On This Date in Sports December 1, 1997
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Tensions rise during practice for the Golden State Warriors as their top player Latrell Sprewell attacks Coach P.J. Carlesimo, who was critical of Sprewell’s passing leading to the incident. After first telling Carlesimo to stay away, Sprewell grabbed the coach by his throat and made a death threat before being separated. Latrell Sprewell returned later and struck Carlesimo in the face. The incident would lead to Sprewell being suspended the remainder of the season.
Born in Milwaukee on September 8, 1970, Latrell Sprewell was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 24th overall pick in the 1992 draft, after playing basketball at the University of Alabama. Spree had an impact right away for the Warriors, starting 69 games as a rookie while averaging 15.4 points per game. A year later, playing alongside Chris Webber, Latrell Sprewell led the NBA in minutes per game, playing all 82 games, with 23.2 ppg as the Warriors won 50 games, but were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. Webber would be traded after his rookie season after a contract dispute sending the Warriors into the abyss for nearly two decades. Despite the struggles, Latrell Sprewell was the team’s lone bright spot, making the All-Star team three times in four years, culminating in 1997 when he had a career-best 24.2 points per game.
The 1997/98 season was a new beginning for the Warriors, who debuted a new logo with new uniforms as the reopened their arena in Oakland, after spending a season in San Jose. The Arena in Oakland had been the Warriors home since 1971 and had undergone a yearlong $121 million renovation, that saw much of the building interior torn down and replaced. Golden State also had a new coach as Rick Adelman was fired after a 30-52 season and replaced by P.J. Carlesimo. Things did not get off to a good start in Golden State as they won just one of their first 14 games, and were coming off a tough 107-100 loss to the Houston Rockets at home when they took part in a morning practice.
The practice altercation, with P.J. Carlesimo, was not an isolated incident for Latrell Sprewell who had several other disturbing run-ins with teammates. In 1993, Sprewell was involved in a practice fight with c. Two years later, Latrell Sprewell fought Jerome Kersey in practice. After the fight, Sprewell returned with a two-by-four and threatened to bring a gun.
The assault on P.J. Carlesimo made national headlines and was a black eye for the NBA and the Golden State Warriors. After initially handing down a ten-game suspension, the NBA decided to ban Latrell Sprewell the remainder of the season. The Warriors meanwhile sought to void the remainder of his contract that would have given him $23.7 million over three seasons. An arbitrator later ruled against Golden State, but upheld the season-long suspension without pay, forcing Latrell Sprewell to miss 68 games. During the suspension, Sprewell faced more trouble when he was sentenced to three months of house arrest after he was charged with a reckless driving in an incident that injures two people.
The Warriors would go on to finish the 1997/98 season with a dreadful record of 19-63. Latrell Sprewell would never play another game for the Golden State Warriors. Sprewell would be traded to the New York Knicks for John Starks, Chris Mills, and Terry Cumming prior to the start of the following season, which did not begin until February due to a lockout. In his first season with New York, Latrell Sprewell played a key role in the Knicks surprise run to the NBA Finals as an eight seed. Meanwhile, he Warriors struggles continued, as P.J. Carlesimo was fired early in the 1999/00 season posting a 46-113 record in parts of three seasons.