NBA Suspends LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart for Altercation; Lakers to Save Over $500K in Taxes Due to The King's Suspension
LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers is ejected from the game during the third quarter of the game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on November 21, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. Nic Antaya/Getty Images

The NBA handed LeBron James the first game suspension of his 19-year career on Monday for recklessly hitting Detroit Pistons' Isaiah Stewart in the face.

Stewart also received a two-game suspension for an on-court altercation after a rebound play during the Lakers-Pistons match Sunday night.

LeBron James, Isaiah Stewart Receive Suspension After Altercation During Lakers-Pistons Game

According to ESPN, aside from missing the game against the New York Knicks, ESPN's Bobby Marks said the one-game suspension resulted in a $284,004 deduction for "The King's" money.

Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart also received a two-game suspension for "escalating an on-court altercation by repeatedly and aggressively pursuing" LeBron James.

Stewart would be missing the Pistons' home game against Miami Heat on Tuesday and their game on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Stewart would also lose about $45,000 for the suspension.

The incident happened during the third period with the Los Angeles Lakers trailing against the Detroit Pistons. James and Stewart were jostling for position during a free throw attempt of Pistons' Jerami Grant.

Their arms appeared to get intertwined, and James swung his arm, striking Stewart, who quickly had blood streaming from above his eye.

Despite the heated moment, cooler heads seemed to prevail after Stewart was guided away from the spot where the contact occurred by his teammates and coaches.

However, he appeared to become more enraged along the way. He even tried to double back and run toward LeBron James, but both coaching staff and players blocked his path and ensured the incident would not get uglier.

Game officials handed Stewart two technical fouls, while James received a Flagrant Foul 2, which resulted in their ejections.

LeBron James' One-Game Suspension Allows Lakers to Save Over $500,000 in Luxury Tax Payments

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers would be missing their floor general LeBron James when they travel to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks, but his suspension was more beyond the game.

Despite putting the Lakers at a disadvantage against the home team, Knicks, there was one silver lining for the purple and gold squad. LeBron James' absence would save the Lakers a fairly significant chunk of change.

The suspension itself will cost James $284,004, and that alone was fairly significant. But it gets better for the Los Angeles Lakers because they would be awarded a luxury tax credit of $142,002, half of that money, which ultimately projects to save them $532,508 in total.

Since the luxury tax is not dollar-for-dollar, the tax goes up the deeper a team delves into it. And the Lakers, having a payroll of nearly $157 million, were far above the line. This means that savings of any kind were amplified.

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Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: LeBron James Suspended 1 Game | SportsCenter - From ESPN