I remember an instance in the early 2000s, I believe, when the Jazz were playing the Sonics. Gary Payton fell to the ground and a Jazz player, Andrei Kirilenko, rushed to his help. But Karl Malone pushed Kirilenko out of the way, telling him not to do it.
I asked my dad why Malone wouldn't let him help and he said it was because Payton would probably have poked him in the eye in the way up.
I don't know if that's the real reason why or not, but it kinda makes sense. That, and it's kind of a teammate thing. Like, you want to be there to help your teammates up, but screw the other team.