Throughout NBA history, a handful of players have been labeled "enforcers." These guys are the physical, hard-nosed players who do all the dirty work, so to speak, including setting hard screens, committing hard fouls, and basically putting fear in opponents' hearts.
Some of the most notable enforcer-type players in NBA history include Charles Oakley, Bill Laimbeer, and Ron Artest, to name a few.
In this generation of the NBA, however, perhaps the name that first comes to mind when talking about enforcers is Memphis Grizzlies' Isaiah Stewart . Aptly nicknamed "Beef Stew," the 6-foot-8 forward made a name for himself with the Detroit Pistons as a tough, gritty big man who played hard and wasn't afraid to get physical.
He also became known for his tendency to get into on-court altercations, which he says he doesn't feel too bad about.
"I don't have no regrets. I don't care what people may perceive me as. I come and play basketball, and I play the game a certain way," Stewart said in a recent interview with Andscape's Marc J. Spears.
Throughout his seven-year NBA career, Stewart has been involved in several altercations that required teammates to hold him back.
Just last season, Stewart was suspended for seven games after leaving the bench to join a massive brawl between the Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets. Before that, Stewart had already been suspended for six games in 2024-25 for multiple dust-ups with different teams.
Stewart's most notable altercation, however, came in 2021, when he was held back for trying to throw hands with then-Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. James had unintentionally hit Stewart in the face while battling for a rebound, which led to the latter being bloodied. Stewart took offense to this and tried to pick a fight with James . He was ejected and suspended for two games.
"I don't have no regrets. I feel like there's lessons out of everything," Stewart said about his history of getting into fights.
To his credit, Stewart said there are times when he acknowledges he could have handled things differently.
" It has been times where I thought back and say, 'Hey, I shouldn't have done that,'" he added.
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Because of his extensive history of losing his cool, Stewart believes teams have started using that to take him out of his game.
"I feel like teams have it in their game plan of, 'Hey, let's do something to trip him off to get him out the game,'" Stewart explained. "For me, it's hard to respect you as a man if that's your game plan."
When he's on his game, Stewart brings an energy that's hard to match and can spark any team. When he gets frustrated, however, it can become detrimental to him and his team.
During the offseason, the Pistons traded Stewart to the Grizzlies , and so far, he's been fitting in quite nicely.
He's currently putting up 11.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 18.3 minutes over his first seven games, while the Grizzlies have gotten off to a surprising 6-2 start.
More importantly, he hasn't lost his cool and gotten into trouble, at least not yet.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
