Some people enjoy hate-watching sports more than they like watching their favorite team. When your team isn't a contender, and there isn't anything to cheer for, the next logical step is to root against a rival team. If the rival team isn't doing it for you, you can pick a player and root against him. The NBA may be the best league when it comes to providing players for fans to root against. A player will say the wrong things or rub you the wrong way with their attitude on the court. Many people have watched the players on this list to root against them, so with that being said, let's look at the 12 most hated NBA players of all time.
12. Ja Morant
It's no wonder that the Memphis Grizzlies were unable to get over the hump in recent years. Two of their core members find themselves on this list, starting with Ja Morant. Morant was the league's Most Improved Player and well on his way to becoming a superstar in the league. Things started to go south during the 2022-23 season, as he got into trouble with the team. His first incident was when the Indiana Pacers alleged that a vehicle inhabiting Morant and his friends trained lasers on members of the team, presumably attached to guns. Then, Morant had an Instagram Live where he was wielding a gun while in a gentleman's club on a road trip. After being given a suspension, he again was seen on Instagram Live with a gun, which ended in a 25-game suspension to start this season.
The Grizzlies are hopeful that Morant has improved his reputation and will return to the team as a new man. However, as of now, he will remain one of the most hated players in the game today.
11. Dillon Brooks
If there is one player who has an opportunity to rise the most on this list, it's Dillon Brooks. He fired up Draymond Green last season during the playoffs, as Green said on his podcast, “If you've ever wondered why the Grizzlies are not ready to compete for a championship, look no further than this idiot right here. I'm trying to figure out why they like you in Memphis. I'm not sure your teammates like you. Your understanding of the game of basketball is at a fan's level, and yet you're talking about a dynasty? The dynasty starts after you, not with you, and that's just a fact. I know dynasty-type players, and they aren't clowns.”
Brooks moved on to the Houston Rockets in the offseason. It seemed like the Grizzlies were sick of his act and wanted a fresh start. As a member of the Rockets, he has already called out Lebron James in the media before their first matchup of the season. If he stays on his current trajectory and maintains a spot in the league long enough, Brooks can easily get into the top five of this list.
10. Reggie Miller
The NBA and its entire fanbase may not have hated Reggie Miller, but considering how Miller became the villain for one of the biggest markets in the league, he deserves to be on the list. The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks had their fair share of battles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and New York's hatred of Miller began in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals.
Miller struggled in Game 5, and Knicks fans were getting on his case, with the most vocal taunts coming from Spike Lee sitting courtside. The hate quickly fuelled Miller, and he began hitting shots at an insane clip, as he scored 25 points in the fourth quarter of Game 5 and would stare down Lee after every made jumper. His performance led the Pacers to a 93-86 victory, and he walked off the court making his now famous choke sign at Lee and the rest of the Knicks fans in attendance.
The following season, the Pacers were down six points to the Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Miller hit a three-pointer, stole the inbound pass, hit another three-pointer to tie it, and would eventually hit a pair of game-winning free throws moments later. Indiana would go on to beat New York in seven games, making Knicks fans hate Miller even more than they already did. How big was the story of Knicks fans hating Reggie Miller? The Seinfeld crew fit the storyline into one of their episodes. When a player's hatred is mentioned in one of the greatest television shows of the era, he deserves a spot on the most hated players list.
9. James Harden
Many people enjoy watching James Harden as an outside observer. In his prime, Harden put up incredible stats that wowed fans during his time with the Houston Rockets. His style of play has begun to slow down ever since, and fans aren't thrilled as much by his slow, lumbering movements. He is also known to flop and attempt to draw fouls, which hasn't worked well for him in big games. Harden at least kept the favor of his team's fans when the rest of the league began to hate him, but in recent years, he has lost the popular vote.
Harden has tried to force his way off teams with bizarre actions, including going to strip clubs at bad times and purposely putting on weight. He left Philadelphia and will try to restart his career with the Los Angeles Clippers.
8. Chris Paul
Chris Paul, one of the biggest floppers of the modern era, disgusts opposing fans with his actions. It isn't so much the frequency of his flopping as the theatrics he puts off when doing it. Flopping is a big part of the NBA right now, so you can't blame players who do it now in the NBA. The thing is, Paul may be one of the leading forces of it being commonplace in the league. Paul is also one of the dirtier players with his fouls, as he isn't afraid to step in and take a piece out of his opponent, sometimes doing it in unsportsmanlike fashion. Paul has been known to take part in arm hooks, forearm shots, and even hitting other players below the belt. He complains so much about things happening on the court, but he should be more self-aware with his actions.
Making matters even worse, Paul landed with the Golden State Warriors this offseason and will now be teaming up with another irritating player, Draymond Green, to wreak havoc. The way Paul carries himself also raises some eyebrows among NBA fans, as he has an aura of self-importance, which is celebrated when talking about some players in the league. However, those players are multi-time champions or have accumulated individual awards. While Paul has quite a few accolades, he has yet to win a championship, making his demeanor annoying for many fans.
7. Latrell Sprewell
Latrell Sprewell lost favor with NBA fans when he infamously said, “I got my family to feed,” after turning down a three-year, $21 million contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The talented veteran was already losing the support of many fans after his actions during his time with the Warriors. Head coach P.J. Carlesimo told Sprewell to make crisper passes, but he got a little too close to Sprewell for his liking, and he responded by threatening to kill him and began to strangle him for more than 10 seconds. The Warriors unsurprisingly let Sprewell go shortly after the incident. The family-to-feed quote was the last straw for the NBA, and Sprewell didn't play another game in the league after that.
6. Bruce Bowen
Bruce Bowen had several accolades in his career, and his elite defensive play helped him win three NBA Championships. There is an argument to be made that Bowen is the dirtiest player, though, which is what he's more commonly known for. Bowen performed the move where he put his foot underneath the player's jump shot so that they landed on an uneven surface and rolled their ankles. His other infamous incidents include kicking Chris Paul in the chest (some people were probably happy about that), kicking Ray Allen in the back, drop-kicking Wally Sczerbiak in the face, and kneeing Steve Nash in the groin. There isn't much more to say about Bowen. He was just straight-up dirty.
5. Isiah Thomas
Isiah Thomas has garnered hate more in his post-playing career, but he wasn't always a good guy in the league. Thomas was the most well-known player on the Bad Boy Pistons, a team despised by opposing fanbases. Thomas had a lot of showmanship and cockiness while playing, which added to his teammates bullying other players. He was surprisingly left off of the 1992 Dream Team, but reports surfaced that it was because of Michael Jordan's hatred for him, as Jordan told the head coach Chuck Daly he wouldn't play at the Olympics if Thomas played on the team. Jordan's fellow Dream Team members supported his decision here, resulting in Magic Johnson being selected instead of Thomas. The NBA fanbase may have hated Thomas, but his peers didn't like him much either.
Thomas also drew the ire of Knicks fans during his time working for their front office. Thomas wasn't nearly as good in that role as he was as a player, with his most infamous move seeing him trade assets that ended up being Joakim Noah, LaMarcus Aldridge, Omer Asik, and Thabo Sefalosha for Eddy Curry. Knicks fans hate him so much that they would boo the unrelated Isaiah Thomas for having the same name as him.
4. Vince Carter
We put Miller on this list because one of the biggest markets in the NBA hated him, but Miller just had one state hate him. How about having an entire country hate you? That's what happened to Vince Carter. Carter was loved by Canada when he won the Rookie of the Year and the Slam Dunk competition in 1998 as a member of the Toronto Raptors. Carter would lead the Raptors to several postseason appearances and would be the savior of basketball in Canada. Toronto never reached championship contender status, and Carter began to act negatively towards the team.
He wasn't playing to his potential and developed a bad relationship with head coach Sam Mitchell, eventually culminating in Carter demanding a trade and being sent to the New Jersey Nets. It was the worst-case scenario for Raptors fans, as Carter landed with a divisional rival and tormented them every time they faced off.
Carter made it a personal goal to cause pain for his former team, hitting back-to-back game-winners on Toronto's homecourt in his first return to Canada. No player may have gone from hero to zero quicker in the eyes of a fanbase in history.
3. Bill Laimbeer
Bill Laimbeer was another member of the Bad Boy Pistons, known for their hard-nosed play and bullying style. Laimbeer was a great rebounder and defender as a staple of those Pistons teams for 14 years, and he is often remembered for his playoff battles against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. His hard fouls doled out plenty of punishment to the Bulls players and were the main reason Chicago couldn't get past the Pistons in the playoffs. Laimbeer's impact forced Jordan and Scottie Pippen to bulk up in the offseason in preparation for another taxing playoff matchup. The league's punishing style contrasted with Laimbeer's tendency to flop. While Paul made it mainstream in the modern era, Laimbeer may have been the first great flopper.
Everyone's love for the Bulls amplified Laimbeer's level of hate. Everyone wanted to see Jordan succeed, and for a couple of years, Laimbeer killed that dream.
2. Kevin Durant
Have you ever wondered why every Kevin Durant social media post is filled with snake emojis in the comments section? NBA fans' hatred of Durant began when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors in free agency. The Warriors met the Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals and went down 3-1 to Durant and Russell Westbrook. Durant played poorly with a chance to advance to the NBA Finals, and the Thunder eventually blew their lead and were eliminated from the playoffs. Everyone expected Durant to re-sign with Oklahoma City in the offseason and continue his quest to knock the Warriors off the top of the Western Conference mountain. Instead, he signed with the Warriors, taking the easy way out and forming the biggest superteam of the decade.
The Warriors went on to have one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, and fans would never forgive Durant for joining his top rival. He has since joined other superteams with the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns, cementing his legacy as a ring chaser who doesn't want to try and lead a team on his own.
1. LeBron James
How can a GOAT candidate be the most hated NBA player? It could be that LeBron James is a person who is easy to hate, but despite a few quirks, he doesn't seem like a bad guy. Jordan has a much higher approval rating, but what if he played in the social media era? Much of the hatred geared towards LeBron involves people on social media piling on the superstar. However, let's not pretend there aren't some reasons to hate James.
We'll begin with James being the self-proclaimed “King” coming out of high school, and he was already making it difficult to live up to the moniker at that time. James came into the league complaining too much and flopping despite his big frame. LeBron would eventually leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and nationally televised his decision to form a superteam with the Miami Heat. Before the season started, James proclaimed he would win “Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven…” championships. As he enters the final few years of his career, LeBron's record in Finals is just 4-6. He won two of those titles with that Heat team, coming up well short of his prediction. On second thought, maybe LeBron's hate isn't all a result of negative social media opinions and is deserved.
Follow Us
Subscribe