NBA Legend Had Words After Heated Danny Ainge Moment
Danny Ainge has a reputation in the NBA as a player and an executive. He helped the Boston Celtics win titles in 1984 and 1986, then helped the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns make the NBA Finals in 1992 and 1993, respectively.
When he took over the Celtics as President of Basketball Operations, he assembled the "Big 3" of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, leading to a title in 2008. He then drafted Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, which led to the Celtics' title in 2024.
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What's not talked about is Ainge's short-lived coaching career. After his playing days ended, Ainge was a coach on the Phoenix Suns from 1996 to 1999. When he was an assistant, there was an infamous incident where Robert Horry threw a towel at Ainge on the bench.
Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge© Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Horry, who won seven titles throughout his NBA career, explained what led up to him throwing the towel at Ainge on The Ringer NBA Show. Horry said it started with Ainge's actions during the 1994 playoff series between the Suns and Houston Rockets.
"Danny Ainge takes the ball out," Horry began. "They're down. We about to win the game. He takes it and throws and hits Mario (Elie) right in the face with the ball. A couple of years later, I get traded, and so we're talking in their hallway, showing us the facilities... and he's like, 'You know I hit Mario in the face on purpose with the ball.'"
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From there, the strain only got worse between Ainge and Horry. The seven-time champion revealed other arguments that only escalated their issues with each other.
"Now, all this animosity is starting to build up," he continued. "We got beat by 40 by Chicago, and we were like, 'Well our offense...' And I was said, '...We keep talking about our offense, man. We got beat by 40. What about our defense?' And then Danny Ainge is like, 'Defense? You the worst defensive player on the team.'"
Horry added that after the Suns traded away multiple players, things came to a head during a game against the Celtics:
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"So we go to Boston. I had three great plays in a row, and all of a sudden, he subs me for Danny Manning. I said, 'Dude, I'm playing good.' He said, 'Man, sit your [expletive] down at the end of the bench.'... I got up, and I said, 'What did you (expletive) say to me?... 'And he said, 'I said go sit-' And I threw the towel in his face and walked down to the end of the bench."
Horry never played another game as a Sun, as he was suspended and then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in January 1997, where he went on to win three more of his seven titles.
Related: Calls Mount for Danny Ainge's Firing After Cooper Flagg News
Related: Former Lakers Player Sends Controversial Message After Jayson Tatum Injury
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