UPDATE (June 6, 12:00 p.m. EST): The “fan” who shoved and cursed at Kyle Lowry during Game 3 has been identified as Warriors part owner Mark Stevens, reports Axios‘ Ina Fried.
Stevens, a billionaire venture capitalist, joined the Warriors’ ownership team in 2013 after Vivek Ranadive bought the Kings.
Another angle of the fan pushing Kyle Lowry @NBATV pic.twitter.com/NG6odI0kCp
— Board Man Gets Paid (@cjzero) June 6, 2019
On Thursday, the Warriors announced that Stevens will not be attending any more Finals games after his “unfortunate misconduct.”
The NBA and Warriors are investigating the incident.
Mr. Stevens’ behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization. We’re extremely disappointed in his actions and, along with Mr. Stevens, offer our sincere apology to Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors organization for this unfortunate misconduct. There is no place for such interaction between fans—or anyone—and players at an NBA game.
Mr. Stevens will not be in attendance at any of the remaining games of the 2019 NBA Finals. Review of this matter is ongoing.
UPDATE (June 6, 1:00 p.m. EST): In an Instagram post on Thursday, LeBron James called for the League to take “swift action” against Stevens.
“He knew the rules more than just the average person sitting watching the game courtside, so for that, something needs to be done ASAP!” LeBron wrote.
UPDATE (June 6, 5:15 p.m. EST): The NBA and the Warriors announced that Stevens has been banned from attending NBA games and Warriors team activities for one year and has been fined $500,000.
The ban is effective immediately and carries through the 2019-20 NBA season, including the postseason.
ORIGINAL STORY: Kyle Lowry took exception after being shoved Wednesday night by a fan sitting courtside in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Lowry called for the man—who was escorted from his seat shortly after the incident—to be banned from “all NBA games forever.”
The veteran All-Star point guard finished with 23 points in a 123-109 victory that gave the Toronto Raptors a 2-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors.
Per The AP:
“There’s no place for that,” Lowry said. “He had no reason to touch me. He had no reason to reach over two seats and then say some vulgar language to me. There’s no place for people like that in our league.”
Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder and security officials confirmed the fan who shoved Lowry was ejected and escorted from Oracle Arena.
“Hopefully he never comes back to an NBA game,” Lowry said.
The incident overshadowed a breakout game for Lowry. He scored 15 points in the first half to get the Raptors going and finished 8 of 16 from the floor with five 3-pointers. Lowry also had nine assists and four rebounds.
“People who sit courtside, they might get in on the action,” Lowry said. “Don’t sit courtside if you don’t want somebody touching you.”
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