is maybe Westbrook but a little taller. Sprewell was really fast and athletic and explosive to the rim. He was more efficient at finishing though Westbrook is more well-rounded at filling the stat sheet.

[@aedaed3605]

spree was a better shooter too 😂 but yeah I can see the comparison

[@cjvaye99]

very similar builds too. just solid muscle

[@rashb3994]

Spree was a better defender, Russ a superior passer but definitely agree with everything else.

[@jayjuggrnaut]

Brilliant analogy. Who is more emotional, in your analysis? 😂

[@rashb3994]

@@jayjuggrnaut To be honest their emotion is what allows them to play above their level. I think Spree had a higher gear which helped him get NY to a Finals.

[@MrOctober44]

Hardaway asked out because of Spreewell.

[@preemptive74]

My boss pisses me off. I don't choke him because I have a fully functional brain.

[@bradthomas7431]

No but if he got in face and called you out your name on several occasions

[@VuTron30]

Youngsters will never understand the frustration and shame us Bay Area fans had for the Dubs back in the day lol. We was ass for hella long

[@ShowtimeDr]

Welcome back.

[@Flair3777]

It doesn't matter what race you are, folks are supposed to behave a certain way and be professional.

[@rashb3994]

Yeah but that goes for both parties. At 1-13 he should've already been removed. They're both grown men and being his coach doesn't make him Sprees owner. Read the room, ride the guy you have that kind of rapport with or change your coaching style since it clearly did not work there.

[@MrOctober44]

​@@rashb3994oh get the f*** out of here with that ridiculous justification. Plenty of players have been on losing teams. You don't get to choke your coach. Ntm attacking him a second time. Trying to hit Kersey with a 2 by 4 and threatening to come back with a gun. The guy is violent. A regular person would have been arrested. This wasn't some one time incident. Disgusting that you'd make excuses for this guy

[@kerry-j4m]

I wish that coach had beat the-BREAKS-offa Spree !!! What a moron-SPREE. Those suspensions should've been up-held.

[@MpatheticNtrusions]

by your standards which generally tend to be ultra hypocritical

[@3eyejedi]

PJ was an in the closet, Racist. He's been commenting on his hair, and clothing all year. He shouldn't have choked him, but he got what he was asking for. There is a level of respect you should have talking to another man. Especially the star player.

[@DexterRobertson-mp1hh]

Carlisimo was treating these guys like college kids and he was riding Spree. I always wondered what made him snap like that. With the Warriors players having a gag order on the players which allowed the negative narrative on Spree to fester unabaited. Fvck Carlisimo for treating a grown man like a boy. He wasnt coaching Spree, what he was doing was gas lighting him.

[@jamanyoukno]

This is a great video! Can you please do one on Bobby Portis punching Nikola Mirotic?

[@MrOctober44]

Another example of the NBA allowing Black players to physically assault white people when they want.

[@IndieGamerChick]

34 Year old lifetime Bay resident and Golden State fan who started watching the NBA in the middle of the 1995-96 season, when I was 6 years old. I absolutely LOVED basketball, loved the Warriors, and my favorite player BY FAR was Spree. I had posters of him all over my bedroom wall. Fast forward to the 1997-98 season, and I have SEASON TICKETS to the Dubs. I was so excited beyond imagination. I was going to see all 41 Spree games. We stunk back then. My first year watching was the first of our historic playoff drought. I really thought 97-98 would be OUR year. One day, my parents come to me, looking pale, telling me that Latrell Sprewell won't be a Golden State Warrior anymore. To say I was heartbroken was an understatement. I was completely crestfallen. I was convinced PJ's neck assaulted Spree's hands. But, the story has a happy ending for me. When the next game happened, my parents made sure I understood Spree wouldn't be playing in this game, or any game after. When I still wanted to go, they knew that my basketball fandom wasn't a fad I was going though. 17 years later, I finally saw us win a championship. Worth the wait, and all the BS we had to through getting there.

[@IndieGamerChick]

BTW, that wasn't even the worst thing to happen to the Dubs in 1998. We didn't win 20 games, yet we only ended up with the #5 pick. We used the pick correctly for once, drafting Vince Carter. We then traded Carter for the king of empty calorie stats: Antawn Jamison. Landing Vince Carter at #5 and trading him would be like hitting 5 out of 6 Powerball numbers and trading it to someone who has a ticket with 4 out of 6 numbers and two other numbers you can't see. It was torture seeing Jamison play, as everyone in the building but the Warriors organization knew he wasn't leading us anywhere. When they had the 2000 All-Star game in the Bay Area, the reason the crowd is so fired up for the dunk contest is because Vince Carter was the guy WE drafted and, for one night only, it felt like he was putting on a show just for us. When he did that first 360 windmill dunk, the fans nearly rushed the court. It was the loudest crowd I'd ever been to.

[@futureDreamer4]

This is why Spre couldn't feed his kids.

[@streetballph2043]

Jonah is the 🐐🐐🐐🐐

[@Birenball]

My man 👊🏻

[@rngfootball759]

This was back during the ownership of Chris Cohen. Back in that day, besides Sterling he was one of the worst owners in the NBA. More coaching changes than playoff appearances during his ownership until he sold it to Lacob in 2010.

[@peterkuchenbrod5696]

This. If it wasn't for Sterling and the Clippers, the Warriors would have been the worst, most disfunctional franchise in the league. Cohan was an embarrassment.

[@mannedi8665]

Lol remember that Spree trying to fight Kersey. He thought he gonna win

[@johnnyguitarwatson5288]

SPECIAL RIP: Jerome kersey

[@rashb3994]

Lets be honest at 1 - 13 Carlisimo should've been gone long before this happened. Most coaches are gone if you start 0 - 6. Also Spree helped get the Knicks to the Finals. A nice redemption arc even though the Minnesota thing is a bad ending. But whatevs, he was fun to watch and played with heart.

[@gamechanger114]

He was favorite player, taught how not take nothing from nobody even my coaches lol jk... But he really was my favorite player at one point when he was with the Knicks, because he was the first guy I seen play with that much heart and tenaciousness while also being able to do just about everything on the floor. A very athletic slashing wing, great defense, solid shooter, good in iso, excellent in transition and played extremely hard. I used to wear number 8, and people would immediately think Kobe but I only liked the number because of Sprewell😅.

[@bandito241]

Wonder how his kids are doing after he didn’t get the contract he wanted in Minnesota 😂

[@kerry-j4m]

Spree was a-LOOSE-cannon and a weird person.He should've been arrested and placed in jail for aggravated assault.And that big suspension should've been up-held.

[@MrOctober44]

Nice victim blaming scumbag. The guy attacked multiple teammates over the years as well.

[@johnlinzmayer7036]

"Let's be honest," your moral values, as well as the vast majority of those I've read here defending and praising Sprewell, are fucking warped and sickening. See my response to @Hains22 up top, as it's likewise meant for all of you such as Knicks fans. No hate. It's very sad, actually. I could probably make a good guess about who most of you, considering your apparent mindsets involving such toughness, even if it includes strangulation, would vote for in November 2024. You know where I went. I'll stop there. I wish you all wellness of minds and hearts. You have a lot of maturing to do concerning the basics of humaneness. No hate. :-)

[@Mo-yd8xc]

Before I watched this video I saw Paul George's podcast where he asked Brian Shaw about what happened. He was there and you weren't so I'll take Shaw's view over yours.

[@layups]

The best skit by an NBA player was when Tim Duncan pretended to be Johnny Carson and said, “Hedon Turkoglu, Dirk Nowitzki, PJ Carlesimo…A Turk, a Dirk, and a JERK!”

[@Raider2Pac]

From what I remember Policimo told Sprewell to, Put some mustard on those passes 😂

[@klassvice9752]

this story doesn't fully match up with B. Shaw's story

[@cokesquirrel]

I remember when he came in to Barney's to go buy some suits And2 of the sales people refused to wait on him

[@w.j.walkersr.6684]

I knew he lost that fight to Kersey!

[@RolandBullock-ej8wl]

This incident was wild....glad he went to knicks and had a resurgence =)

[@georgeaghimien3234]

Webber and Sprewell duo was so sadden short leaved and thst nike spot they did was legendary

[@MrOctober44]

I love Webber but the two of them were both immature and Spreewell obviously had extreme as anger issues

[@nbapbaupdate8338]

Sprewell INSANE Knicks-Timberwolves career

[@Albert8044]

Latrell Sprewell after the Knicks in case anybody forgotten played for the Timberwolves on a team with Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassel in which they had a very good team that looked like they could have a shot to go deep however by that point Latrell Sprewell's career was already over as age caught up with him.

[@riccardodepieri4582]

Amazing! I didn't know that George Lucas used to coach in the NBA, much less that he was strangled by one of his players once

[@zagnorch1336]

Right after P.J. Carlesimo was hired, my fave south bay rock station regularly played an ad that promoted the new Golden State head coach as being the kind of hard@$$ that the team needed to get whipped into shape and be successful. It even had a cover of Alice Cooper's "No More Mister Nice Guy" playing in the background. Needless to say, every time I hear "No More Mister Nice Guy," I think about this high point in Dubs history.

[@BadBart2217]

Haha! Good story

[@hello.gumption]

To add some context, I recall there being some media / posters / billboards circulating about PJ and his coaching staff coming through to take over from Adelman and staff; the premise was "No More Mr Nice Guys". It had a "Men In Black" meets "Goodfellas" feel to it. There was already a tone of discipline and conflict (with a good serving of cringe) going around before the show had even started. Also, Golden State players and fans were completely disrespected by the approach of Garry St Jean / Nellie (although I love Nellie) and whomever else leaving these 20 something guys in absolute chaos. There was zero leadership from coaching; Sprewell had 4 different head coaches in 6 seasons, while bleeding blue, white and gold playing high intensity, both sides of the ball. Guys get strong role models like Gregg Popovich, others don't. PJ came with a extreme disciplinary, loud, in-your-face communication style similar to Bob Knight. This does not fly around some men. Tearing core players apart and making trades that set franchises back by 10+ years should be looked at closely. The GM's and coaches did nothing for GS to succeed. It took around 13 or 14 seasons to get back into the post season (From Spree and C-Webb to the "I believe" Warriors). Golden State Sprewell was a winner in a losing situation. He was blessed with Hall Of Fame talent without the structure to succeed. Insert Spree into Knicks = Finals, Conference Finals. Insert him into the T-Wolves = First time TWolves make it out of First round, averages 20,5,5 vs Kobe in west conf. finals, best regular season record in the West.

[@zagnorch1336]

I recall the "No More Mister Nice Guy" radio ad that played on the local stations back in the day, touting Carlesimo as the right kind of hard@$$ to whip the Dubs into shape and get them on the right track. You know, the whole cliche "I'm not here to make friends" kinda deal.

[@hello.gumption]

@@zagnorch1336 That's exactly how it felt. Coaches were sending out the 'us versus them' impression when they should have been coming together and building team unity and cohesion for a potential playoff rank. From St. Jean down, they were all surprised when Sprewell snapped, when in fact they fostered a culture of abuse, made poor trades and drafted the wrong guys. Fail, fail, fail.

[@thebasketballhistorian3291]

THIS among a ton of other unlucky events is why the basketball gods later gifted the Warriors with their dynasty. 😄

[@juliusperseus8612]

There was No gift, Bozo. They worked to have what they have. Period

[@dedricklane4899]

New owners and management cleaned things up

[@Tutankamion196]

There are no gifts here. Yes, you can argue the Warriors got lucky here and there, but nothing was given to them without hard work. Both management and players had to grind for this dynasty. No need to be a Warriors fan to realize that.

[@Penny-vq6bp]

The Warriors also had Chris mullien certificated killer

[@jasonjordan9095]

Coaches choked 1 Blinks from narrator 0

[@USALibertarian]

"Put a littlw more mustard on those passes."

[@17thN.O]

For all the fools that say everytime an NBA does something "If David Stern was here..." Like everything he said it was law", I present Exhibit A.

[@BeefPapa]

You seem old enough to know how to pronounce Adelman's name.

[@nbapbaupdate8338]

Kristaps Porzingis your next video theScore 💪💪💪

[@nunyabizznizz7326]

not the first that wanted to strangle carlisimo.....but first to actually do it

[@Bballing23]

Sprewelll was really a GREAT player. He was crazy athletic for a SG. He actually guarded MJ maybe the best of any player. Honestly if he did not have that incident and was mentally a little more mature and focused he could be one of the best SGs ever. He was that good and a two beast.

[@jerdog333]

I'm old, so I remember watching Sprewell play. He was a legit baller, but he was also a violent thug. I'm glad he held out for that last contract that he never got. $5,000,000 per season wasn't enough for him to "feed his family"? hahaha.

[@JarodJoseph]

This dude reminds me of the “flair” guy from Office Space

[@TheHomeman]

The coach was too young and he was a college coach who was used to screaming at college players

[@littleblackduck3134]

After reading comments i recall HOFer Kevin Green choking his DC during a game on TV...no one called for his arrest or blamed it on being raised by a single mother

[@Sneakerveli]

I hated pj for so long after this cause again this set the warriors back! The warriors as an organization suck! We wouldn't get out of this until the "We believe warriors" who are my favorite came along. Salute to all the real warrior fans it was some rough years

[@phillylifer]

Had violent temper myself when i was young. Spree should have been arrested for assault.

[@mizzy4real24]

Suspension warranted of course

[@boodeesparx1192]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 legendary

[@sssjjjttt]

Billy Owens being mentioned was pure trolling right? that's the scrub the Dubs got for breaking up Run TMC... that's the day they lost me as a fan. Mitch Richmond was THE ROCK and one of the best SGs in the league during that era

[@crackerjack9320]

I was a King's fan at this time. Billy Owens was the ultimate underachiever and was totally excited to get Richmond. TMC was amazing though and was sad to see the trio broken up.

[@toshe67]

latrell sprewell was kevin porter jr before kevin porter jr but latrell sprewell got the superstar talent and matured

[@mr.christopher79]

that spunk would have carried him far but entitlement killed it doa

[@trappinout18]

Thug getting tons of money shows how broken our oriorities are in society.

[@randallmartin2508]

Rick “A” Delman ? It’s “Add” elman. You don’t even know that? But you are making a video for monetary purposes, so I guess that doesn’t matter. Tired of people like you not knowing what the heck you are even saying.

[@marcusrichardson1460]

I would’ve been too embarrassed to appeal the suspension. Learn your lesson.

[@bronsonbamnallen1633]

the 90s was my era of NBA and I had no idea Sprewell had THAT great of a second year. Very talented player but probably an undiagnosed sociopath.

[@ericroberts196]

The court put a gag order on the team. So the real truth is with them. Once the gag order was in place, the Warriors and the NBA could and did spin the story as they wished. A player on that team later stated that Spreewell did not hit coach PJ. Who knows? Bad all the way around for all involved. Most of that team got traded quickly thereafter.

[@darrencharles]

this is the bullshit we dealt with for decades.

[@MrOctober44]

Being paid millions of dollars to play basketball?

[@MrOctober44]

He was an angry, spoiled malcontent.

[@calmnrelaxed]

Not according to his teammates

[@TheNyion912]

Why are you wrong on 8 percent on this?

[@jordanalexander5275]

46 wins and 116 losses, pj deserved it

[@rajjones5041]

Don’t think this “defined” his career

[@DJACK625]

Go Sprewell Go!

[@johnrivera922]

Go Spurs Go!!!

[@awfpunisher]

Spree cant handle the bantz

[@justineebourgeois3420]

Sprewell is a gangster 😤

[@MrOctober44]

He's a criminal

[@richborn6700]

Gangsters don't fumble a 20+ million dollar bag

[@MrOctober44]

@@richborn6700 Apparently they do.

[@mizzy4real24]

Unions.

[@superdlucks]

This was a lot of talk without saying anything.

[@mizzy4real24]

Gary was the gm smh. They had some doofus dudes leading

[@matiasevans23]

Pj pushed too hard

[@djemraidola264]

Sprewell went to the finals, Carlisamo was never a good coach and the warriors were trash for the next 20 years. Spree was right all along.

[@Johnbones23]

He then proceeded to screw himself out of 20 million

[@mizzy4real24]

I see westhead lol smh. I’m sure he backed coach and got his stern ass choked out. Glad Latrell bounced back. Pj. Chris ford. Paul westhead. Case studies

[@gigapus5050]

Wasted talent and definitely was a me first player and not very smart on or off the court.

[@crackerjack9320]

Spree was a POS, but Carlisemo was better suited to the college game and probably needed a smackdown.

[@s4mp_founder]

Carisimo started it. Who comes into a team and disrespects the best player on that team. Unless that his intentions or had a alternative motive.

[@juliusperseus8612]

When you was raised by a single mother and you're as emotional as a female. Boogie is the same

[@richborn6700]

Damn bro. You just called out a lot of dudes from my high school who were wilding out in their early 20s. No Father at home to help guide them

[@juliusperseus8612]

@@richborn6700 doesn't mean it's their Fault, But that kind of behavior, is the highly possible consequences of Not having a Masculine figure growing up.

[@littleblackduck3134]

Being raised by a single mother has nothing to do with it., but your bigoted comment is noted

[@toshe67]

pj carlisimo will not survive in the karen, entitled always want to be praised even if they are not doing good players era

[@TheManOfTheHourEveryHour]

Spree still the best Warrior not named Wilt. Don't @ me.

[@DaddyoGambles]

I always thought it was because he called Sprewell the N word🤷🏿‍♂️

[@MrOctober44]

No you didn't. Stop lying

[@DaddyoGambles]

@@MrOctober44 just so you know I’m a warriors that grew up in the Bay Area I lived in Oakland at the time it happened. 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@DaddyoGambles]

@@MrOctober44 so yea. You probably wasn’t even born yet🤦🏿‍♂️

[@DaddyoGambles]

@@MrOctober44 it’s always someone online that think they know something 😂😂😂

[@JezuzIsLord]

Sprewell was so overrated. Good player but overrated.

[@0401412740]

NBA basketball is trash. Unprofessional players.

[@w.j.walkersr.6684]

I knew he lost that fight to Kersey!