'He earned every minute': How Isaiah Stewart became Detroit's enforcer - ESPN

ISAIAH STEWART HAD seen enough.

From nearly 100 feet away and with his knees and ankles wrapped in ice, Stewart had watched from the visiting bench as Detroit Pistons teammate Jalen Duren and Charlotte Hornets big man Moussa Diabate went nose-to-nose following a hard foul under the basket.

After a scrum developed, players and coaches from both teams seemed to ease tensions — only for Hornets forward Miles Bridges to break away and rush toward Duren near half court. That's when Beef Stew intervened.

«JD and Stew consider themselves brothers,» Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said that night. «Human instinct tells him to protect his little brother. I hate it for Stew because of the things that are going to follow.»

The scene from that Feb. 9 game inside Charlotte's Spectrum Center — the ice melting off Stewart's frame as he raced toward the scorer's table to confront Bridges — has become another indelible image for Detroit's 24-year-old enforcer, rim protector and the heart and soul of a surprise No. 1 seed that perhaps shouldn't be considered one any longer.

«I always knew once the wins came,» Stewart told ESPN, «that people were going to see I play a big part in it.»

Intimidation, blocked dunks and, yes, even altercations such as the one in Charlotte that resulted in a seven-game suspension — he'll serve his sixth game Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) — are all part of the Isaiah Stewart package.

But since he entered the league in 2020, the 6-foot-8 big man has become one of the NBA's most feared defenders and, as the longest-tenured Piston, a symbol of the franchise's painful road back to contention. And his game bears resemblance to a Pistons legend who once patrolled the paint in similar fashion.