Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
When you are a great player in the NBA, some sort of disrespect comes with the territory. No one is universally liked, as is the case in all walks of life, but when you are in the spotlight as often as they are, it gets amplified just that little bit more than usual.
While a lot of them also get a great deal of respect along the way, some aren’t as fortunate. It might be because their failures tend to overshadow their great moments or that their name has just been lost in time, so no one mentions them among the greats of the game, and there are a lot more reasons why that happens. There are quite a few names that come to mind, so when Hoop Central posed the question of who is the most disrespected player in NBA history, fans had a lot to say on the matter.
“James Harden without a doubt”
“Honestly? Probably Kawhi Leonard. Dude missed 1 season and people have him below Jayson Tatum. People use him having less career points than Andrew Wiggins against him”
“Kobe Bryant. How are you a top 4 scorer in league history while accumulating 12 all defensive teams 9 of whom are 1st team nodes and “not top 10”. I just don’t get it Kobe literally had no weakness to his game. “
“Alex English, dude led a decade in scoring, made 8 all star teams, got 2nd team all nba 3 times, had the most points for 2 separate years and was always top 10 in that category, and yet people barely even rank him top 50, hell the NBA didn’t even say he was top 75 all time”
“Russell Westbrook. Broke a 50 year old record, and then averaged triple doubles for 4 out of 5 seasons. Has one mediocre season in which his coach didn’t know how to use him, still averaged 17-8-8, and casual fans say that he’s terrible and washed up.”
“the only right answer is the one that has not been mentioned ben simmons. People forget how good he is when he plays they think he is a plumber now.”
“Tim Duncan. He deserves multitudes more praise and attention but due to his personality he is overlooked.”
“Hakeem. He beat Kareem, Ewing, Robinson, Shaq and doesn’t get mentioned as the best C of all time.”
“Lebron. Should have 9-10 all defensive teams. A dpoy. And 3-4 more MVPs. Nbd still the goat by a mile.”
“Either the 3x defensive player of the year that was left off the NBA 75 or the man who averaged a triple double for 3 seasons straight just to be referred to as “Westbrick””
“Grant Hill. Just look at these stats before he had all his major injuries. 20-25 pts, 7-10 rebs, 6-8 assists per game. Would’ve been a top 10 player of all time if it wasn’t for the injuries yet nobody talks about him much.”
“Moses Malone. He has the resume and stats of a top 15-20 player but I rarely see him mentioned in anyone’s top 20.”
“Only correct answer is Scottie Pippen the sheer fact that he played with the greatest player ever both overrates him in some areas and at the same time people give him mad disrespect.”
“Paul Pierce, Karl Malone, Bull Russell, LeBron James. Doesn’t mean they aren’t liked or loved by some but they get the most disrespect”
“Nikola Jokic is running away with that title real fast”
“There’s a lot, but I’ll say Dwayne Wade. Seems to only get talked about when he’s lumped in with LeBron James, and that’s ridiculous.”
“Kyrie because of the media”
“Considering he’s got six titles, was Magic before Magic and basically created the Fast Break in NBA basketball, but gets treated like a Muncie, Indiana gym teacher because he was white…I’m gonna say Bob Cousy. With Steve Nash being second…only 2x MVP who was unworthy somehow”
“Dwight Howard and it isn’t even close. Didn’t make NBA 75 team and people think he’s a meme despite being a perennial MVP candidate and 3x DPOY winner in the late 2000’s. Took an Orlando team full of Urban Outfitters employees to the NBA Finals”
“Giannis, never seen such an accomplished player be so disrespected by hall of famers of the game”
The names mentioned there certainly have a case. James Harden is definitely someone who tends to get a lot of disrespect nowadays as his playoff failures have overshadowed all of the great things he has done on the court. He has a chance to get people off his back next season, as the Sixers have a shot at the title, but if he fails, then the disrespect is only going to get louder.
Russell Westbrook is another one who has had his name dragged through the basketball mud after his failed move to the Lakers, but Mychal Thompson believes he is going to have a comeback season in 2022-23. These two can prove a lot of people wrong next season, which will help shed some of that disrespect off of them, and for their sake, we hope that happens.
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