The NBA is not as high contact as the NFL or the NHL but it certainly has it's share of conflict. Through long embittered rivalries between teams and individual players alike, if there is enough tension, these gamesmen will take any opportunity they can to go after each other. While there is no way to determine the most heinous of these offenses of poor sportsmanship and disrespect, as we all have our own personal biases and points of view on events, I've tried to collect some of the most memorable in my mind. There are some repeat offenders, the city of Detroit hosts two events, both of the Van Gundy brothers make an appearance and there are a couple of shots below the belt. With the 2013-2014 NBA campaign days away I declare this "open season", happy hunting fellow heads.
You can't do this. You already got the foul call, he's on the Bobcats, you have to add a low blow? Dwayne Wade is maybe the NBA's most subversive dirty player.
Jet Terry, NBA resident golem, further fueling the fire of classic I-35 rivalry between the Spurs and Mavericks delivers a low blow to former teammate Michael Finley while going after a loose ball in the 2006 Western conference semis. I'll share a comment found on Yahoo Answers while looking for this clip; "he punched him and he did it the most cowardly way possible to throw a low blow should earn a one way ticket to pete rose land(permanently banished from all sports) i think further more micheal finley should be allowed to hit terry back in the groin as hard as he can" - mr benis While I'm not sure I fully agree with mr benis, I definitely can't say that I don't. Jason Terry will search for his second ring and additional meaningful tattoos with the Nets this season.
Pippen is one of my all-time favorites, he is as aggressive and suffocating as they come, and Ewing is the NBA's favorite whipping boy, a star crossed exchange for the ages. "Sit ya ass down" - Scottie Pippen, the original Spike Lee tormentor.
I grew up in a Piston's household, my father is from Detroit, so I was raised to think Jordan was an insane megalomaniac (he is) hell bent on satisfying his own selfish interests and legacy (he is) and is a disrespectful enfant terrible (he was, and probably still is in some Lewis Carroll type of way). But if you want to know what bred the monster we later came to know, Jordan's expression at 7:42 in this clip says it all (the expression simoultaneously tells you why Isiah was blacklisted from the Dream Team!). This was the coming out party for what became the most oppressive force the world of professional sports has ever seen. The "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons, possibly the dirtiest team to ever be assembled in the NBA, were simply the first victims in Jordan's bloodbath. Shout-out to John Salley, advocate for grass and veganism, staying on court to congratulate the victors while the rest of his team walks off prematurely, tarnishing their legacy as an eastern conference powerhouse.
Keeping it in Detroit we'll visit what many (mostly NBA pundits) believe is the worst moment in NBA history, although I think that's just a cover up for Lakers vs. Kings WCF game 6 2002. This is an important moment in NBA history, it established Ron Artest/Metta World Peace as a true force in the NBA, ruined Reggie Miller's best and last chance to win NBA gold, and further solidified Detroit's reputation as a city not to be fucked with. Because anyone who wants to put this all on Ron Artest is laughable, the Detroit fans sparked this and while Artest's punishment and reaction was more publicized, anyone who watched this unfold knows the fans deserve the lion's share of the blame for what unfolded that night. Respect to Stephen Jackson, former Spur and always the best teammate, for keeping it real and throwing down for his brother.
So the video doesn't really capture it but freak that he is, all-time leading trash talker Kevin Garnett crawls along the court and barks at Jared Bayless as he inbounds the ball. I suppose sometimes just saying insanely unnecessary things just isn't enough, you have to act like a total lunatic on the court really feel like you're feared by your peers.
Not the worst example of Garnett's over the line trash talk but maybe most fresh in our memories, Garnett sparks the temper of Melo by telling him his wife tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios. It's not quite as bad as wishing Tim Duncan a happy mother's day during a 1999 playoff series free throw attempt and other times throughout their shared careers (Duncan's mother died of breast cancer when he was 14) or in as poor of taste as telling Charlie Villanueva he looked like a cancer patient, but it really just shows a person's lack of boundaries or respect for those around him. Kevin Garnett is probably one of the most unanimously despised personalities amongst other players in the league and this is a perfect example of why, not only does he act in poor taste but rarely, if ever, is anything he says funny, clever, relevant, or necessary.
Sure the actual play here is not the least bit dirty, it is borderline chippy, almost questionable as a technical. I was at this game, Go Spurs, and the atmosphere in Staples was dark. The end of a terrible season that had been wrought with so much hope only to see disappointment after disappointment unfold, with Kobe literally running himself into the ground and then this, Dwight Howard's swan song as he makes his exit from from Purple and Gold for good. Lakers fans were in such turmoil, watching their team go down in a blaze of glory around the world's biggest child, Howard, only to spend all summer courting him in one of the most bizarre attempts to make it work. It was like watching someone try to maintain a relationship with the most crazed lover out fear they will "do something to hurt themselves". Kobe clearly wanted no part of what Howard had to say to him, or Mitch Kupchak , or Los Angeles or anyone so he enters stage left to roarious applause and ovation, as he should, for he is the true saviour of the Lakers no matter what injury or father time has thrown his way. Dwight ends up going to Houston, hopefully forever ending the three year drama that was his courtship. Many people look at this as a metaphor for the Lakers 2012-2013 season, but I think it will be a metaphor for the turgid career of Dwight Howard.
In a surprising off court moment that ranks among the NBA's most despicable moments we find ourselves once again among the haze that was Dwight Howard's campaign for self. Truly the NBA's most despised dimwit, this exchange with the press and Stan Van Gundy really encapsulated how the public viewed Dwight Howard's character and dealings with his free agency.
Growing up the best playoff basketball was always Knicks vs Heat. This war spanned over four seasons and epitomized grind it out basketball. Some of the most fascinating moments in the 90's comprised through four consecutive playoff series, with the Knicks ultimately having the Heats number, Jeff Van Gundy hanging onto Zo's leg for dear life only to be pulled away in a furious fit, Allan Houston fist pump after clenching the series as the eighth seeded Knicks defeat the top seeded Heat (would go all the way to finals, only to be defeated by the Spurs*), P.J. Brown flipping Larry Johnson over and many more. Two of the best coaches of the nineties pitted against each other with amazing casts including; Patrick Ewing; Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, Tim Hardaway, John Starks, Allan Houston, Dan Majerle, Latrell Sprewell, Jamal Mashburn, Charles Oakley, P.J. Brown, Voshon Leonard, Marcus Camby, Chris Childs etc... Truly amazing ball. Surely there are plenty of other moments worth mentioning, so feel free in the comments.
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