Sometimes, emotions on the court go far beyond basketball. We’ve seen it before: Malice at the Palace remains the most infamous example. But there was also the Knicks-Nuggets brawl in 2006 and even Marcus Camby charging at Danny Ferry years earlier. Or Shaq swinging at Miller! And it is these little moments of heat that have real consequences! Ron Artest missed an entire season because of his part in Detroit. And back in 2002, another wild moment unfolded when the Golden State Warriors clashed with the Portland Trail Blazers in Oakland.

That night was electric. The Blazers barely edged out the Warriors 113-111, thanks to Rasheed Wallace’s last-second shot. But before officials could review it, chaos broke out. Chris Mills and Bonzi Wells started jawing under the basket. One shove turned into many. Jason Richardson and others rushed in. Replays showed Richardson throwing a punch, while someone even grabbed a folding chair. Fans started hurling things. Rasheed almost went into the stands. The game was over, but the fight had just begun.

Fast forward to today: Jason Richardson recently joined Podcast P with Paul George and revisited that insane night. “That was a wild night, man,” Richardson recalled, painting the scene like it happened yesterday. “We all running out there, and he was trying to break stuff up. And I seen Ruben coming. I seen Gilbert grabbing the chair like it’s going crazy, right?” He stated. He described how only a few rookies stayed on the court as things escalated. Then came the locker room drama.

“Y’all let them m— —n little rookies out there that got my back. Now y’all better not say nothing to me.,” Mills shouted, furious with teammates who left him hanging. Richardson revealed that Mills didn’t even get in the shower and got fully clothed and left. But the real madness happened after the game. Richardson said, “We all we see is a six low rider in a black suburban.” That suburb blocked their bus from leaving. For nearly two hours, the bus was stuck in the tunnel. Mills reportedly shouted threats at Bonzi, demanding he get off. Inside the bus, players debated whether to fight or flee.

Even Zach Randolph wanted off, but when told there might be guns involved, things got real. “So for an hour and a half, it’s stuck in the tunnel. Then they finally have to get the police escort to move Chris Mills. They go to the exit where the airport is and block the bus off for another hour,” Richardson remembered.

Eventually, police had to escort Mills away. Still, the damage was done. Richardson, Bonzi Wells, and others were fined. Back then, speaking on the suspension, Richardson said, “If it happens, it happens.” Sources at the time claimed that Mills was held back from entering the Blazers’ locker room. What started as a buzzer-beater win turned into one of the wildest nights in NBA history, a thin line between competition and chaos.

Chris Mills and Rasheed Wallace’s roles in the infamous bus blockade

Years after the infamous Warriors-Blazers altercation, Gilbert Arenas recently peeled back the curtain on just how wild things got, especially off the court. Speaking on @underdogfantasy’s podcast, Arenas didn’t hold back. “It’s the one nobody ever heard about,” he said. “It was the Golden State versus The Trailblazers. It was kind of like the malice at the palace.”

But the chaos didn’t stop with the final whistle. Arenas recalled the surreal escalation that followed: “This is the infamous story of when they blocked the bus from leaving. Chris Mills wanted that smoke.” What happened next felt straight out of a movie. “They went on the freeway and all his boys stopped it on the freeway, trenchcoats, black trenchcoats come out, what’s happening? Get off the bus, m———– knocking on the window.”

The moment that really stuck with Arenas wasn’t just the confrontation, it was the leadership, or lack of it. “Mo Cheeks look back there, ‘Hey Bonzi what you gonna do?’” he mimicked, highlighting the absurdity of the coach turning to Bonzi Wells to take charge in the middle of a street standoff.

For Arenas, this wasn’t just a brawl, it was an underground chapter of NBA history. One that the players like him never forgot. And now with Richardson filling in the gaps, it really shows just how absurd the whole situation was.