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“I’m gonna kill you motherf—ker” - Lip reader reveals what was really said during Hornets-Pistons brawl
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- “I’m gonna kill you motherf—ker” - Lip reader reveals what was really said during Hornets-Pistons brawl
Full-blown fights rarely happen in the NBA. With the harsh penalties that await those who engage in violent acts, which include severe five-figure fines that hit NBA athletes where it hurts the most — their bank accounts — it's no wonder players think twice before putting their fists up.
However, given how physical the NBA game is, it's unsurprising when emotions boil over and the physicality escalates to intolerable levels, which was exactly what happened during the clash between the Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets .
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A renowned lip reader recently took a stab at deciphering the verbal exchange between the players involved in the altercation and the findings were quite revealing.
The face palm that triggered it all
Tensions were already high between Pistons center Jalen Duren and his Hornets counterpart Moussa Diabate , as they battled over position all game long. However, things took a different turn when Duren dared Diabate to keep up physically, saying , "Try me." Diabate responded by fouling Duren as he went to the basket, and the two went chest-to-chest.
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Duren then escalated the confrontation when he said, "You are a b—ch," to Diabate before facepalming him. That's when things got really heated as Diabate retaliated by throwing a punch that missed. With bad intentions, he chased Duren down, saying, "I'm gonna kill you, motherf—er!"
Things went from bad to worse when Miles Bridges joined the fray and said, "Aight, watch this" before throwing a left straight at Duren's face. Upon seeing this, the Pistons' backup center, Isaiah Stewart , rushed the court to get at Bridges. Fortunately, a sea of coaches, teammates and arena staff managed to separate the two and keep the brouhaha from getting out of hand.
Pistons All-Star Cade Cunningham , though, wasn't pleased with Stewart, who was trying to break free and go at Bridges, and told him, "You're not doing that."
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Remorse from Diabate
Speaking to the media after the unsavory incident, Diabate expressed remorse for his actions. He explained that while hoops is a physical sport, fighting should never be part of it, and he regretted what he did on Monday night.
"I want to say sorry to the fans, to the organization. Obviously, it's not a reflection of who I am, and you know it definitely shouldn't be a part of our sport today. We here to play basketball, not fight, and yeah, so definitely not going to happen again. And on that part, I mean obviously learning from it, will not let it happen again," the young Frenchman stated .
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Diabate said he and Duren were going back and forth throughout the game, which was fine. However, it was the facepalm that he took exception to.
"When he put his hand on my face, I think that's when I kind of lost control of it. Obviously, it shouldn't have happened, I said, but yeah, that's pretty much what happened," he added. "It's basketball. We competitors. We playing a game and we trying to play that 100%. And emotions is going to get involved sometimes."
The NBA has yet to announce the sanctions to be imposed on the erring players. However, many expect them to be severe, as the NBA has undoubtedly maintained a zero-tolerance policy on on-court altercations.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
