When discussing the spouse of an NBA player who does not back away from a fight to defend her husband, who comes to your mind? If your top choice is Lily Batum, then you are certainly onto something! Over the last decade, ever since she has been married to French basketball star Nicolas Batum, she has been one of the most vocal spouses on X (or Twitter) to promote Batum, hit back at his critics, or to voice her displeasure over certain things occurring in the NBA she did not agree with. Therefore, she certainly wasn’t going to just stay silent after a fan made an ‘outrageous’ demand.

Nicolas Batum had played for the Los Angeles Clippers between 2020 and 2023 before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He later returned to LA for the 2024-25 season. Fans thought that the player might be looking for another change, as ESPN’s Shams Charania recently reported that Batum declined his $4.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season to become a free agent. However, as he clarified, “there’s mutual interest between the NBA veteran and the Clippers in a new deal together”, meaning that Batum is not going anywhere for now. However, that still did not stop a social media user from writing:

“BATUM U KNOW WE GOT UNFINSHED BUSINESS, LEAVE UR WIFE IN LA AND COME BACK TO  THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF PHILADELPHIA”. It didn’t take long for Lily Batum to reply, and that too with just a one-word answer: “LOL”. Oh, that’s war. Because, from calling a Knicks fan page “soft” for calling Joel Embiid a “bitch a-“, to sending a NFSW message to doubters after Nicolas Batum’s 20-Point Game, Lily ‘Aurélie’ Batum is not someone you should trifle with.

After Nicolas Batum left the 76ers to rejoin the LA Clippers back in July 2024, people were curious to know why. The French player didn’t speak out publicly until November 2024. As Sixers Wire reporter Ky Carlin reported, the player revealed, “Basketball-wise, it was great for me last year. When I got there, I didn’t know what to expect. Basketball, it was a great year, but at the end of the year, at this stage of my career, I need to make the best decision for me. Family-wise, like contract and everything, and which team was—I need to check off the boxes.” Dom Toretto would be proud of that answer.

After spending a little over three seasons with LA before, the trade to Philadelphia meant that his wife and the couple’s two children, Ayden Richard Batum and Nayeli Batum, had to move again right after being settled. However, they stayed back, with the kids continuing to be in school. After 1 season, he returned to LA to be with them, even if it meant his average salary went down from $11.277 million to around $4.785 million. Now, by becoming a free agent, Batum hopes to get a better deal from the team. As NBA reporter Bobby Marks highlighted, the Paris Olympics silver medalist has non-bird rights. This means that the LA Clippers are allowed to start his next contract at $5.6 million (120% of his 2024-25 salary) or use some of their $14.1 million non-tax ML.

Knowing that her husband left the Philadelphia 76ers to be closer to his family again, suggesting the player return is nothing short of ‘outrageous’. Lily Batum continued highlighting her true feelings, writing “Don’t be stupid please 🙄” after a netizen told her to “stop worrying about urself and worry about ur husbands career”, and let him return to Philadelphia. She was kind to those who responded respectfully. For example, after an individual wrote “You know Philly loves your husband”, she responded by saying “Yes, I know. And we will always be grateful for the way you welcomed him 🙏🏼✨”. At the same time, she made it clear that the Philadelphia 76ers were not being considered as an option.

Just because she does not want her husband to return to the Philadelphia 76ers anymore, however, does not mean that she doesn’t care about the people there. This was seen when she came to Joel Embiid’s defense at a time when people would have been too hesitant to take sides.

Nicolas Batum’s wife defended Joel Embiid amid Marcus Hayes incident: “knew what he was doing”

Though Nicolas Batum and Joel Embiid were teammates for only one season, that was still enough for them to form a bond based on mutual admiration. This was seen when Embiid snubbed Team France and instead chose to represent Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. As for the boos and jeers Embiid was going to receive over his decision, Batum highlighted confidence by saying “Hey, I played with him in the (Madison Square) Garden. He’s used to it”. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise when even Lily came out to defend Joel Embiid at a time of need. But there was something from the Batum family.

Back in November 2024, a shocking incident occurred when the 76ers’ star shoved Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes during a confrontation in the locker room. The incident occurred after Embiid confronted the reporter in the locker room, and highlighted being offended by a column Hayes wrote that mentioned the player’s late brother and son. The column also had Hayes questioning Embiid’s professionalism and criticized him for not being in shape after the Paris Olympics.

Taking to X, Lily Batum wrote her opinion in French. When translated, it said “Going after a player by bringing up a deceased loved one and being surprised by the reaction… Come on! The journalist knew what they were doing. Violence solves nothing, but some people should avoid pushing others onto that ground. #FreeEmbiid”. Woah!

As the negotiation between Nicolas Batum and the Clippers continues, we know this won’t be the last time we hear from this fiery spirit. If a fight erupts on her feed, then we’d better come prepared with some popcorn.