Ranked: The most hated players in NBA history

Certain NBA players have gotten under people’s skin throughout basketball history. Opponents have to deal with their trash talk or borderline dirty tactics, while fans are turned off by their arrogance and mannerisms on and off and the court. We’ll rank the 15 most reviled NBA players of all time, starting with a Hall of Famer…

Stockton is the NBA’s career leader in assists and steals, and was stealthily a player who opponents loathed. As summarized by Kelly Scaletta in a Bleacher Report piece, he was “the master and commander of the sneaky, scratching, clawing, hip-checking, dirty point guards. Everyone since has just been a cheap imitation.” Los Angeles Lakers legend James Worthy said Stockton set some of the nastiest picks, as he went hard for guys’ ribs.

Because he was just bigger and better than everyone else, O’Neal didn’t have to come into the season in shape. This irked Kobe Bryant for a long time, as the Lakers guard bemoaned the fact that he had to work so much harder than O’Neal. O’Neal’s bruising style of play also got on opponents nerves, as they had to wrestle with an immovable object for 48 minutes.

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Shane Berry of Medium called Paul “the greatest villain in NBA history.” He wrote that other players have said Paul “doesn’t build friendships on teams,” which makes team camaraderie difficult. Former NBA referee Bill Spooner didn’t hesitate to name Paul when asked about the most high maintenance players he ever dealt with when speaking to The Athletic.

During Bowen’s heyday in the NBA, guards were often afraid to land on jump shots around his feet. They thought he was intentionally trying to cause ankle injuries to take stars out of the game. Bowen told Bleacher Report that he received a call from the NBA about his tactics, but that he was told to play his game by the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff.

The Associated Press wrote in 2003, “the NBA has fined Rasheed Wallace for the length of his shorts, for his many technical fouls, for his refusal to speak with reporters and for a postgame run-in with officials.” Wallace wasn’t afraid to make comments that NBA ownership didn’t like, and constantly berated referees, especially early in his career.

Virgil Villanueva of Basketball Network wrote about Payton’s status as “one of the most ferocious trash-talkers in NBA history.” Payton would give his opponents the business verbally as he deployed one of the most effective perimeter defensive arsenals ever. Former teammate Frank Brickowski told The Seattle Times that Payton was just as vocal with teammates, which sometimes caused problems.

Noted Boston Celtics fan and The Ringer founder Bill Simmons called Laimbeer “the anti-Christ” in the early 2000s. Laimbeer would routinely be involved in NBA fights, and was notorious for laying the smackdown on Michael Jordan in the late 1980s as the latter soared to the rim. Even though he wasn’t the greatest athlete, Laimbeer’s willingness to mix it up with anyone made him a pariah.

Ask Carmelo Anthony whether he hated every fiber of Garnett in the 2010s. The brash trash-talker allegedly had some commentary about Anthony’s wife, which nearly caused the two stars to spar in the middle of a game. Garnett knows what he’s doing, once admitting to HoopsHype, “I’ve definitely said some crazy stuff to LeBron.”

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Shaquille O’Neal called Rodman his worst teammate ever because the latter would deliberately ignore coaches and do things on his own time. When the two were opponents in the 1990s, O’Neal and Rodman got into skirmishes. Rodman tried to be playful and smile as he wore down opponents, but his act got pretty tiresome.

Miller was an automatic addition to this list, as he once put his hands around his own neck to indicate a choke sign to New York Knicks fans during a playoff game. Matt Moore of NBC Sports wrote that Miller “was the thorn you loved or hated”, and anyone who didn’t root for the Indiana Pacers usually couldn’t stand his flopping and trash talk.

He’s had many names throughout his life, but Artest’s body of work definitely earns him a spot as one of the most hated NBA players ever. He was the central figure of Malice at the Palace, the NBA brawl that spilled into the stands in 2004. Artest went after fans in Detroit, turning his life and reputation upside down.

There is a lot of ammunition against Malone. Bradley Geiser of Medium wrote “Karl Malone is a terrible person, has always been a terrible person, and will continue to be a terrible person until the end of time, and it takes a five minute google search to find at least half-a-dozen reasons why.” Whether he threw elbows that resulted in stitches for opponents or other uncouth things, Malone is absolutely reviled outside of Utah.

Green has consistently crossed the line when it comes to physical play in the NBA, and has been penalized for it on several occasions. While the discipline has escalated over the years, Green doesn’t seem to be able to dial it back. Formerly of Fox Sports, Skip Bayless called Green “the dirtiest player in NBA history.”

Former NBA veteran Charles Oakley once said on a podcast, “Isiah is talking about himself. Nobody likes Isiah one there. I don’t know what’s up with Isiah. He’s just too stinky. He always thinks ‘I ain’t do it’ but he did it”. Thomas has had his run ins over the years with some of the NBA’s most beloved players, which entrenched him as one of the most hated players ever.

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Unlike his predecessors on this list, James is not known as a dirty player or vicious trash talker. With that said, he’s the most hated player in league history because of the swath of people that want to see him fail. Those in that population point to his requirement of playing with at least one or two other All-Stars, and his groaning when he doesn’t get fouls called in his favor.