Brooklyn Nets centre Nic Claxton will probably never forget Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors.
…But probably not for the reasons he’d like.
Midway through the second quarter, Claxton drove to the Raptors’ hoop. He was fouled in the process by Toronto’s Kelly Olynyk before he could get a shot off.
Most NBA fans wouldn’t think twice about seeing this kind of foul occur in a game, but it was what happened afterward that made it a memorable one.
Claxton lobbed the ball straight into the Scotiabank Arena crowd with an underhand motion, seemingly making no effort to really stop his forward momentum.
Nic Claxton gets ejected for throwing the ball into the stands. 👀 pic.twitter.com/tMXj489pma
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 20, 2024
Claxton was immediately ejected on the play and was eventually escorted off the court by a member of the Nets staff. He appeared quite incensed with the call and appeared to grab one of the seat cushions off of the visitors’ bench before eventually heading to the locker room.
He was also assessed a technical foul on the play, though the initial foul call against Toronto also stood.
The Raptors led the Nets by a 31-29 score at the time of the play. At halftime, the Nets carried a 52-46 lead, so they clearly weren’t all that shaken by the ejection.
We’ll be sure to hear more about the play postgame from Nets coach Jordi Fernandez, with the Canadian Olympic coach working his first game in Toronto following the 2024 Paris Olympics.