Hate is one of those things that are natural as a human being and a basketball fan. No matter how much you try to curb it, our emotions and the way we feel about certain players are just too much to control. Across NBA history, there are players who are universally loved and players who are universally hated. That is just the way things are, but why is it like that? Why do we hate these players that put their bodies on the line for our entertainment? Well, there are plenty of reasons to justify it.
We have to remember that the hate isn’t related in any way to who these players are as human beings. Well, some of them are, but not for the players we have listed today. The players who are universally hated in today’s NBA could be a part of our least favorite teams or the most hated teams that were ever constructed. Maybe these players injured another player on purpose who happens to be a fan favorite. It could all boil down to the fact that we just do not like their playstyle and the arrogance they display on the court. Whatever the reasons, the thing that cannot be denied is the pure hatred that exists for some of today’s biggest stars.
These are the most hated NBA players in 2023.
Honorable MentionTrae Young
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Trae Young gets an honorable mention for this list due to the fact that most of his hate is centered around the City of New York. Coming into the NBA, Young was only known as the guy who was traded for Luka Doncic and the one who had Stephen Curry-like shooting range on the court. Young has emerged as one of the better point guards in basketball over the last 3 seasons and is doing it again, somewhat, in 2022-23.
However, the hate from New Yorkers towards Trae Young is so loud and so rooted in anger it had to at least get a mention from us. Being a New Yorker myself, I know I would have heard it from my hometown if Young didn’t at least receive a mention. Other fanbases are beginning to hop on the Trae Young hate train as well. Reports of Young flying home privately after a playoff elimination in 2022 isn’t sitting well with a lot of people, as well as his interaction with other home crowds. Young may trend up this list by the end of his career, but for now, he falls just outside it.
Joel Embiid
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The hate for Joel Embiid comes from many different angles but still isn’t fully enough to land him a Top 10 spot. Embiid loves to troll fans and fellow players both on social media and in real life. He is the consummate instigator, known to get into more than one scuffle in his time on the court. Karl-Anthony Towns and Serge Ibaka know about this personally, but fans have caught on to Embiid’s ways, and they aren’t having much more of it.
There are also some reasons that do not justify the hate he gets thrown his way. One of the glaring ones is the fact that some NBA fans will die on the hill that Embiid is a better center/player than reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. The fact that Embiid gets so much shade thrown his way over fans’ opinions is pretty ridiculous if you ask me. First, fans have way more ridiculous opinions than arguing over the two best centers in the NBA. Second, Embiid is not the type to admit that anyone is better than him, as he should feel this way.
10. Kyrie Irving
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Kyrie Irving has never been one to shy away from controversy in any sense of the word. The disdain for Irving can date back to his request to leave the Cavaliers and not wanting to play sidekick to LeBron James any longer. After his departure, Irving had a less than satisfactory stint in Boston, where the team was actually better without him on the court, and in his visits to the city since. Irving has brought all sorts of tensions to Boston, from trying to cleanse the court with sage to wiping his foot across Lucky at half-court, prompting a fan to chuck a water bottle as he left to go to the locker room.
Irving is also no stranger to controversy off the court. Look, I am all for any human being believing in whatever they want and having the freedom to make choices based on those views. However, when you are in the public eye, those actions have consequences to the fullest extent. Just this season, Irving was suspended by the Nets for sharing a link to a documentary that was viewed as Anti-Semitic. This comes just one year after leaving the Nets for days at a time for unknown reasons and clashes with coach Steve Nash. Irving is one hell of a talented basketball player, but he sure does come with some unwanted attention to a team.
9. Chris Paul
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The player coming in at No. 9 actually has a case to be in the Top 5 but so do many players that we have on our list today. The hate for Chris Paul has reached a level that I never expected to see as an NBA fan and analyst. The moment that we started to see fans proclaim their distaste for Paul was when he proclaimed himself as the “Point God,” throwing fans into a frenzy of sour words hurled the veteran’s way.
“How could a titleless player be called the Point God?” they exclaimed. Paul has done himself no favors in the meantime from a fan’s point of view, either. Many claim the star is a dirty player and will throw subtle little physical maneuvers the opponent’s way while on the court. Whether it is a quick elbow or hip thrust in an opposing player’s direction, Paul has certainly made a case for being a Top 10 hated player in the game today. While he has the respect of most players in the league, Chris Paul still has a little work to do with the fans.
8. Patrick Beverley
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As I alluded to earlier, the players on this list all have a case to be put at the top of it. Patrick Beverley is definitely one of those players, as the arrogance and instigation consistently ooze from the veteran every single night. Beverley is a professional pest on the court, sent out there by teammates and coaches to get under the opposing players’ skin. Beverley will push an opponent to the brink of a breakdown with his constant physical pokes and jabs. Not only that, but he thinks he is the best player in the world because of it.
Beverley’s confidence is something we often see from professionals in any sport, but the stats do not match the claims. From throwing Chris Paul to the ground when his back is turned to diving on top of Westbrook instead of the ball a few seasons ago, the hate is pretty warranted for Beverley. Fans appreciate a player that works as hard and has the defensive impact that Beverley does on the court. What they do not appreciate is all the extra shenanigans that come with it.
7. Grayson Allen
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Personally, I have never met a basketball fan that likes Grayson Allen. Heck, I am a Duke fan, and I cannot stand the guy for more than 5 minutes. The clear reason for the hate thrown his way is for his dirty antics on the basketball court. It all started at Duke when on several occasions, Allen was caught tripping and antagonizing opponents on purpose to try and gain some sort of advantage, expecting all the coaches, players, and fans to not see any of the blatant actions.
It isn’t just about the problems he causes on the court with his action but the way he reacts to them as well. There are times when he walks away from a player he may have injured without a care in the world. Other times he likes to act like he didn’t do anything wrong despite the thousands of people that saw what transpired. Grayson Allen is in the NBA for a reason, but I still cannot think of one time I heard someone say, “Yeah, I like Grayson Allen for sure.”
6. LeBron James
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The hate thrown toward LeBron James is interesting, to say the least. The main reason James is hated is that many people simply like to hate greatness. LeBron certainly doesn’t make things easier for himself by proclaiming himself as the GOAT or his flopping antics on the court at times, but those are just fuel to the fire and not cause for the initial hatred towards him and his career. The real reason so many fans hate LeBron James is the comparisons to Michael Jordan.
It seems every time that James approaches a milestone, such as the scoring record in 2022-23, hundreds of thousands of fans flock to social media to discredit him. While he is not to be considered the GOAT, to pretend that there isn’t an argument for it is to live in denial and not reality. James has accomplished things that most NBA players dream of doing. Look, fans don’t like things to change, and I totally understand it, but to hate a man for doing the things LeBron James has done is just plain wrong.
5. Ben Simmons
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What hasn’t Ben Simmons done to warrant some of the hatred given to him over the last 3 seasons? Philadelphia fans sure have a gripe with Simmons, not only about the way he performed on the court but the way he forced his way out of town as well. Ben Simmons was never known as a scorer but basically, never taking any jump shots even when open, should be a crime. Simmons’s timid play cost the Sixers a spot in the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals but what happened next is what he will never live down.
After being blasted in the media, by fans, and even by his own teammates and coaches, Simmons requested to be traded out of Philadelphia, prompting even more hate from the Philly faithful. Just when it looked like things were going to get better, Simmons showed up to practice with his phone in his hands and pocket, refusing to participate in several drills. Ultimately, Simmons was thrown out of practice and traded later that season to Brooklyn, where things have toned down, but the hate is still alive and well for his action across the world.
4. Rudy Gobert
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At first, I didn’t understand why Rudy Gobert was so disliked by the NBA community. Honestly, the guy was the best interior defender in the league and earned 3 Defensive Player of the Year awards because of it. Then, I began to realize why the modern-day NBA fan may hold a serious grudge against Gobert. He has almost zero offensive game and earns more money than a lot of players who are seemingly better than him in today’s NBA.
The hate doesn’t seem to be for Gobert as a person other than his mocking of the COVID-19 virus and rubbing all of the reporters’ microphones at a press conference just before the league was shut down in 2020. Gobert is unliked because today is all about scoring and offense, with NBA fans easily entertained by high-scoring affairs on any given night. While his impact has been almost non-existent in his new home in Minnesota, the hate for Gobert seems to be a bit unwarranted.
3. Russell Westbrook
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I have a special animosity toward the fans who hate Russell Westbrook. I do not understand it one bit. It all started when he won an MVP award in 2017 that many fans thought belonged to Stephen Curry or James Harden. We live in an era of player stans who will absolutely destroy a player because they feel that their favorite has been slighted. They called him a stat-padder despite his leading his team to the playoffs, and they called him a fraud because he has never won an NBA title.
The hate towards Westbrook only intensified with Skip Bayless’ annoying iteration of the nickname Westbrick which is now used to describe him more than his actual name. They slammed him for his play in Los Angeles as he struggled to adjust to playing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis despite the million other reasons things went wrong with the Lakers. The hate toward Westbrook is incredibly abundant and clearly unwarranted because of a bad season with The King.
2. Draymond Green
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One player who has been universally hated by most of the NBA community over the last decade is Draymond Green. Draymond isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and he has also made it clear that is not his intention. Green is unapologetically himself, which means loud, boisterous, and unfiltered in his opinions. The hate began during the late 2010s when he was kicking people where the sun doesn’t shine and being suspended for accumulating technical fouls as well as his antics on the floor.
The hate for Green has been even more abundant as of late. In recent months, Green signed with Klutch Sports, a group that is run by Rich Paul, the NBA superagent of LeBron James. Ever since that day, it seems that Green goes out of his way to praise LeBron at every turn, which is enough to make any sane NBA fan cringe. Green has switched his tone on James and gone from a rival to a guy who will go out of his way to shake LeBron’s hand during the middle of a game. I say bring back the rivalry and let’s cut out the bromance, shall we?
1. Kevin Durant
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Almost eight years later and Kevin Durant is still the most hated player in the NBA. Before that fateful day in which he chose to leave Oklahoma City to join the Warriors dynasty, he was beloved by so many as he ventured into the status of one of the best scorers in NBA history. Once he made the decision to go to the Warriors, all of the love went out the window and was replaced with pure, white-hot rage that still hasn’t fizzled out today.
Kevin Durant did what any player with an offer from the Golden State Warriors would have done. The only difference is that the Warriors eliminated Durant’s Thunder the season before in the playoffs. Stephen A. Smith even went as far as to say it was the softest move from a superstar he had ever seen. Fans still like to say that Durant’s 2 rings with the Warriors don’t count even though they all watched the same Finals wins that I did and saw Durant win. The hate has reached a breaking point, and it is time for it to stop when it comes to Durant especially since he plays in an entirely different city now.
Source: fadeawayworld
