Matt Barnes shares the 1 NBA fine he regrets
May 6, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Matt Barnes (22) walking into the arena before the game between the Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors in game three of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Barnes was known for being a tough guy and fierce competitor on the court, which often led to him getting fined by the league. The 43-year-old recently shared which fine he received that he really regrets.
Barnes was a guest on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back” last week and expressed regret over his incident with James Harden’s mom.
In 2015, Barnes’ Los Angeles Clippers were facing the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. Harden’s mother Monja Willis was talking trash to Barnes from her courtside seats for Game 2 of the series. Barnes, who was unaware the woman was Harden’s mother, said something back to her that was inappropriate.
Barnes reportedly said something extremely vulgar and ended up apologizing.
During his interview with “Run It Back,” Barnes admitted that situation was “crazy.”
“She was talking reckless. She said some things that I was just like, ‘there’s no way there’s a woman’s voice saying this to me.’ … If I would have known it was his mom, I probably wouldn’t have said what I said. But that was a big one. That was like 50 or 60 thousand,” Barnes said of his fine.
Barnes was fined $50,000 by the league for the incident, which was the largest fine of his career. Prior to that, the most he had been fined was $25,000.
Even though he’s no longer playing, Barnes has continued to make headlines over his behavior.
Here is a video clip of the interview:
“She was talking reckless to me… I mouthed something that I probably shouldn’t of mouthed if I would’ve known it was his Mom, I probably wouldn’t of said what I said” 💀@Matt_Barnes22 on his hefty fine for talking back to James Harden’s Mom during the playoffs #RunItBack pic.twitter.com/0Ie5tu2XDl
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) June 7, 2023