The NBA is the sports soap opera that keeps adding twists as the writers run out of ways to make it normal. Nothing has made that more apparent than James Harden calling out his current General Manager, Daryl Morey, while on tour in China to request a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, which led to the Sixers trading Harden on Oct. 31, 2023.

And despite that, Harden's trade request and fallout with the 76ers organization isn't even the craziest one we've seen. From beefing with teammates in the media to fans burning jerseys in the streets, we've just about seen it all.

One last note: players were limited to only one spot on this list to avoid taking up an outsized number of places. Here are the 10 biggest NBA superstar-team fallouts of all time.

10. Carmelo Anthony – New York Knicks (2017)

Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks were one of the league's most recognizable, if not successful, partnerships of the 2010s. Melo was always a little volatile as a player.

Phil Jackson had always managed egos in Chicago. It got a little away from him with the early 2000s Lakers and then really got away from him in New York when, in 2014, he stated that he pretty much didn't care if franchise cornerstone Anthony remained a Knick or not. Although Anthony would re-sign, they repeatedly butted heads over the next several years, leading Melo and Jackson to depart New York for good.

9. Kawhi Leonard – San Antonio Spurs (2018)

The Kawhi Leonard injury and trade saga with the San Antonio Spurs is often lost in other drama around the NBA since. Leonard was the face of the Spurs. He led them into battle with the vaunted Golden State Warriors in the 2017 Western Conference Finals.

Then he got injured. And then, he was hampered by that injury for much of the following season. During that time, he grew resentful of how his injury was managed, looked for second opinions, and then ultimately requested a trade.

Kawhi's superstar fallout was a surprising end to the Spurs' era of greatness in the league due to the players and organizations that both parties were. But regardless, it's hard to say that Leonard made the wrong decision to win a title with the Toronto Raptors for a year before cashing in his payday with the Los Angeles Clippers. And the Spurs can't be too mad about their current status with rookie Victor Wembanyama.

8. Jimmy Butler – Minnesota Timberwolves (2018)

Jimmy Butler began his ascension into something of an NBA urban legend back in 2018. His legendary practice with Minnesota, where he called out the team's starters and organization and then beat them with the reserves, is iconic. Then he went home and did an interview.

The reality is that Butler had requested a trade a few weeks ago and just decided to return to practice. The drama started when Andrew Wiggins' brother quote tweeted the initial trade report and then Butler and for some reason Stephen Jackson got involved in response.

Ah, the age of social media. So perfect for beef. Fortunately, this was all resolved when Butler was dealt before the regular season, saving the situation from ending up higher on this list.

7. Anthony Davis – New Orleans Pelicans (2019)

When New Orleans won the draft lottery to earn the rights to the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, it was the best thing to happen to the franchise. And yet during the 2018-19 season, Davis was routinely scratched as the Pelicans refused to risk hurting the trade value of their oft-injured star as they looked for a deal to trade him. How did it get there?

Well, his patience just ran out. And to be fair, he has a point. The Pelicans had seven seasons of elite two-way play from their big man and didn't do anything with it. Davis never had a valid No. 2 option, and that was needed for someone whose injury past was pretty deep.

While Davis maintained he never wanted his desire to leave to be made public, the fans grew understandably frustrated with how the organization and player let it play out, and it led to a messy end of the season. He went and won it all with the Lakers a year later, so that probably didn't feel great.

6. Scottie Pippen – Chicago Bulls (1999)

The date on this subheading should probably read “1990s” as Scottie Pippen's superstar fallout with the Chicago Bulls was almost a decade in the making. Pippen's “worst contract ever” has been well documented. So have his other issues with management and coaching, especially when Michael Jordan wasn't playing. And yet it is still an impressive laundry list.

From being passed over in critical moments where he was supposed to be the guy, to bringing in Dennis Rodman, a guy Pippen was not fond of, to the ever-present feeling of being undervalued, those feelings built up throughout the greatest dynasty in NBA history reaching its peak. When everyone reached their breaking point after the sixth title, Pippen was no different and was only too happy to move on to greener pastures. Well, at least better-paying ones.

5. Shaquille O'Neal – Los Angeles Lakers (2004)

Separating Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant should have been unthinkable. And for some time, it was. But keeping egos in check in the real world is more challenging than it is on your 2K MyNBA Eras teams.

Bryant and O'Neal began to feud publicly and privately as their time on the Lakers together wound down, over their team role, coaching, each other's habits and attitudes towards the game. You name it, they didn't like it. Although O'Neal claims more recently his reasons for demanding a trade were purely financial and a result of failing negotiations with the team, that's not what he had to say at the time, alluding to poor organizational decisions he viewed Bryant as having a hand in.

4. James Harden – Philadelphia 76ers (2023)

And so begins the sequence of the Brooklyn Nets Big 3 players on this list. All three of them are the greatest of all time at exerting their star power to get their way as far as roster changes go, but Harden is likely the least prolific, if not the most dramatic.

And while there are a couple to choose from, I'm rocking with his recent comments on Daryl Morey. Harden picking up his player option only to publicly call Morey a liar while on an Adidas brand tour in China is so brilliantly deep and layered. It may be the most outstanding trade demand ever.

And it's undoubtedly one of the most surreal pieces of sports news I've woken up to. This saga could have gone anywhere. Ultimately, Harden got exactly what he wanted, being traded to the Clippers. The fact that it went down on Halloween seemed most appropriate.

3. Kyrie Irving – Brooklyn Nets (2023)

If this were a list of the NBA players with the most superstar-team fallouts, Kyrie Irving would be the undisputed top player on the list. Irving has a laundry list of teams he's left behind. He has entered legendary “buyer beware” status surrounding teams willing to trade for/pay him.

However, his drawn-out, extended beef and eventual departure from the Brooklyn Nets ranks as his most memorable. For starters, there were anti-vax tweets and conspiracies. Then there was his refusal to play under mask mandates. And then there was the antisemitic movie he promoted and lost sponsorships in the wake.

All that was while he dealt with mental health and personal ups and downs in public. The complete timeline of that Nets era will probably have its documentary at some point. Still, the way it fizzled out over the last season was a cruel end to a cruel period in the team's history for fans even if it was probably time for all parties to move on by that point.

2. Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder (2016)

It didn't matter that Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City in free agency. It didn't matter that he'd been a homegrown talent on one of the league's most exciting teams, brought them to an NBA Finals, and won an MVP while there. Nope, as soon as KD left the Thunder to go to the Golden State Warriors, the team coming off a 73-9 regular season record and the team Durant and co. just blew a 3-1 series lead to, it was over.

Go straight to jail, do not pass go, and do not collect $200. Former co-star Russell Westbrook took up an entire city's hurt and rage in a long feud with Durant. The crowd wore cupcake shirts for his return. This one got ugly.

Durant did not help by leaning into his villain status. Still, OKC fans can take some solace in Durant going on to cement his status as a mercenary around the league and his inability to win after leaving Golden State.

1. Lebron James – Cleveland Cavaliers (2010)

The superstar-team fallout to end all fallouts. Lebron James, the decision, and an entire city's hearts crushed into a million little pieces on national television. Oh, 2010, what a time to be alive.

Sure, James also left in free agency, but when you've been hyped as the chosen one for years while playing for your hometown team, and then go on to break the fans' hearts like that… Well you all saw the videos that went where the fans burnt James' jersey. Fans had a level of abuse for a player's free-agency decision not seen before or since. It was as if the city of Cleveland had fallen apart.

Sure, in hindsight, he came back and won a title just like he always wanted to. And so far removed from “The Decision,” it's easy to see how terribly managed the Cavs were during his time there. But no one knew or could see that in 2010, especially Cavalier fans who thought all they needed was Lebron to win an NBA title.