Picture this: the New Orleans Pelicans are in the middle of a tense game against the Knicks, coaches scrambling to decide whether to challenge an out-of-bounds call. What do they do? They send out the towel boy. Now, this isn’t your average sideline hustle—he’s out there, running across the court, either trying to give his coaches a few extra seconds or just making a quick towel run. But here’s the kicker: the ref spots him and, boom, hands him a technical foul.
Yeah, you read that right—a technical foul on the towel boy. Oh boy, indeed. Fans are losing their minds, and honestly, can you blame them? It’s one of those moments you just can’t make up. Was it intentional? Who knows, but it’s not something we see every day.
The absurdity of it all made for great conversation online, with fans taking to social media to joke about the weird incident. Honestly, it’s probably the most bizarre technical foul we’ve seen in a while. Talk about an unexpected twist in a game!
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via Imago
Dec 21, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) pressures New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Let’s see how fans reacted to this rare event.
Snitches get free throws, not stitches, as Jalen Brunson complains to the ref
It was Jalen Brunson who spotted this. A netizen aptly reacted, “Brunson a snitch”. While it’s all in good fun, his move got people thinking: was this a moment of subtle gamesmanship, or did he just want to get a little extra attention on an otherwise ridiculous situation? In a way, Brunson’s quick eye and the subsequent trolling by Josh Hart almost took attention away from the game itself.
One fan tweeted what each one of us would’ve said. “You’re kidding right?”, they wrote.
It’s a fair question. In a league where high-stake moments often come down to milliseconds, a technical foul on a towel boy is, well, absurd. But the deeper frustration here lies in how a simple courtside move turned into a major talking point.
Fans expect intensity and drama on the court, but this? It feels out of place. The idea that non-player/ non-coaching staff personnel could get penalized for something like this highlights the sometimes questionable application of rules.
Another fan expressed frustration, and wrote, “Brunson got a free throw from it. NBA is done…” In the grand scheme of the game, the towel boy’s technical foul shouldn’t have had any direct impact on the players, but here we are—Brunson walks away with a free throw. It almost feels like the NBA’s rules were bent just to add a little extra drama to what was already a bizarre situation.
Brunson got a freethrow from it. Nba is done…
— Niko Ninja (@NikoJHova) December 22, 2024
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This moment feels like a punch in the gut. A guy is doing his job on the sidelines—something that has no bearing on the game, directly—and suddenly, he becomes involved in an official ruling that benefits the opposing team.
“Yeah, that settles that. Brunson is the biggest grifter in the NBA. A towel boy??” said another fan. Brunson, for his part, definitely capitalized on the moment. But calling him a “grifter” in this context highlights the perception that he, like many players in today’s NBA, knows how to exploit every little advantage—whether it’s drawing fouls, manipulating situations, or even benefiting from bizarre calls like this one. A free throw from a towel boy’s technical is a prime example of how sometimes it feels like the game has shifted from pure basketball to a circus act…
Another fan tweeted, “Brunson snitching when someone tryna do they job *crying eomji* *broken heart*”. The young guy was just doing his job, trying to help the game run smoothly and earn his daily wage, but suddenly, he was the focus of an official’s whistle.
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Logically speaking, though, per the NBA rulebook, Rule 12, Section II, Delay of Game and Conduct Detrimental to the Game: “A delay-of-game shall be called for: 6) A team preventing play from commencing at any time; 7) Any player, coach or trainer interfering with a ball which has crossed the boundary line.”
But for many, this felt like an overstep—someone just doing their job got caught up in a situation they never asked for. While it’s understandable from a competitive standpoint, it can sometimes feel like it’s at the expense of fairness and sportsmanship.
