DENVER (KDVR) — The man at the center of a viral video of a fight at a Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns playoff basketball game is now talking with FOX31.
Nick McKellar is the man in the lower row wearing a Phoenix Suns jersey in Game 3 of the teams’ playoff series at Ball Arena on Friday, June 11. The fight was caught on camera by a number of other people at the game.
McKellar is a die-hard Phoenix Suns fan who lives in the Denver area and is local DJ. He said he was trying to make friends at the game that night, when the Denver Nuggets fans in the row above did not like his jokes (the Suns beat the Nuggets 116-102).
McKellar said the young men taunted him and poured beer on him.
Video from fans then shows one of the Nuggets fans swing at McKellar and miss. That’s when McKellar swung back and landed nearly a dozen punches, mostly uppercuts, on the Nuggets fan.
Then he’s caught on camera saying, “Suns in four.”
“When you’re bottled up in adrenaline, you don’t know what’s going to come out of your mouth,” McKellar told FOX31. “I felt like it was the perfect thing to say at that time.”
The phrase – along with the video – has gone viral. McKellar has done numerous interviews and now has more than 40,000 followers on Instagram.
It caught the attention of Phoenix Suns superstar Devin Booker, who’s sending McKellar tickets to the Western Conference Finals and an autographed jersey.
“I’m so grateful,” McKellar said. “I’m a huge Devin Booker fan. I’m pretty stoked about it.”
Barstool Sports is also excited about the phrase. The internet company has a number of shirts with the now-famous phrase.
Plus, a clothing company in Arizona is now making “Suns in Four” shirts for men and women. State Forty Eight said it has a deal with McKellar to give him some of the T-shirt revenue.
Denver Police told FOX31 that McKellar was victim in the fight and he did not want to press charges against the man who started it.
“I never want to be in that situation again,” McKellar said of having to defend himself. “It’s not really my forte to fight. I’d rather give you a hug and a high-five.”