Throughout the NBA’s history, the league has dealt with countless of bad players both on and off the court. While some manage to deflate their ego in order to maximize their earning potential, there are quite a few who continue to view themselves better than the rest.
There are also quite a few players who were secretly disruptive towards every team they played with and people tend to forget their past because of recency bias.
In today’s list, we will take a look at the worst teammates in the NBA that no one talks about.
James Harden (Los Angeles Clippers)
Harden never clashed with his teammates but his off-the-court partying did have an impact on how his past teammates viewed him as a player and a leader. Since his rise to stardom, he has developed an immunity from suspensions and fines.
He forced his way out of Houston and Brooklyn which angered several former teammates. After he was traded to the Clippers, he declared that his time with Philly ended badly because they made him play in a system and ignorantly followed with, “I am the system.”
Christian Wood (Los Angeles Lakers)
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Wood’s rise from being an unheralded player into a decent big man was well-documented by several news outlets that cover the league. However, in recent years, he has bounced around several teams due to his attitude problem and lack of development.
He was suspended for one game by the Mavericks last season after blatantly refusing to check back in a game. Wood still has maturity issues and there’s rumbling that he only performs well just to chase his next big contract.
Jae Crowder (Milwaukee Bucks)
Crowder is generally viewed as a good guy both on and off the court but the way he exited the Phoenix Suns more than a year ago left a really bad impression on his former Suns teammates.
Instead of trying to run it all back and avenge their NBA Finals loss, Crowder inexplicably failed to report at training camp and threatened to sit out the rest of the 2022-2023 season unless he was given a contract extension he deemed worthy. For a contender like Phoenix, this move was considered greedy and selfish on Crowder’s part.
Jordan Poole (Washington Wizards)
Poole’s rise from being a fringe NBA player to a legitimate NBA scorer was the result of his hard work behind the scenes. But when he finally got things going on the floor, his ego also skyrocketed towards the atmosphere.
As a result, mercurial Warriors forward Draymond Green threw and landed a punch at Poole’s face during training camp last year. While Draymond’s actions went a bit too far, it goes to show that Poole’s inflated ego was becoming a problem for the team.
D’Angelo Russell (Los Angeles Lakers)
It seems like Russell’s snitch job on Nick Young’s personal affair in 2015 was forgotten as the years went by. Although he was young at that time, you can sense that he has immaturity issues which reflected how his NBA career has panned out so far.
Back when he was playing with Minnesota, Russell unexpectedly had a one-sided beef with Rudy Gobert. He generally felt that his game had a sudden drop due to Gobert’s limited offensive repertoire. Now with the Lakers, he’s sending out strong signals that he has no desire to come off the bench despite his struggles.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
This is a prime example of nepotism. Everybody knows that Thanasis is not an NBA-caliber player and he’s on the Bucks’ roster to appease their superstar, Giannis. There are rumors that some former Bucks players were dumbfounded that Thanasis is on an NBA roster despite being nowhere near as talented as lower-tier G-league players.
He’s a third-string player in practice and doesn’t contribute on the floor other than being a cheerleader. That’s quite unfair for guys who worked hard throughout their lives just to get a chance to be included in an NBA roster.
Furkan Korkmaz (Philadelphia 76ers)
This is an odd one and a bit out of the blue but Korkmaz’s inclusion in this list is warranted. He’s been with the Sixers since 2017 and his role with the team has been inconsistent.
What makes him one of the worst is that he has already demanded a few times to be traded to another team or to be included in team trades just to get out of Philadelphia. Those odd requests surely rubbed the wrong feathers in Philly but in a hilarious twist, he’s still in a Sixers uniform to this day and playing limited minutes for them.
Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat)
While Butler has completely turned around his reputation as a bad player, his past antics will always haunt him forever. Part of it was immaturity and also an inflated ego that would persist for years.
With the Bulls, he was referred to as a bad teammate. With the Wolves, he was a cancer in the locker room and for the Sixers, he was labeled as a prima donna. To be fair, he did all the hard work to become the star he is today with Miami but not without hiccups along the way. Nowadays, people totally forget about his previous reputation in the association.
Jonathan Kuminga (Golden State Warriors)
While Kuminga is slowly showing signs of improved play and has become a solid rotation piece for the Warriors, this was not the case in his first few years with the team. He came in thinking he’d be a star, but there is some hierarchy stuff with a team like Golden State, given their championship pedigree.
There were rumblings that he has an attitude problem, lack of focus, lacks commitment and has little determination to improve his game on the court. But the Warriors saw his potential and stuck with him despite his shortcomings.
Kyle Lowry (Miami Heat)
Before winning a ring with Toronto in 2019, Lowry had a reputation as a cancer inside the locker room. He clashed with his former teammates in Memphis and was instrumental in the Rockets Coach Kevin Mchale’s departure from the team.
He was immature and equipped with an oversized ego. Lowry viewed himself as a starter during his early years in the association and pouted when played as a backup. Now with Miami, there are still a few rumblings from his camp here and there, but not much to be a cause of concern.
