Sixers’ Montrezl Harrell exchanges words with heckler in Wednesday’s game vs. Charlotte Hornets

The new Sixer was brought in partly for his gritty nature and that was on display when a heckler got vocal in Charlotte.

Montrezl Harrell of the Sixers before their preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 5, 2022.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published Nov. 24, 2022, 1:23 a.m. ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Montrezl Harrell wasn’t having it Wednesday night.

The 76ers center stood up for himself after being heckled by a Charlotte Hornets fan during the 107-101 loss to the Hornets at the Spectrum Center.

“I don’t know, man. That’s just how it goes,” Harrell said of being heckled. “It is what it is. Fans got a lot to say whether it’s in an arena, on social media or wherever it may be. People fail to realize the aspect that you’re just a fan, bro. Stay in that nature. Stay in the element.

“Don’t try to take it somewhere where it doesn’t have to go, because then when you do that now you are going to get the retaliation from me.”

He got into a shouting match with the fan in the section behind the Sixers bench after being subbed out midway through the third quarter. Security personnel approached the fan to defuse the situation. Harrell said the fan was seated near his father.

“This isn’t my first time dealing with fans, dealing with interactions,” he said. “I’m always used as that scapegoat to be a villian. I don’t care. And that goes for everybody, bro. I don’t care what you think about me. My family knows me; my kids know me. That’s all that matters to me, bro.”

The center played 25 games for the Hornets last season after being acquired in a trade from the Washington Wizards. Harrell signed with the Sixers in free agency after the Hornets didn’t re-sign him. This was first game back in Charlotte since signing with Philly.

“As far as me trying to wake up in the morning to feel the need of a fan or somebody else where they feel negatively about me, I’ll kill myself if I had to worry about those things,” he said. “So it doesn’t faze me. I tell people all the time, you are talking a whole lot for somebody who paid to get in. I’m getting paid to be here.”

Harrell finished with six points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes, 45 seconds. He’s averaging 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds. Harrell was named the 2020 Sixth Man of the Year as a Los Angeles Clipper.