The Punch That Changed the NBA: Kermit Washington and Rudy Tomjanovich

[00:00:00] On December 9, 1977, the LA Lakers were taking on the Houston Rockets when a scuffle broke out and Lakers' quote enforcer Kermit Washington threw one of the hardest punches in all of sports when he hit Rudy Tomjanovich, changing the course of both their careers forever and changing the NBA, becoming less like hockey, which caused it to become more mainstream, become one of the most profitable

[00:00:29] leagues in the world. Today we're going to dive into how this all happened in the aftermath on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge. And today's trivia question is, how much was Kermit Washington fined after the punch, which was the largest fine up to that point? So to kind of understand the punch as they

[00:01:04] call it happened, you have to understand how the NBA was back in the 1970s. It was not the game that we have today. And back then, the game was a lot more like hockey, you actually had enforcers, and they were called that. There was actually magazine and articles like ranking who was the best enforcer, who was the most intimidating guy on the floor. And you always had a guy on the floor that would stand up for your stars. They ever got a hard foul or someone got in their face. You had one guy that would have NBA

[00:01:34] skill, but also be a mean guy that would possibly throw a punch or take a punch or be involved in a fight. And this didn't bode well for the NBA because it wasn't a good product. People wanted to watch a sport and not see fighting. Even though people that love hockey love the fighting aspect of it, most people do. Basketball wanted a different kind of feel. Hockey, you know, was more of a rugged type of game. Basketball was actually created because they wanted more of a gentle game. It was created

[00:02:04] for older. It was created to be inside and to be easier on the body. And eventually, you got great athletes and they got stronger and stronger and stronger and these athletes went at each other. And then in the 1970s, the LA Lakers weren't what they were today. They were struggling to find an identity as Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain have retired and they just traded for Kareem, but they didn't have other players around him to support his greatness. He won his first MVP with the Lakers.

[00:02:33] Despite the team having a losing record. That's how good he was and how bad the team was. And the Houston Rockets were in a similar situation. They were struggling to find their way too. They had recently moved from San Diego to Houston and were struggling to find their way. And in 1976 was the first time they actually made the playoffs. So both these teams were on the rise and trying to make a name for themselves.

[00:02:58] And in 1977, the Lakers had an enforcer on their team named Kermit Washington. And yes, it's weird to think of an enforcer named Kermit because when we think of Kermit, we only think of a green frog that sings songs about rainbows.

[00:03:12] And it just shows a different time because now it's very rare to see someone named Kermit.

[00:03:17] But he grew up in Washington, D.C. in a challenging environment where his family struggled economically.

[00:03:21] But he found success in school and on the basketball court.

[00:03:25] And he was able to take that success and go to college at American University where he became one of the greatest NCAA basketball players,

[00:03:34] averaging 20 points and 20 rebounds for his entire career.

[00:03:39] One of the few players to ever do so.

[00:03:41] And his success in college led him to be the fifth overall pick by the L.A. Lakers in the 1973 draft.

[00:03:47] And he was known especially for his defensive prowess and his rebounding ability.

[00:03:51] And also that he had a mean streak.

[00:03:54] He could be that enforcer type on the basketball court.

[00:03:57] And the Rockets had an all-star in Rudy Tomjanovic, who grew up in an immigrant community in a small city in Michigan.

[00:04:04] And eventually would attend Michigan University, where he became an accomplished basketball player,

[00:04:09] averaging a double-double throughout his career, 25 points and 14 rebounds.

[00:04:13] And was named an All-American in 1970.

[00:04:16] He would be selected second overall in the 1970 NBA draft by the San Diego Rockets.

[00:04:22] Where he made his first all-star game, he would go on a streak, making three consecutive all-star games.

[00:04:26] He was known for his scoring, his rebounding, and his leadership on the court.

[00:04:31] And these two players' lives officially changed on December 9th, 1977.

[00:04:37] Like I mentioned before, both these teams were fighting to find their way as a team in the Western Conference.

[00:04:42] And coming into the game, they were each battling for the bottom half of the playoff.

[00:04:47] The Rockets were 10-13, and the Lakers were 9-15.

[00:04:50] And the Rockets were led by Rudy, John Lucas, and Moses Malone, who we covered on a previous episode.

[00:04:57] And the Lakers really just had Kareem Aldo Jabbar on their team.

[00:05:01] No one else at that time made a significant impact during their time with the Lakers.

[00:05:06] And the game was competitive throughout.

[00:05:07] It was a back-and-forth game.

[00:05:09] And at halftime, the Rockets led by 2, 57-55.

[00:05:14] But it was a hard-fart first quarter, which led tensions throughout.

[00:05:17] And in the third quarter, Rockets center Kevin Knurt secured a rebound following a miss from Kareem.

[00:05:23] And Kermit Washington became entangled in a physical altercation while fighting for the ball,

[00:05:28] and was contacted by an elbow.

[00:05:30] Tensions escalated, and Kareem actually came to take Knurt off of Washington to try to de-escalate the situation.

[00:05:38] And Rudy came running in to do the same.

[00:05:41] But Kermit's mind saw Rudy coming in to continue the fight.

[00:05:45] And while Rudy was running full speed to stop this, Kermit reared back and threw a punch.

[00:05:51] Now, the video of this, you really don't see the scuffle that happens before.

[00:05:55] It pans over as the scuffle is starting to end.

[00:05:58] And you see Rudy running in and get the punch from Kermit.

[00:06:02] So it paints Kermit in a bad situation.

[00:06:04] And we covered the malice at the palace.

[00:06:06] It's kind of a similar situation where tensions are high, and you just really are throwing a punch.

[00:06:10] And you have to understand that Kermit was 6'8", 230 pounds.

[00:06:16] He was a big man.

[00:06:18] And Rudy essentially had the same size.

[00:06:20] These were two ginormous people in physical peak.

[00:06:23] NBA players are some of the most athletic players in the world.

[00:06:27] Now, they're not great fighters because of their length, but it doesn't mean they don't have power and strength.

[00:06:32] And when you see this punch, Rudy's head snaps back and he immediately goes down to the floor.

[00:06:37] This punch left Rudy unconscious, and there was a pool of blood starting to form under his head.

[00:06:43] The medical staff that was there immediately got him stable as much as they could to take him to the emergency room.

[00:06:48] He had suffered from a fractured skull, a broken jaw, a broken nose, and had spinal fluid leaking in his brain.

[00:06:57] The doctor at the hospital told Rudy that the next 48 hours are going to be serious.

[00:07:02] They're going to decide whether you live or die.

[00:07:05] Rudy was obviously scared.

[00:07:07] And Kermit was ejected from the game.

[00:07:08] And the game did go on to finish, unlike the Malice at the Palace, where the Rockets actually won the game 116-205.

[00:07:15] Where the leading scorer of the entire game was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 32 points.

[00:07:18] But the game didn't matter.

[00:07:20] What mattered was Rudy and would he survive this incredible moment.

[00:07:24] It was touch and go there for a while, but he did eventually make it through.

[00:07:28] And the weirdest thing was him saying afterwards he could taste the spinal fluid in his mouth after the fight.

[00:07:34] Something that is very rare to even happen.

[00:07:37] This was a serious thing and was life-threatening.

[00:07:40] But Rudy was determined to make it back to the court.

[00:07:43] He fought his way back.

[00:07:44] He worked through rehab.

[00:07:45] He wore one of the first masks that we've seen NBA players wear when they have a broken nose or something broken on their face.

[00:07:53] He wore one of those, which is a very scary look because it's very primitive looking.

[00:07:57] But he wouldn't play the remainder of the season, which is sad.

[00:08:00] He did his streak of being an All-Star and it really ended his career.

[00:08:03] The next season he came back and played 74 games.

[00:08:05] He did pretty good, averaging 19 points and 7 rebounds.

[00:08:09] And was voted into the All-Star game for the last time.

[00:08:12] But the following two seasons, he would quickly decline due to health issues and trauma.

[00:08:18] He couldn't be the same player.

[00:08:19] Always on edge.

[00:08:21] Always worried.

[00:08:22] It was a challenge.

[00:08:23] After the game, Kermit Washington was suspended 60 games.

[00:08:26] And the NBA wanted to make an example out of him.

[00:08:28] This would be the last game he would play for the LA Lakers as they would trade him the next season to the Boston Celtics.

[00:08:33] Where he played for one year, bounced over to the San Diego Clippers, and finished his career with the Portland Trail Blazers.

[00:08:39] Where he actually had his best season.

[00:08:41] In 1980, he was named an All-Star.

[00:08:43] He was a two-time defensive second-team player.

[00:08:45] But this really tarnished his image.

[00:08:47] He would fight to end this image throughout his life.

[00:08:50] And get involved in charity work after he retired from the NBA.

[00:08:53] And we would be involved in Project Contact Africa to improve healthcare in underserved communities.

[00:09:00] But sadly, he would get into legal troubles where he was caught embezzling from his charity.

[00:09:05] And he was sentenced to six years at federal prison in 2018.

[00:09:08] But Rudy, he didn't let the fact that this injury ended his career over time.

[00:09:13] He took it, and he became a coach.

[00:09:16] And he became a great coach.

[00:09:17] As he would join the Rockets as a coach.

[00:09:20] And lead them to two back-to-back NBA championships with Hakeem Olajuwon.

[00:09:24] And he would go on to win a gold medal with the U.S. team being their head coach.

[00:09:29] In 2000 at the Sydney Games.

[00:09:31] And is also a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

[00:09:33] And the NBA took this as a moment to change their culture.

[00:09:38] They did not want to be seen as the fighting culture.

[00:09:40] There was already boxing.

[00:09:41] They didn't need that in their game.

[00:09:43] So they made some significant changes.

[00:09:45] As in, there was harsher penalties if there was a fight.

[00:09:48] There was an automatic ejection.

[00:09:49] Whether you landed a punch or not.

[00:09:52] If you were involved in it.

[00:09:53] And there would be fines for physical altercations.

[00:09:56] As Kermit was fined $10,000 at the time.

[00:09:59] Which was the highest financial penalty that had ever been issued up to that point.

[00:10:02] The following year they would also add a third NBA referee to the game.

[00:10:08] Helping monitor the on-court action to help prevent fights from escalating.

[00:10:12] And these changes lessened the physicality of the game.

[00:10:14] And helped grow the game even more.

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[00:10:49] And did you catch the answer to today's trivia question?

[00:10:52] How much was Kermit Washington fined after the punch?

[00:10:55] Which was the largest fine up to that point in the NBA.

[00:10:58] And the answer is.

[00:11:01] He was fined $10,000 in 1977 for this incident.

[00:11:06] And suspended 60 games.