When Card Games Go Wrong: Jerry Stackhouse And Christian Laettner Edition

Whether in a casino, on the block, or in an NBA locker room, card games have instigated more fights than a Karen in a department store.

The Jerry Stackhouse and Christian Laettner edition of “When Card Games Go Wrong” features a plane ride, a gambling debt, and a black eye.

Stack is Tougher Than A Rusty Nail

Jerry Darnell Stackhouse grew up as the youngest of 11 kids in North Carolina.

Seven of his eleven siblings were older brothers, who in his own words “used to beat him up with regularity.”

This prepared Stack for the kind of fierce competition he would face on the court as a McDonald’s All-American, North Carolina Tar Heel, and eventual NBA lottery pick. It also made him tougher than a rusty nail.

Meanwhile, Stackhouse’s future card buddy Christian Laettner was no soy boy either.

Raised on a farm by a blue-collar family, Laett and his older brother Christopher often labored on the family farm and worked odd jobs to make some extra money.

Similar to Stack’s upbringing, Laettner’s older brother Chris treated him like a punching bag at an MMA gym growing up, which helped build up his testicular fortitude (Vince McMahon voice).

I Might Have Decided to Finish It. But I Did Not Start It

Two hard-nosed kids, turned top NBA draft picks, who now found themselves on a mid-Detroit Pistons flaming horse logo team in the late 90s.

This would be enough to piss off even a mid-level exception player, let alone two budding All-Stars. So tensions were a little high in Motown even before the infamous card game gone wrong.

According to Stack, he and Laettner were just having a friendly card game on the team plane back to Detroit one night after a game in Charlotte, when something Laett said came out “a little wrong” to him, so he decided to finish it (him).

For the record, Stackhouse maintains there hasn’t been one fight or skirmish he’s been in that he started, including this one.

However, there are a few he decided to finish…Kirk Snyder and Jeff Hornacek immediately come to mind.

One unidentified teammate told a newspaper the players were arguing over $2,000 and that’s what led to the dust-up.

As for what Laettner said that got Stackhouse so heated, all we know is that it was one of two things you never say to a man…or at least not to Jerry Stackhouse.

Either way, our story has a happy ending. Stackhouse and Laettner remained friends and the very next day they were back frying shrimp and cooking salads at each other’s crib. Laettner had a black eye, but they were back friends🧑‍🤝‍🧑

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