A fan ran onto the court during Friday night's Brooklyn Nets NBA home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It happened in the fourth quarter with 5:02 remaining as the Cavs held a 121-115 lead. The officials had just blown the whistle to call a personal foul on Nets guard Terance Mann. With play stopped, Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell was standing alone on the court when a fan in a purple hoodie ran onto the court towards him with his cell phone pointed squarely at him.
Mitchell immediately began backing away, not knowing what the fan's intentions were. Within seconds, three security guards ran towards the fan and surrounded him to remove him from the court (and presumably the arena).
This fan rushed the court and ran up to Donovan Mitchell. 😳
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 25, 2025
(h/t @HoodiGarland)
pic.twitter.com/qR4cmFWR0D
Of course, there are questions remaining as to how the fan made it into the court in the first place. We would guess that the Barclays Center will be reviewing this incident to upgrade their security procedures.
We have seen several incidents of fans running onto the court and it is always very strange to see. Fortunately we have not seen any players or fans injured in these incidents, but it is concerning when these incidents happen.
The Cavs held on to win the game 131-124, led by Donovan Mitchell's 35 points. It was the first win of the season to the Cavs after losing their season opener to the Knicks on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the Nets fell to 0-2.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
