The 50 Dirtiest Players in NBA History

[Manute for Ever!]

These here are the bad boys, folks. Every sport has them. These are the ones that put winning so high on their list of priorities, they disregard ethical decency to attain it.
These are the guys that you hate when they are on a different team but absolutely adore when they are on your own. Whether it be constant elbows being thrown or simply a propensity to flop, these players work on the line separating lawful play from illegal venture.
You will find that there are two types of dirty athletes. There are those that are acting out of frustration and those that are trying to get an edge. All the while, these guys have added a huge dose of character to our beloved game.

50. Christian Laettner

It seems that the NBA's top defenders fill out this list. It is fitting. In a league that is geared towards scoring, a defender sometimes has to bend the rules to make it a level playing field.
But I cannot disregard Laettner's ability to hold a grudge as he did in this video: Laettner admits stomping Timberlake

49. Robert Horry

As you can see, there is an obvious transition in the NBA. What were considered hard fouls a decade ago are now considered cheap shots.
Robert Horry is an older player that knows you sometimes have to deliver a message along with a foul. Is this dirty? Yes. Is it necessary? Extremely.
Horry delivers a cheap shot on David West

48. Gary Payton

You didn't think the greatest thief in the NBA would be here?
Gary Payton was a member of nine All-Defensive first teams. You don't get there without cracking some eggs. Or at the very least grabbing some jerseys and arms.

47. Vlade Divac

Right off the bat, I want you, the reader, to understand that I feel flopping is a dirty tactic. It is a lazy way around the rules. Sure there is contact, but selling it to make it look like there was a foul is deplorable.
I liked Vlade Divac when he was on my Lakers in the '90s. But the one thing I could never stand was that he was constantly on the floor. That is no way to get an advantage.
Vlade was the best at it.

46. Anthony Mason

Anthony Mason was a bit undersized to play power forward in the NBA. His brawn and physical strength made up for that fact. Mason played hard and physical.
When he had to defend the bigger players of the league, he was known to give a little extra. Shoves in the back and tugs of the shirt were a natural occurrence of the day.
Mason is one player that played so physically, it was hard to determine if he was dirty or just extremely active.

45. Latrell Sprewell

Latrell was a tough defender that would not back down from any fight. But I have to include him here for the utter lack of disrespect he showed to the his coach and this fine league, when in 1997, he choked P.J. Carlesimo.
During a Warriors practice, Sprewell felt he was getting criticized too much. Some would call this getting coached. Either way, he choked his coach to the ground.
No, he wasn't kicked out of the NBA. Are you crazy? He went on to make millions.

44. Jeff Ruland

Jeff Ruland was not supposed to be a starting center in the NBA. He was always out there trying to prove his critics wrong. This may be why he played the way he did.
Ruland was a tough burden for opponents to deal with down low. He liked to take chip shots and would elbow or shove defenders to get that shot going.
He was also a beast to handle defensively. He was always a degree or two away from full-on groping

43. Reggie Miller

Reggie Miller was an '80s-type player playing in the '90s. He would throw elbows when the refs were conveniently not looking.
But what I recall him being the best at was creating open space to shoot the ball with his arm. What Kobe Bryant has become very adept at, Miller started.
I would also like to mention that Cheryl's little brother could run his mouth trash-talking as well.

42. Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo is truly one of the nicest and most charitable players in NBA history. But when he was on the low block, players had to watch for a multitude of elbows.
There was many a nose that went there to die.

41. Manu Ginobili

Manu Ginobili plays to the beat of his own drum. On defense, he is a complete handful. He has hands everywhere. He reaches and prods, and at some point, the viewer has to ask, wasn't there a foul there?
Sometimes.
But Manu Ginobili really shines in the art of flopping. He is the new dominant flopper. Don't go near him or he will crumble under your presence.

31-40 coming right up....

[Patrick Chewing]

Horry murdered Nash too not too long ago.

[Batz]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/5...in-nba-history

[LA KB24]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/5...in-nba-history

lol

[Meticode]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/5...in-nba-history

Repped. Manute just wasted his time linking all the text and numbering it.

[Patrick Chewing]

Oh damn wait till he gets to Xavier McDaniels' pic

[BlueandGold]

bowen, rodman and ben wallace have to be in the top10... pretty much any DPOY is on this list.

[G.O.A.T]

I'm sorry but I'd much rather see it listed out the way Manute has done it.

If it's just the link I probably ignore it and people will only focus on the player they wanted to talk about and the top of the list.

[DeronMillsap]

Laettner looks like he's got some malicious ideas on his mind.

[Al Thornton]

manute doing what he does best.

[kristy]

Latrell Sprewell is kinda devil in the 50 list of dirtiest player in NBA History

[Manute for Ever!]

40. John Starks

John Starks comes from the old school of basketball. His heyday was a time when a player could play hard-nosed defense; today he would be labeled as dirty.
He would bump and shove with the best of them. By the end of the game he had worn out his opponent. That is what an NBA star should do.
Today, he would lead the league in fouls and fines.

39. Kurt Rambis

Kurt Rambis was very good at doing the little things. He would scramble for loose balls. He would put back a missed shot.
But he was also a great defender. He did an excellent job at getting under the skin of the opposition.
He did so well at it, Kevin McHale almost killed him one time.

38. Rick Mahorn

Do you see what you could get away with back then?
Mahorn was physical on the court. He was the baddest of the Pistons "Bad Boys" in 1989. He would do anything to create contact down low. It was the only way he could compensate for his horrible jumping ability.
I guess if you can't beat them, shove them.

37. Zaza Pachulia

In a recent poll by Sports Illustrated, Zaza Pachulia was listed as the sixth-dirtiest player in the NBA currently.
Pachulia has absolutely no qualms about fouling and fouling hard. He will wrap you up, give you a nice shoulder to the back, basically anything short of boxing.

36. Clyde Lovellette

In his book, The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and the Golden Age of Basketball, John Taylor recounts the extreme measures Clyde Lovellette would go to in order to take down Wilt Chamberlain.
He is even said to have given Wilt a forearm to the jaw while the two were running down the floor. It was truly a different era.

35. Dave Cowens

Dave Cowens was an all-out menace on the court. On offense and defense, he only had one speed. He gave it all he had and that entered into some very physical play. There is no way around getting into altercations when you are hand-checking at the speed he played at.
The easiest way to think of it: Sasha Vujacic with talent.

34. Isiah Thomas

One thing you have to remember about the point guards of the '80s and '90s is that they were smaller and more active. They have to drive to the hoop and mix it up with much bigger men.
"Zeke" only measured 6' tall. It was only natural for him to get into the paint and take advantage of the refs not looking. If there was an errant elbow or even a trip while he was guarding you, well, so be it.
The era was the NBA equivalent to the Wild West. They got away with a lot.

33. Kendrick Perkins

Perkins is already strong and malicious down low. He is bound to create unwarranted contact.
But what makes him a dirty star is his ability to get away with the illegal pick.

32. Andres Nocioni

Andres Nocioni is tough, gritty and athletic if he plays for your team. For the rest of us fans, he is dirty.
He is really the last bastion of the NBA enforcer. If you wrong one of his teammates, you can be sure that Nocioni will be fouling you hard later in the game.

31. Anderson Varejao

Anderson Varejao may look like a taller Justin Guarini from American Idol fame, but he is much more sinister than that.

Anderson Varejao is the worst kind of dirty player. He will swing those lanky arms and then act as if he was framed for the whole thing. It is that kind of karma that killed the Cavaliers.

21-30 soon...

[Batz]

Why is this thread still going when I posted the link to where you're copying and pasting it from?

[Manute for Ever!]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/5...in-nba-history

Gee, there's just no getting anything past you... It didn't occur to you that it will take five posts to include it all, thus I'm going to put the link in the last one? Why would I lay it out like its quoted if I was trying to claim it as my own?

Quit wasting your time here, the city clearly needs you!

[Manute for Ever!]

Why is this thread still going when I posted the link to where you're copying and pasting it from?

So you can read it all on one page and add your input, genius.