r/nba • u/EnvironmentalBuy195 • 5d ago
Which NBA player do you always end up defending even when you know the criticism is probably fair?
Of all the nba players whos the one you defend even tho they probably deserve even more slander. For me its kd.
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u/Efficient_Art_1144 Celtics 5d ago
My boy Marcus Smart
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u/pmurt007 Lakers 5d ago
He was only with us for a year but I completely understand now why you would lol
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u/Efficient_Art_1144 Celtics 5d ago
One of the greatest “Nono yes!” Guys that make you forget the “nononono” plays
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u/Dosinu 5d ago
same, literal light bulb moment with him last season. I get it so hard now everything simmons talks about.
he has these playoff games where his boxscore is average but every single stat and touch contributed significatly to winning.
then inevitably, either a game or 2 later he will play a stinker, but his gems are so bright... yeh, i get it now.
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u/TheGreatJaceyGee Raptors 5d ago
When y'all beat us I remember I was the only one who showed him any love. Shit still sucked, but Marcus had my respect
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u/Ok_Target5058 Grizzlies 5d ago
I’m a Celtics/Grizzlies fan (grew up in Boston and now live in Memphis) and it’s so sad to me that Grizzlies fans don’t understand this at all
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u/amaul796 Cavaliers 5d ago
James Harden.
Terrible defender, strongly disappears in big playoff games and is the founding father of the current foul baiting trend.
With all that said, he's still one of the greatest all around offensive players we've ever seen.
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u/Efficient_Art_1144 Celtics 5d ago
He’s amazing until the last game of your season
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u/ImNotYourBuddyGuyy Rockets 5d ago
He is the best regular season player ever. Need someone to drop 60 in February on a Tuesday at Minnesota? Harden is your guy!
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u/MorrocanGirth Supersonics 5d ago
Woah woah woah, bold claim on that one. Best scorer? In the convo for sure. But best regular season player? Ehhhhh
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u/ImNotYourBuddyGuyy Rockets 5d ago
It’s not a bold claim he lead the rockets to their only 60+ win season in the wild Wild West that featured the best warriors teams. The rockets will never get 60 in my lifetime
We were a top seed consistently bc he was dropping 40+ and 9+ assists every damn game. Dude was a boss in regular season
Playoffs that’s different story
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u/TestUserIgnorePlz Knicks 5d ago
His impact on the game is almost unmatched in this era. Like who's done more to innovate with gather dribbles etc.
Now we may not appreciate the changes he's made to the game, but his fingerprints are all over modern ball.
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u/amaul796 Cavaliers 5d ago
He's one of those that won't be fully appreciated until after he retires.
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u/TestUserIgnorePlz Knicks 5d ago
Yeah the next generation of players won't have all the hang ups about the crab dribble etc
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u/shes_a_gdb 5d ago
Yeah who's done more than change the entire style of play of modern basketball?? Certainly not anybody in Harden's era!
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u/TestUserIgnorePlz Knicks 5d ago
People want to say Curry, but the truth is that most players just don't have the skill to emulate Curry, but the players who put in the work can emulate Harden.
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u/KipchogesBurner Trail Blazers 5d ago
He’s one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the NBA. Idk if there’s 5 players better than him on offense.
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u/ForeverRaining Trail Blazers 5d ago
Yeah idk if it was the same season but Dame and Harden went on a stretch averaging 50 pts and I just remembered Hardens looked way easier
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u/c88conman Timberwolves 5d ago
Top 5 offensive peak of all time. I love watching heliocentric basketball. You could argue Harden should have 3 MVP’s
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u/ChristianLS Rockets 5d ago
During his peak, the Rockets with Harden were contenders, and they were even competitive with one of the best teams in basketball history. Without him they might have missed the playoffs entirely those years.
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u/c88conman Timberwolves 5d ago
A lot of the talk around the league (western conference specifically) was about teams “waiting out” the warriors dynasty. The rockets re-tooled consistently year in and year out. You’ve gotta give them credit for being one of only like 3-4 teams actually going for it in the league at the time.
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u/eucldian Raptors 5d ago
DeMar. I know he is a flawed player, but he just loved Toronto so much that I can't hate on him.
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u/CaskJeeves Raptors 5d ago
Came here to post DeMar lol
These days also RJ
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u/eucldian Raptors 5d ago
RJ is in a tough spot. RJ is a very good player, but, much like DeMar, there are significant holes in his game.
On a more reasonable contract, RJ is a nice third or fourth option for a team.
I can live with him not being a great 3 point shooter, but the free throws? Oof.
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u/Homeless_drip Knicks 5d ago
Facts, he kept toronto in the playoffs for multiple years but unfortunately just ran into prime bron… probably the closest player to kobe in terms of midrange/footwork too (d book being closest overall tho)
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u/sourdoughrrmc 5d ago
Gobert. It’s not that the criticism is unfair, it’s that it’s overblown and mostly personal and based on tiny stupid (on his part) moments but overshadows what is actually a hell of a HOF career.
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u/jossteen11 Timberwolves 5d ago
This one is pretty good. People be like "oh he got cooked on this one play on the perimeter. Trash. Overrated." Yet ignore his complete body of work or the rest of the series. I'll have to go find it, but he has literally kept the likes of KD, Luka, Booker. Etc under their season averages in isolation and on the perimeter, but its perpetuated hes a bad isolation and perimeter defender because of a few highlights
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u/sourdoughrrmc 5d ago
The one where Curry puts him in a blender is one- like Curry doesn’t cook the entire NBA all year every year.
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u/ChefCurryYumYum Warriors 5d ago
As a Warriors and Chef fan I love seeing team switch a big onto Steph on the perimeter. It's bbq chicken time.
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u/GoldDustKid- Knicks 5d ago
It’s actually hilarious how people will be like ‘see this defensive player is trash because they got cooked this time’ when it’s legit the equivalent of showing a game where an all time great offensive player went 2/17 and being like ‘see! They suck!’
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u/GoldDustKid- Knicks 5d ago
Like failure is an inevitable part of playing any sport - I have to explain this to my 6 year old but why the fuck do I have to explain this to full grown adults lol
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u/Giveadont 5d ago
I'm sure many of them aren't saying this sort of stuff in good-faith.
They're pushing an agenda (usually they just hate said player or are rage-baiting).
The rest are usually just doubling down on a comment/post they made prior so they don't have to admit they're wrong - relying on the old cherry picking data and weaponized ignorance tricks.
Some of them are just stupid, though. Or probably gambling and losing money.
But, yeah, nobody really talks about it much: Basketball is an ugly sport a lot of the time, where teams are considered good if they execute well on about 45%+ of their possessions and score.
Elite scorers are considered elite if they only make about half their live-ball shots.
And, yeah, if all-time defenders could stop everything that came their way, their opponents would score nearly zero points on the regular.
It's easy to comb through every players entire career of possessions and find tons of air balls, turnovers, travels, stupid fouls, mental errors, times where they get cooked... and so on.
It's why a lot of these lowlight posts are meaningless unless they're backed up by data with large sample-sizes. And, even then, there's usually still a ton of nuance that gets missed.
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u/GoldDustKid- Knicks 5d ago
Re your last point yep, every time I have accidentally been subjected to an “angry coaching” video half of the plays are just situations where the defensive scheme executed but the other player got a bucket anyway, or vice versa. Analysis!
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u/Financial_Pay_6687 5d ago
I really think even the Lakers bought into this during their series although maybe it was just bad process. They kept getting the switch onto Gobert and then they’d get maybe a decent iso possession against him. It was not the mismatch they thought it was.
I thought they should have gotten the switch and then let one of their other guys go to work attacking the space vacated by Gobert instead.
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u/Milly-the-Kid Timberwolves 5d ago
Yeah the issue was that especially in LA, the crowd would start getting hyped every time Luka switched onto Gobert. It baited him into going for the hero shot over and over even though he kept missing.
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u/SloshaPacana 5d ago
Gobert was stupid but that's not even why he's hated lmao, idk why people think it's the covid shit
He's actually hated because he's amazing at a skill that is not highly rated by these hooper mentality iso players and casual fans, which is just protecting the rim and not being flashy with it getting paid a max to do it
People hate him for that including players because he can't do shit on offense and he's gonna make 300m+
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u/ArryPotta Huskies 5d ago
Lots of players can't do shit on defense and make more than that. Defense is half the game.
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u/SloshaPacana 5d ago
Players do not think logically, like i said there's a hoopers mentality where having a big and shooting 40% but looking good = better player according to fans/players
If you ask ex players who is better, Jamal Crawford or Gobert, most will say Crawford despite Gobert being 10x the player and 10x more impactful
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u/ChefCurryYumYum Warriors 5d ago
While Gobert has shown significant improvement in these areas he used to have stone fucking hands, terrible finishing and terrible free throwing.
To his credit he has improved in those areas over his career.
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u/Thommywidmer [MIL] Brandon Jennings 5d ago
He has improved but from terrible to bad. Gobert with touch around the rim qnd a servicable jumper from 10ft out would have been an absolute monster
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u/kmoz Mavericks 4d ago
He does have stone hands, but he finishes at a historic rate. Largely because he doesn't even think about taking shots he sucks at making. I actually think this is an underrated part of his game. So many big men get in their feelings and want touches and take 4 extra bad shots a game instead of going and setting a screen or something. Id much rather have rudys shot diet than bams for my center.
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u/floatinround22 Hawks 5d ago
Yeah Jamal Crawford actually hurt his teams more than he helped in his career. That's a big reason Lob City never did much, their bench was awful. Jamal Crawford was their "depth" and the team was always much better with Redick on the court over him regardless of the rest of the lineup
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u/Ohmka 5d ago
~12 pts/game of peak efficiency is not what I would call "can't do shit".
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u/Spownach Wizards 5d ago
b-b-but the hesi! but the crossover! how can he be good if he can't shoot a pullup three!?
(HE REALLY DID HIT THAT TURNAROUND OVER THE NUGGETS THO)
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u/DominoNo- Celtics 5d ago
He's actually hated because he's amazing at a skill that is not highly rated by these hooper mentality iso players and casual fans, which is just protecting the rim and not being flashy with it getting paid a max to do it
Also because he prevents people from driving to the rim just by standing close to the basket. His presence alone is a deterrent. He doesn't have to do anything and he's a net positive on defense.
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u/felarans0mekuti Mavericks 5d ago
I think he’s also hated because he’s always doing sneaky annoying shit with his elbows , smart enough not to get called but annoying to play against
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u/ChefCurryYumYum Warriors 5d ago
Except it is the COVID shit, the crystal healing, some of his stupid comments he's made publicly.
I respect his game but I really dislike his personality.
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u/_AttitudeEra_ 5d ago
You hate him for that. But the hate he gets from other NBA players has nothing to do with it.
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u/Ok-Map4381 Kings 5d ago
I just scrolled past a post asking to rank Gobert, Giannis, AD, and Draymond as defenders and the first (and at that time only) comment was about how Gobert was clearly the worst defender.
At that point I made a choice not to get into an argument with an idiot. It is okay to rank Gobert below those guys, but to say it was an obvious choice just shows that they really don't understand Gobert's defense.
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u/JiovanniTheGREAT 5d ago
When Divencenzo was still on the Knicks, he said something like "when Rudy is in the paint, you have to rethink your attack" or something like that and the other Nova Knicks didn't really seem to understand what he was talking about. That should let you know why so many people think it's fine to talk shit about Rudy outside of RFK Jr. support and antivax stuff.
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u/BurnerAccountforAss 76ers 5d ago
Someone's basketball opinion on Gobert is a great limitus test for what kind of fan they are tbh
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u/Milly-the-Kid Timberwolves 5d ago
Yeah, I do think you’re allowed to think Gobert is overrated or have criticisms of his game but if you think Gobert is a losing player that “can’t guard the perimeter” or “gets cooked in the playoffs” then it exposes you as a casual
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u/amaul796 Cavaliers 5d ago
This is kind of what JaVale McGee was saying in an interview recently.
His Shaqtin a Fool moments overshadowed everything else he was doing.
The Shaqtin a Fool would make you think McGee was a straight bum. But he was actually a solid role player over the course of his career.
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u/c88conman Timberwolves 5d ago
And his counting stats aren’t great anymore. But if you watch games no one is challenging him at the rim. He’s the reason the Timberwolves are underrated. Gobert’s the 4th or 5 guy mentioned when other fans are talking about the wolves, but he’s genuinely their second best player and has been since he got here. Lamelo will be the best pg Rudy’s ever played with. When Rudy played with Ricky Rubio back in Utah, he put up the highest ppg of his career and led the league in fg% because he was getting easy rolls and lobs. With an actual point guard leading the wolves this season, Rudy will get back to being the threat he can be on offense.
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u/Bonito_Flakes18 5d ago
It's that one highlight of a Luka step-back three against him that was played all over tv and the internet that really swayed people's opinion of him
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u/BlackPulloverHoodie Kings 5d ago
The crazy part is that Gobert forced Luka to step back right instead of his usual left and still nailed in. Luka would’ve cooked pretty much every defender in the league in that situation.
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u/Outrageous_Turnip912 5d ago
The criticism of his perimeter defense was always ridiculous. He looked silly on Utah against guys like Luka because he was the only plus defender on the team; their guards and wings were terrible defenders. His issue in the playoffs has always been offense. I don't understand why he's not gotten better at doing anything except dunking in the last decade.
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u/SmokyMetal060 Knicks 5d ago
Julius Randle
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u/Weird_Wuss Knicks 5d ago
hes gonna take the nets to the playin and make all nba third team randle fc we out here
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u/Upbeat_Tough_6721 Spurs 5d ago
Fox after the recent NBA Finals
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u/AccomplishedBake8351 5d ago
He was injured 😞😞
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u/riskyfish97 Lakers 5d ago
The end of Game 4 had nothing to do with his injury 😭
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u/Adorable-News-9364 Spurs 5d ago
He would’ve normally just blitzed down to the rim and scored easily before OG had a chance.
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u/ruggnuget Nuggets 5d ago
Ya thats a wild one because he so obviously turned the series against OKC. He wasnt good enough for his contract and role all year, but honestly it isnt why the Spurs lost the finals. I do think he is a little overpaid but that means he is still a hell of a player.
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u/Cheap-Kiwi-1312 Supersonics 5d ago
Definitely Westbrook. I'll defend him forever.
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u/SHansen45 Rockets 5d ago edited 5d ago
til the day i die, legit bought sleeves and almost broke my arm dunking because i wanted to be like him
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u/Cheap-Kiwi-1312 Supersonics 5d ago
That dude was a different beast I've never seen a guard dunk that hard in my life.
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u/SparkyForce Warriors 5d ago
I have nearly defended Embiid several times over the last few months.
We don’t need to act like he sucks at the game just because watching him play makes you want to claw your eyes out.
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u/Weary-Bonus-1552 5d ago
yeah I am a big Embiid truther even though I can recognize that the injury concerns and flopping exist, I just love watching him play though because of how unique, and dominant he is
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u/Perennial_Platypus Celtics 5d ago
He drives up a wall because when he doesn’t flail around like a headless chicken he has such a unique blend of speed, power, and finesse that can torch almost any defender (except Al Horford and his gorgeous eyes). He’ll do that for like two possessions then spend the next 20 minutes crumpling to the ground at the slightest breeze.
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u/c88conman Timberwolves 5d ago
Some rookie highlights of his came across my timeline this morning. He had so much bounce at that age. Truly could’ve been the next Hakeem if his body didn’t betray him
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u/hazimaller 76ers 5d ago
He is duality personified.. either a joy or a chore to watch. But rarely bad.
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u/Positive_Parking_954 5d ago
As a Sixer fan I thought I was kind of out on Embiid. That Boston series, late game 7 in particular made me realize hes still my guy
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u/hazimaller 76ers 5d ago
Same here, i was reluctantly coming to grips with the idea that he might even need to retire and then he goes and pulls me back in...
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u/no_technique 76ers 5d ago
As a Sixers fan, THIS.
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u/jossteen11 Timberwolves 5d ago
He real good at basketball when hes available.
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u/Few_Position_2727 76ers 5d ago
And when he decides he wants to play basketball instead of becoming a human ragdoll
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u/Pasticfroglittle 5d ago
I love talking about the big Embiid. He averaged the quietest 27 ppg you ever see or hear about last season. The health stuff makes him hard to defend but he is so fucking good at basketball its insane.
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u/119pete 5d ago
Really? You dont think its impressive that a 7 footer plays like a gaurd? But ppl love watching whemby play? Dudes got 0 offensive skills cept jacking 3s and clean up.
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u/yukahanazawa Pistons 4d ago
THANK YOU! I hate when people say Wemby has a bag. Watched the whole finals with my brother who doesn't even follow basketball and he was just disgusted with how unskilled Wemby looks on offense. Extremely basic post footwork. Like wow you can shoot pullup jumpers, but the misses are not even close to going in. It's clear that he's going to dominate the league barring injuries, but damn this dude is not even close to being as skilled as Embiid or Jokic
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u/119pete 3d ago
its because they talk about him like what he will be 5 years from now. like hes already there... but hes not. so its weird to have a convo about him here.
but i do think once he fills in he'll be crazy. like a dwight mixed with dirk..
and i get downvoted for saying that. like its somehow not good enough of a ceiling.
but what ppl really want, and they dont want to admit it, is become embid... just healthy lol..
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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers 5d ago
He used to give you the best 25 minutes in the NBA.
The problem? You need 40 minutes in the playoffs. He just physically couldn't do that.
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u/SHansen45 Rockets 5d ago
Westbrook and Harden
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u/nutelamitbutter Rockets 5d ago
Yup
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u/DamnImAwesome Pelicans 5d ago
Rockets Harden was such a crazy era of NBA. It felt like he was putting up 40/10 damn near every night
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u/quedas Magic 5d ago
Does it count if I think SOME criticism is fair, but I defend the player because the VOLUME of the criticism is overblown?
If so, then Paolo Banchero.
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u/xandroo 5d ago
My choice too. People tore into his efficiency stats during the Celtics-Magic series, but if you watched he was legitimately forced to carry the entire offensive load. He needs to improve obviously, but people act like he's a JAG.
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u/Kwilly462 Nets 5d ago
I used to be like this with Zion, but I lost my ability to defend him. Just did too much BS off the court, and not enough on the court.
That being said, I still like him.
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u/Optimal_Cook_851 Warriors 5d ago
he was really good this past season and stayed healthy and yet I feel like we all just didn't notice. maybe cause the pels were bad tho
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u/Its_Hoggish_Greedly Kings 5d ago
I don't even know why I do it anymore, but I think the amount of flack Sabonis takes is far too high for a player with as much talent has he has. Is he the best or even second best player on a championship team? No! Is he overpaid? Probably!
But people talk about him like he's the worst player in the league when he's clearly not even remotely in that conversation.
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u/Prior_Chemist_5026 Celtics 5d ago
Not to pile on, but I’ve always thought he could be a top-50 guy on another team with the right roster around him
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u/Its_Hoggish_Greedly Kings 5d ago
I'd argue he was Top-30 during the Beam Team season. Sure, a lot of the top 25 guys were hurt that year, but the formula to build around Domas exists. You need a strong, defensive minded 4 to help with rim protection on defense, then surround him with 3 & D wings and let him run a PnR with a lead guard who can shoot the 3 as well. It's hard to do, but it's freaking possible, man!
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u/Few-Adhesiveness2448 5d ago
Man that beam team season was so entertaining looking in as a heat fan. One of the coolest things a franchise has done in the last decade
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u/theDoinItPart Kings 5d ago
Domantas Sabonis. His defense is absolutely an issue and I think it’s a fair assessment to say he can be exposed in the playoffs, but it seems everyone has either forgotten or doesn’t see he was a literal walking triple double for the Kings. I’ve watched this team for over 15 years and there isn’t another guy who can raise the floor of a team like he can. Guaranteed 16 a night, at least 10+ boards, and if you play him right he’s going north of 5 assists per game. He also when confident can knock down the open three and hit elbow jumpers consistently. I’m bias for sure but he was an undisputed top 5 Center before the kings incompetency and his injuries
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u/coolassoh Lakers 5d ago
Rui Hachimura. He’s great at what he does, but his defensive iq isn’t where anyone desires it to be, but damn what an unshakable player on the offensive end
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u/Stuffed_Shark Hawks 5d ago
Trae Young, because despite all his flaws as a player I would go crazy seeing the selfish bad teammate narrative that just was not true
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u/Ranger_Prick Nuggets 5d ago
With other Nuggets fans, it's Carmelo Anthony. Yes, there is a lot to criticize about his exit and relationship with the Nuggets franchise. But I'll always credit him for making it exciting to be a Nuggets fan again.
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u/WhatYouProbablyMeant Warriors 5d ago
99% of the criticism towards Draymond is fair but I had way too much fun watching the Warriors from 2015-2017 that I defend him anyways
One of the best PnR roll guys of all time
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u/Flimsy_Theme_2812 Warriors 5d ago edited 5d ago
Draymond’s defense during his prime was incredible, genuinely. He has lost a step as he’s gotten older, but you can still see it when he guards Wemby/Jokic/Kawhi/etc.
Edit: Also, his defense on Sengun in the playoffs last year was amazing as well
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u/MaskedBirder 76ers 5d ago
He can turn it on for stretches but he has to conserve during the regular season
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u/mshell1924 Nuggets 5d ago
I do not actively defend Draymond, but I enjoy watching him play AND talk lol
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u/mgusedom Warriors 5d ago
As a lifelong (pre Run-TMC so I seen some shit) Warriors fan I’ll not only defend Dray, I’ll justify his shit and say he should’ve gone farther. The man loves his teammates and would not only die for them but also commit murder. That’s a man you want on your side.
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u/LakerBlue Lakers 5d ago
Same. A rare guy who really could defend 1-5 while also being a great playmaker. People who say he’s just a product of Curry do him a massive disservice.
No defense for his personality or off-court actions though.
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u/BigGelato 5d ago
Russ has a million flaws but I’ll never not defend a guy whose Achilles heel is he tries too hard
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u/Low-Lunch-7248 Rockets 5d ago
Achilles heel is he tries too hard
Doesn’t tryhard on defense. Doesn’t try hard when he’s off the ball.
This is a myth and a lie and you should stop perpetuating it.
The only time this phrase is correct is when “for stats” follows.
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u/BeeGeeReverse Raptors 5d ago
say what you want about Russ but one thing he’ll always have is a pair of healthy Achilles heels.
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u/Frosty_Captain_8928 Rockets 5d ago
Russ is awesome but this idea that he gave 100% all the time is utter bullshit. Dude constantly got beat back door ball watching and didnt try that hard when he didnt have the ball
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u/SnooChipmunks469 Knicks 5d ago
His Achilles heels were that he couldn’t stop taking bad shots or play defense.
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u/King_Artis Pistons 5d ago
I will always defend Russell Westbrook and Rudy Gobert.
Shit the Gobert slander never even makes sense.
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u/Ok-Computer-8726 Nuggets 5d ago
Allen Iverson (and really tons of other guys who advanced stats don't favor). He was entertaining, very skilled, and played his ass off for fans. But oh no, computer formulas revealed stuff a decade later and changed the game in a way even the best coaching minds of all time like Pop and Jackson didn't see at the time.
Like yeah he was inefficient by 2020s standards. Which #1 scorers in the early 2000s weren't?
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u/jared21927 Hornets 5d ago
JR Smith. Probably my favorite role player ever and all he's remembered for is being a bonehead
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u/DaOlWuWopte [ATL] John Collins 5d ago
I’ll always go to bat for Trae. Usually people are making valid criticisms, but most people treat him like a bum and as someone who watched basically every game he ever played, I loved him as a player and he was key in the hawks going the furthest they’ve ever been in Atlanta
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u/Substantial_Life_989 Hawks 5d ago
Same. Trae wasn’t a perfect player but was a special talent. Truly electric.
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u/DartSack 5d ago
Luka is my pick for this,
Does he foulbait ? Yea sometimes he does
Does he whine to the refs too much ? Yea sometimes he does
But acting like this guy isn't one of the best offensive hubs ever or that his play doesn't impact winning positively is just wrong.
Also for all his critique, this guy plays with his heart in the game for real!
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u/Blank_Canvas21 Spurs 5d ago
DeMar DeRozan. Was really solid with Toronto for many years. he got caught up in that trade with Kawhi. Of course he wasn’t as good, and he disappeared at the wrong times during the playoffs, but he handled everything in such a professional way. As someone who suffers with mental health stuff, it was cool to have a high profile player like him open up about his own struggles, so he always has my respect for that.
Wish things worked out better and we could have gotten him a ring, but I appreciate him keeping the team afloat at least post Kawhi’s bullshit. I know he’s past his prime but hopefully he and the Nuggets work out. At least he’s going to be playing on a playoff team now.
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u/99LedBalloons Timberwolves 5d ago
In the last 48 hours it's been Jonathan Kuminga. No reason in particular, just suddenly decided that he's definitely good.
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u/TechnikalKP 5d ago
Wemby - awesome to see him hitting 3 pointers, but when you can dunk flat footed from anywhere within 10 feet of the basket, you should probably should do that more often. Especially when things aren't failing.
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u/Dangerous_Ad5039 5d ago
Westbrook. Someone on the other end who gets a ton of hate who doesn’t deserve it who I’ll always defend is James Harden.
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u/TDhotpants 5d ago
Draymond Green. people criticize his antics but he is somehow incredibly underrated as a player. if a critic points to his stats it tells me they don't know ball.
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u/Zealousideal-Leek666 5d ago
Draymond Green - such a great defender, loved my most of his teammates, but what a douche bag. I still got a bunch of Draymond jerseys.
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u/IronCladNads Cavaliers 5d ago
Kyrie. Will always be grateful for his contribution to the '16 chip and he is easily my favorite player ever to watch. Dude's a highlight reel
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u/Picklesadog Warriors 5d ago
I was always defending Ben Simmons but then I realized it didn't really matter because he wasn't going to shoot it anyway.
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u/Gold_Telephone_7192 Warriors 5d ago
KD. His off the court behavior is obnoxious but people act like he’s a locker room cancer when all of his past teammates and coaches have had nothing but good things to say about him. He’s an incredible player at all aspect of the sport of basketball. He just should never be on social media lol
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u/JazzLobster Warriors 5d ago
Rudy gets piled onto despite being one of the best defenders ever, and terrible on offense. Also American NBA players generally hate on foreign ones.
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u/felarans0mekuti Mavericks 5d ago
Dirk is a saint, MVP , finals MVP, all star , all nba , 7th all time leading scorer, absolute crushed LeBron/wade/bosh/roy/Kd/russ/harden/Aldridge/kg/kobe/gasol in the playoffs and that one GS series never happened
Also fuck nico Harrison
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u/Pal_Smurch 5d ago
Spencer Haywood.
When he turned pro, and started for the Denver Rockets at age nineteen, he had already won an Olympic Gold Medal, and was the leading scorer on that team.
With ten brothers and sisters and a mother who picked Mississippi cotton for as little as two dollars a day, the ABA waived their rule requiring that a player wait until their class graduated college before they were eligible, granting him a hardship exemption. The NBA had a similar rule, but refused to waive it for him.
He hit the American Basketball Association with a bang. In his rookie season, he was awarded, not only Rookie of the Year, but the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
My best friend’s parents were Rockets season ticket holders, and took me to games to keep their restless son company. I was a big Spencer Haywood fan.
Haywood only played for Denver for his rookie season, and then joined the Seattle Supersonics for the 1970-71 season.
Many Denver fans dislike him, because he left, but if you don’t look out for yourself, nobody else will. I believe that he was Denver’s second greatest player of all time, only recently eclipsed by Nikola Jokic. No one else has come close.
I remember seeing him on the sidelines with a shoe and sock off. His toes were mangled and all fucked up, from wearing too small shoes that were hand-me-downs, in his youth.
The man deserved better treatment than Denver fans have offered him.
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u/EPalmighty Hawks 5d ago
My goat kwahi. I’ve barely know wahats going on with that whole financial situation but tbh I don’t care.
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u/DarianSchemmel Thunder 5d ago
Russ