P.J. Washington is sick and tired of the “Fire Nico” chants. Spencer Dinwiddie and Naji Marshall both also reacted at the time of the exchange between Washington and a fan after the bad loss to the Philadelphia 76’ers Sunday.
The vibes are not alright in Dallas.
It all culminated during and after the game against the Philadelphia 76’ers, when a fan yelled “Fire Nico” while Washington was shooting free throws. “Shut your ass up” Washington responded. Apparently, Naji Marshall also looked at the fan and said something, and Spencer Dinwiddie seemed to show annoyance at the chant, as well.
Then, in the post-game press conference, Washington was asked about the episode and said:
“At the end of the day, the trade happened. We understand we have a new team now. All that “Fire Nico” stuff, we’re sick and tired of hearing it. We just want to go out there and play and we need the fans to support us no matter who’s on the floor. That’s just how I feel about it.”
PJ Washington on fans chanting "Fire Nico!" while shooting his FTs:
"At the end of the day, the trades happened. We understand we have a new team now. All that "Fire Nico" stuff, we're sick & tired of hearing it. We just want to go out there and play & we need the fans support…
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) March 16, 2025
And in all honesty, no one can blame Washington for being frustrated. He’s trying to make the best of a bad situation, one he didn’t choose and which may look so dire to the team right now that it’s hard to find the motivation to show up every day.
On the other hand, the fans need to be able to voice their unhappiness with the situation. Could the timing have been better? Yes. But the fans pay money to watch games, to see these players on the court. They don’t owe them anything. Just like the players don’t owe the fans anything.
The guy yelling “Fire Nico” may just have caught Washington on one of the worst days during one of the worst losses, however. Losing to an extremely depleted 76’ers team is embarrassing. His anger may just have been a little misplaced in the moment, a very excusable act.
But at the end of the day, people have to understand that this is a job for these players - as opposed to the fans. You show up, you do your best and if you’re lucky you’re surrounded by cool people. But you also go home, get traded, move cities.
For fans, this is personal. It’s passion, it’s their hobby, their free time has been planned around this team for years. Their joy on rainy days, their distraction from the often tedious lives of normal people, this is not a temporary, half-hearted thing for them. Someone pulled the rug from under them from one day to the other.
The word fandom derives from fan, a baseball slang abbreviation of fanatic, which comes from the Latin fanaticus, meaning “mad, or inspired by a god.”
All over the world, people support their favorite team, player or artist. The inspiration, joy and passion they get from that leaves them “mad” or like they’re “inspired by a god”.
These people are not casuals, they’ve been pouring money into this franchise for years, buying merchandise every season, arranging their social lives around games, waiting patiently during long periods of time when the team was bad for a time when eventually, hopefully, a good team would be built.
Because with Luka Dončić as their franchise player, it was just a matter of time, right? It would happen eventually that a Luka-led team would go all the way, they told each other, and everyone nodded, knowing that Luka Dončić was the solution to the problem. Whatever problem you had.
And then, their hope, their light on dreary days, the joy of their fandom, was ripped away from them from one day to the other. No warning, no rumors, no valid reasoning, no real explanation.
Can you blame them for acting a little crazy? I don’t mean to sound like a euro here, but if you realized what kinds of things fans yell to players, coaches and management on a weekly basis in Europe, you’d know that this would be an easy day at the park there. Not condoning that either, by the way.
My point is that P.J. Washington complaining about Mavs fans is frustration pointed at the wrong place.
Owners, management, the GM can sit back, relieved, watching players get frustrated with the fans and fans getting frustrated with the players.
But who’s really to blame for this situation?
People in charge created this mess, they’re responsible for the trade, how badly it was handled after, and for what seems like a general low degree of basketball knowledge. The only way to show them how you feel, as fans, the people who they should be trying to make happy, is to hit them where it hurts: the wallet.
You have the power to do something as a group. If you stop going to games, buying merchandise, buying concessions, you’re forcing them to pay attention. Because if there’s one thing rich people care about, it’s money.
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy your team or watch games. I’m not saying the Dallas Mavericks players don’t deserve your support. But I am saying that the owner doesn’t. So, if you really want to make a difference, act.
If you want change, you have to do something different - just like in life.
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