On Tuesday night, the OKC Thunder won a tightly contested affair against the New Orleans Pelicans by a final score of 104-95.
The result, however, was quickly overshadowed by a flurry of postgame theatrics between Lu Dort and former University of Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears.
At the buzzer, the two collided and refused to let go of each other's jerseys, sparking a bench-clearing showdown that lasted until Fears was ushered back into the locker room.
While what sparked the altercation may still be unclear, Fears is apparently refusing to let the situation go.
The Pelicans' lottery pick took his antics online, antagonizing Dort in the comment section of various social media feeds.
On an Instagram post depicting the altercation between the two players, Fears had a simple yet emphatic message for Dort: "Soft ah."
The comment labeling the Thunder guard "soft" was accompanied by a trio of laughing emojis, but Fears didn't stop there.
On a separate post regarding the conflict, a fan commented, "Dort not like (that) I promise," to which the former first-rounder responded, "Oh I know."
Jeremiah Fears has turned into new Thunder villain
Fears' behavior is a far cry from what fans are accustomed to seeing from him, as he played hero for the University of Oklahoma just last year, bringing the Sooners to their first NCAA Tournament since 2021.
After a superb freshman season at OU in which he averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, he was drafted seventh overall by the Pelicans in what many thought to be a highly talented draft class.
Since then, he has been relatively quiet, both with his performance and his behavior.
While the antics came as a surprise, the Thunder seem relatively unfazed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was dismissive of the interaction, labeling it as a "typical basketball scuffle" in his postgame comments.
Head coach Mark Daigneault blamed the officials for the incident, claiming they "lost control of the game" well before the final buzzer sounded.
Jeremiah Fears showed Thunder that league is fed up with their success
This isn't the first altercation the Thunder have been involved in this season. Back in December, Grayson Allen got called for a hard flagrant two foul on Chet Holmgren, which caused the benches to clear.
Superstar Victor Wembanyama has also thrown petty shots at OKC after their three December meet-ups.
Fears' actions further prove that the Thunder live rent-free in the rest of the league's heads. Players are doing everything they can to throw their best shots at OKC. Whether the punches thrown are literal or figurative, teams seem bring heightened levels of emotion and intensity to the court when they are playing the Thunder.
Regardless of what other teams do to shake the boat, Oklahoma City seems to be maintaining its laser focus on one goal: winning another title.
Their ability to keep that focus will be essential as they continue to work through one of the tougher parts of their schedule.