A FanDuel Sports Network North camera operator got closer than they wanted to a brawl Sunday night between the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Early in the second quarter, Minnesota’s Naz Reid drove to the basket and got fouled by Pistons forward Ron Holland. Reid walked over to Holland and the two started jawing. When Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo tried to push Holland away, he pushed back.
Cue the brawl, as players from both sides joined in the altercation. The growing melee spilled into the area behind the basket. The broadcast cut to a brief, extremely close shot of players fighting, with the camera being knocked around.
Camera operators got an up close and personal view of this fight between the Pistons and Timberwolves, which spilled into the crowd. pic.twitter.com/i3mxNMDld5
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 31, 2025
In the FanDuel Sports Network North booth, play-by-play man Michael Grady and analyst Jim Petersen tried to make sense of the escalating situation.
“Big-time brawl now in the front row! It’s going to take a lot to break this up,” Grady said.
“You’ve got to stay out of the crowd, this is not good,” Petersen said.
The broadcast cut to a great overhead shot as players continued to scuffle.
Eventually, order was restored. DiVincenzo, Reid, Holland, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser, Pistons head coach J. B. Bickerstaff and T-Wolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni were ejected.
And hopefully, the camera operator is OK. No one goes to work expecting to be involved in a wild altercation like that.