Why Did Mo Bamba Try to Choke Out Austin Rivers and Throw Punches in Fight After Running Off the Bench?

NBA fights happen all the time, but it’s not often you see actual punches being thrown. It’s also not everyday that you see a player running off the bench to fight another player then ending up putting them in a chokehold. Mo Bamba and Austin Rivers managed to make NBA history in way they probably didn’t want to.

Why Did Mo Bamba Almost Choke Out Austin Rivers?

As you’ll see in the scary footage below Mo Bamba left the Magic bench to exchange punches with Austin Rivers. He was literally fighting still wearing his warm-ups. Things went left for Rivers when Jalen Suggs threw him to the ground. With his back turned to his initial attacker, Mo Bamba began choking Austin Rivers with an MMA style headlock.

That went on for several moments until officials and other teammates were able to separate the two. Austin Rivers’ face and neck were noticeably red most likely from the lack of oxygen he had for a few moments. 5 players were ejected for the scuffle.

Judging from how it went down Mo Bamba is likely facing a significant suspension along with a hefty fine. He broke the rule of not leaving the bench, and also threw punches. It’s not clear what had him so heated, but Rivers appeared to say something before he went crazy and charged him.

Over the past two days it seems like NBA is having an unofficial fight week. We saw Donovan Mitchell and Dillon Brooks go at it yesterday. These two incidents are the closest to real fights on the NBA hardwood that we have seen in the past year.