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"I'm smooth criminal moonwalking out of there" - Brendan Haywood recalls his brawl with Antonio Davis
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- "I'm smooth criminal moonwalking out of there" - Brendan Haywood recalls his brawl with Antonio Davis
Antonio Davis was one of those guys you didn't want to mess with during his 90s peak. He made his mark with his physical play and was known for never backing down from anyone.
Brandon Haywood apparently missed the memo. Or more like, he knew who he was dealing with and decided to test his luck anyway. Either way, his encounter with Davis involved Haywood doing his best Michael Jackson impression out there, although not for the reasons you'd expect.
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Haywood vs. Davis
Haywood was a solid big man during his 13-year NBA career. A remnant of Michael Jordan's stint with the Washington Wizards , he made a living using his 7-foot, 260-pound frame to protect the rim and grab rebounds.
However, there is a huge difference between being big and being someone who could manhandle another person. Davis belonged in the latter category.
Meanwhile, Haywood wasn't exactly known as a guy who went out of his way to look for trouble, but somehow, at the back of his mind, he had to. Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan handpicked him to be the team's enforcer. Jordan wanted to revamp the team's identity, and "Baby Huey" had to be in the middle of it.
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And so, in a 2004-05 preseason game, Haywood saw a chance to establish himself as the enforcer. Wizards shooting guard Larry Hughes fouled Kirk Hinrich on a fastbreak play that triggered a little melee. Haywood pushed Hinrich, and all hell was about to break loose.
"After I do that, I feel somebody pushed me up my back," Haywood recalled on "Tallest Tales." "I turn around and it's Antonio Davis. Now, if you don't know, Antonio Davis ain't miss no days in the weight room. About 6'9", 6'10", all muscle. But I can't back down, because I'm the enforcer."
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This is the part when Brendan knew he bit off more than he could chew.
"All of a sudden, Antonio Davis, after he pushed me in my back, I start pointing in his face… So, Antonio Davis, after I did this, he kind of pushed my hand off. POW!" Haywood continued, imitating the slapping sound. "It's not the full five fingers, but it's enough. You know a grown man says, punch me, don't slap me. If you slap me, you think I'm soft… The slap was not well thought out."
After his hand connected, Davis turned into the Incredible Hulk as far as Haywood remembered. He moved an official out of the way and went straight at the Wizards center.
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"Now, I'm backpedaling. I'm moonwalking. I'm smooth criminal moonwalking the hell out of there, because I got long arms. I need some space, so I can get this punch off because he's trying to rush me," Haywood stated.
Unfortunately for Brendan, it didn't turn out the way he imagined.
"I cocked back because, in my mind, I'm still the enforcer and I'm about to knock Antonio Davis' block off. But I'm not really a fighter, so I missed. After I missed, this man scooped me and I fell straight to the ground. BOOM! And I look up, he's looking at me… He's cocking back; he's about to do me dirty. It's about to be a wrap. This pretty face might look different because he's about to get about three to four good ones and it would be nothing I can do," he admitted.
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Michael Ruffin saved the day
Fortunately for Haywood, Michael Ruffin was nearby. His Wizards teammate immediately grabbed Davis' arms, preventing him from teeing off on Brendan's face.
"He was at the right place at the right time and he saved from what would have definitely been despair at the hands of Antonio Davis… He stopped that punch from getting off and then he locks up Antonio Davis. Eventually, they break up the fight and that's the end of it right there," the former UNC Tar Heel said.
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According to Haywood, he and Davis never talked or patched things up, but they saw each other during players' conferences, and everything was good. It was a heat-of-the-moment type of thing, and in Haywood's case, perhaps he just took the enforcer thing too seriously.
That said, besides the hilarious and graphic detail, the best part about the whole thing for a hoops fan was the intensity displayed in a meaningless game. Guys literally tore each other's heads off in preseason. The Rick Fox-Doug Christie situation and the Charles Oakley-Charles Barkley fight happened when none of those minutes officially mattered.
But while the games didn't count in the standings, that hardly seemed to matter when emotions, and apparently job descriptions, were involved. Unfortunately for Haywood, Davis had considerably more experience in that department.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
