Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Kevin Garnett. They were supreme competitors and wanted to win and then rub it in their opponents’ faces.
These guys didn’t just talk the talk, they walked the walk. They backed up their trash talk with their extraordinary skills as basketball players.
They showed no mercy to the rookies or veterans and roasted anyone and everyone who tried to get into a verbal war. It didn’t just establish their strength as players, but also gave them the mental edge.
These are the five greatest trash talkers of all time!
#5 Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant is widely regarded as one of the fiercest competitors to have ever played the game. He talked trash to opponents, coaches, his own teammates and also silenced the spectators with his witty comebacks. He would do it while remaining so calm, it caused his opponents to fear Kobe. Here are some of the classic Black Mamba moments-
Victim- James Harden and Kevin Durant
In a February 2012 game against the Lakers, the young stars of OKC, Kevin Durant and James Harden tried to poke bear when they got into it with Kobe. Kobe put the future MVP’s in their places by saying -
Victim- Steph Curry
In Steph Currys rookie season when he played against the Lakers, Kobe was heading to the free-throw line very late in the game.
Steph Curry went to Kobe and said - " Hey man, you nervous about this free throws?" Kobe schooled the Rook without even saying a word just by giving him a killer look. Steph later went on record to say this -
Kobe obviously made both free throws and iced the game.
Victim- Tony Parker
Bryant spoke Italian and Spanish during his NBA career. But he took his Mamba Mentality to another level and learned French so he could trash talk Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs.
#4 Gary Payton
Gary Payton is the best defensive Point Guard of all time. He’s the only Point Guard to ever win the coveted Defensive Player Of The Year award.
Gee Pee was the kind of player who would talk smack all the time. He is undeniably and undoubtedly one of the best trash talkers in NBA history. He was so talkative that even his own teammates thought he would take it a bit too far.
Here are a few guys who got cooked by The Glove
Victim- Shaq
Not many players have Shaq on their victim list because Shaq himself was an outspoken player who did not back away from a verbal war. But Payton used to talk trash off the court as well.
Victim- Jamie Feick
Jamie Feick was a Center for the Nets. Payton verbally and virtually destroyed him by telling him -
Payton later revealed that he considered it to be “normal” talk from him which caught Jame Feick off guard. Feick played six more games before he was gone!
Victim- Sidney Lowe
Let me clue you in. Sidney Lowe was the Head Coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yes, Gary Payton talked trash to a Head Coach.
#3 Michael Jordan
MJ was an absolute savage when it came to trash talking. He not only destroyed his opponents every night, but he let them know how inferior they were to him by roasting them before, during and after the game. Back in his prime, it was a good idea to let Michael be, but these guys learned it the hard way.
Victim- Reggie Miller
In his rookie season, Reggie Miller played against Jordan and Chicago Bulls in an exhibition game. Miller was outscoring Jordan 10-4 at the end of the first half when we decided it would be a good idea to talk trash to MJ. He went to Jordan and said “Who do you think you are? There’s a new kid in town”. Jordan just nodded his head and didn’t say a thing. By the end of the game, Jordan had 44 points and Reggie Miller had 12. After the game, Jordan said
Victim - Steve Smith
When Steve Smith of the Miami Heat was given the responsibility of guarding Michael Jordan, Michael had a little something for Smith that he would never ever forget. Michael Jordan started counting backward from 40. He hit a jump shot and said 38.
Victim - Nick Anderson
Jordan was so savage, that he told his defenders what he’s going to do and then actually do it! He got into his opponents head and played infinite mind games. Nick Anderson fell victim to Jordan’s verbal attack. Jodan told Anderson -
And that’s exactly what Jordan did.
#2 Larry Bird
Larry Bird is a trash-talking legend. He used to talk trash to his defender throughout the game and get into his defenders head and made him look silly.
He would repeatedly say two numbers to the person guarding him. The number of points he had and the number of points his defender had. By the end of the game, the numbers weren’t even close!
Victims - Players participating in the 3-Point Contest.
In the 1986 season, the NBA added the 3-Point Contest to the All-Star weekend for the first time. This was Bird’s chance to prove his greatness. He was so sure he was going to win the contest, he let his opponents before the contest even began that the first spot was already locked up. He famously asked his fellow competitors -
He won the contest obviously. But the story doesn’t stop here.
The following year, he won the 3-Point Contest again! Throughout the contest, Bird did not even remove his warm-up jacket to show everyone how confident he was to win the contest again.
Victim- Chuck Dailey
For Bird, trash talking players was too basic. So he started talking to Head Coaches. In a game against the Detroit Pistons, Dennis Rodman (one of the best defenders of all time) tried his best to stop Larry Bird. But Bird sunk four straight shots in Rodman’s face before asking Head Coach Dailey -
Victim - The Portland Trailblazers team of 1986
Bird had to do the most outrageous things to keep himself motivated because the League just wasn’t challenging enough for him. So on Valentines Day in the 1986 season when the Celtics played the Trailblazers, Bird called the media and said -
Larry Legend scored every point that game with just his left hand (except for jumpshots). The Trailblazers were completely aware of Larry’s promise, but they were helpless as he torched them for 22 points with just his left hand - scoring 47 points in total, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and… THE GAME WINNING SHOT!
From Larry, with love.
#1 Kevin Garnett
Though the other guys on the list are the best trash talkers, Kevin Garnett was the meanest trash talker ever! He was capable of throwing anyone off his game with his trash talk (and mentally destroy them).
He didn’t really care about your feelings on the basketball court. His trash talk had no boundaries and after reading the following incidents, you may never look at KG the same way again.
Victim- Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan was one of the nicest guys to have played in the modern era. He was quiet and pretty much kept to himself. But on a May 9th game in 1999, the Wolves played the Spurs in Game 1 of the playoffs. It was Mother’s Day. As Duncan stepped on the free-throw line, Garnett is said to have told Duncan -
Normal trash talk right? Wrong. Tim Duncan’s mother passed away with cancer the day before he turned 14.
Victim - Joakim Noah
Joakim Noah pretty much hated Garnett the whole time he has been in the League and you wouldn’t blame him.
In his Rookie season when the Bulls played the Celtics, it was a big moment for Noah because he was sharing the court with his childhood hero. Noah told KG-
Kevin Garnett responded in the meanest way possible -
Imagine playing with your childhood hero only for him to say something like that. It crushed Noah. Ever since he has gone on record multiple times to say he hates Garnett.
Victim- Charlie Villanueva
Charlie Villanueva suffers from alopecia universalis. The disease is non-life threatening, but it leads to a complete loss of body hair.
During one of the games between Charlie V’s Pistons against the Celtics, they two of them got into it. What happened next? Villanueva was given a serious dose of disrespect. Villanueva tweeted after the game -
Here’s the full tweet-
Did KG take things too far? We’ll let you decide.
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