Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort went full enforcer mode Tuesday night against a rookie, and the optics were absolutely chaotic.
The sixth-year guard got into a heated scuffle with New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears after the final buzzer. The tension between them began with a hard foul, escalated into an on-court brawl, and spilled into the tunnel with heated trash talk.
Thunder’s Lu Dort Warns Rookie Jeremiah Fears in Tunnel
The altercation erupted after regulation in Oklahoma City’s 104-95 win. Fears collected an offensive rebound off a Herb Jones three-pointer during garbage time. The rookie went up for a layup and had contact with Dort. That’s when things got spicy.
Dort immediately shoved Fears in the chest. The rookie got in Dort’s face right back. With the back and forth, it turned into a shoving match with so much trash talk that followed through the tunnel. It has been more than two days since the brawl, but nobody knew what they were saying until now.
Lip readers decoded the exchange between them, and it showcased neither the veteran nor the rookie was in any mood to back down. Dort fired the first verbal shot, warning, “Watch out, don’t f— with me!”
Fears wasn’t having it. He dropped an f-bomb without hesitation. Security had to physically restrain the Oklahoma product all the way to the locker room. Even Zion Williamson stepped in to calm down his young teammate, but nobody was done talking.
What Lu Dort Really Said To Jeremiah Fears👀:
Dort: “Watch out, don’t f*ck with me!”
Fears: “F*ck you”
Security tried to intervene, but Fears kept going:
Fears: “Let me go”
Security: “I’m not letting you go… go to the locker room”
Then, Zion said: “Fears! Walk with me” pic.twitter.com/oM1JAhVwSh
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) January 30, 2026
“Let me go,” Fears demanded as security held him back. Lip readers also decoded the conversation between the rookie and the securities. “I’m not letting you go… go to the locker room,” they told the rookie.
That’s when Williamson stepped in and ordered, “Fears! Walk with me.” Even that wasn’t enough. Fears continued jawing at Dort while being escorted away. Staff members struggled to contain the former Oklahoma Sooner all the way to the locker room.
The two teams don’t play again during the regular season. Fears and Dort will have to wait until next year for round two. But it feels unlikely that they will continue next time, as both players were slapped with a $25,000 penalty. For now, the NBA has tried to settle their bad blood by matching fines.
