Former Jazz Lotto Pick Dante Exum Body Slammed In Huge Brawl
Apr 27, 2023, 4:56 PM | Updated: 5:00 pm
Former Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Former Utah Jazz lottery pick Dante Exum was body-slammed and injured during a massive brawl during a EuroLeague playoff game on Thursday.
Exum’s Partizan squad was beating Real Madrid 95-80 in the final minutes of Game Two as teammate Kevin Punter began to showboat with the ball in his hands.
Real Madrid guard Sergio Llull took exception to the play and committed a hard foul on Punter well above the three-point line, leading to a shoving match between the two teams.
As individual fights broke out, Guerschon Yabusele, a former member of the Boston Celtics grabbed Exum by the shoulders and neck and slammed the former Jazzman down to the floor.
You can see the beginning of the fight, and the Exum body slam in the tweets below.
Guerschon Yabusele slamming down Dante Exum 😳 pic.twitter.com/iEvAtsGZgk
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) April 27, 2023
Exum jumped up from the cheap shot by Yabusele and had to be restrained by his teammates and coaches to prevent him from further escalating the violence.
Yabusele was also held back but continued to try to work his way around the crowd to find Exum.
Later, Exum could be seen playing the role of peacemaker for Punter while Yabusele headed towards the locker room.
In total, 21 players were ejected from the game for leaving the bench in a fight which led to a forfeiture, and a 2-0 series lead for Exum and Partizan.
The brawl came on the heels of Punter hitting a last-second shot over Yabusele in Game One to give Partizan a 1-0 series lead.
KEVIN PUNTER WINS IT IN MADRID⚪️⚫️#7DAYSMagicMoment pic.twitter.com/Xqbh4yF17I
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) April 25, 2023
Yabusele is expected to be suspended for his body-slamming Exum, resulting in a ruptured tendon in the guard’s toe.
Exum left the arena on crutches after scoring 19 points in Partizan’s win.
“The tendon in his second toe has ruptured,” Partizan doctor Moma Jakovljevic told BasketNews. “Serious injury. He will have to go to Belgrade on crutches, so we can film him there. His upper lip was also injured.”
Dante Exum leaving Wizink Center with crutches #EuroLeague pic.twitter.com/898T9qzvIv
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) April 27, 2023
Exum averaged 13.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists for Partizan in the EuroLeague this season.
The guard was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft and spent 4.5 seasons with the Jazz before being traded to the Cleveland Cavalires for guard Jordan Clarkson.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
