Richard Jefferson is no small dude by any stretch of the imagination, but did he really throw hands with the infamous Kenyon Martin.
The Cleveland Cavaliers reminisced recently with Max Resetar of SLAM Magazine about his time with the New Jersey Nets, and a crazy story detailing the fight he had with Martin, his former Nets teammate.
Jefferson says it all started with some trash talk between him and Bonzi Wells.
My rookie year, we had gone on a west coast road trip. We had gotten off to a really, really good start that year. We had lost four in a row on that west coast road trip.
Towards the end of the game, me and Bonzi Wells are kinda getting into it. Kenyon’s at the bottom of the free throw line and the referee tells Kenyon, ‘Tell your rookie to be quiet because I don’t wanna have to give him a technical this late into the game.’ Kenyon tells me, ‘Hey Richard, be quiet.’ Bonzi Wells goes, ‘Yeah! Listen to Kenyon and shut up.’ I just lose it. I’m like, ‘F, Bonzi! And F you too, Kenyon!’
The story is hilarious, and you can pretty much sum up where it went from there.
Things escalated quickly per Jefferson:
I go and sit down, I’m mad, pissed off. I’m sitting down and Kenyon comes in the locker room pissed off. I stand up and he pushes me down in my seat. We have a full-on fist fight. The only thing that saved me is Aaron Williams, and you remember how big he was, grabbed him from the back to try to calm him down. My last swing hits Aaron Williams in his lip and busts his lip open. At that point in time, I realize what is going on. I have no problem fighting Kenyon. Aaron? I don’t want any piece of Williams.
Jefferson went on to say that the fight brought him and Martin closer.