The rivalry between the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics peaked during the 2016-17 season. The rivalry would have two “Funeral Games” and an epic seven-game playoff series. But, an on-court incident between John Wall and Jae Crowder ignited the rivalry.
Wall and Crowder got into a face-to-face altercation during the conclusion of a Jan. 11, 2017 game. The two exchanged words, Crowder would point his finger at Wall’s nose before the Wizards point guard slapped it away, sparking a barb-exchanging melee that spilled into the locker room area.
Speaking to former teammate Jason Smith on Wizards Classics, Wall recounted the incident with Crowder on Facebook Live.
“Then he touches my nose. I’m like, ‘no, nobody is about to touch my nose. So I gave him a little smack and he was like, ‘we can meet in the back. So I went to the back like, okay, there’s nothing but curtains stopping us back here.”
John Wall / Washington Wizards
Both Wall and Crowder met up with both their Wizards and Celtics teammates meeting up. Luckily, the situation didn’t escalate further, but Boston police arrived to help defuse the incident. Both players were fined stemming from the incident.
“From that point forward I was like, you know what, this is the rivalry,” Wall added.
From there, the Wizards would orchestrate the first “Funeral Game” wearing all black ahead of their final meeting in Washington two weeks later.
The two would meet in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, going a full seven games with the home team winning all seven games. Unfortunately, the Wizards were on the short end of the stick.
The rivalry was so intense that all four games the following season were shown on national television. However, the rivalry lost its luster as Boston traded Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder along with Ante Zizic and two draft picks to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a Kyrie Irving in the summer of 2017.
