Man there’s levels to trash talking. Some guys just get under your skin but then there’s some guys who tear out your soul. Now we have guys who sit on the bench, throw shots and make a few jokes. But these next level guys? Their oral onslaught is compounded by the fact that they were assassins on the court as well. I’d almost call them bullies if they picked and chose their victims but they were equal opportunity terrorists lol. Let’s take a look at some of the greatest verbal abusers the NBA has ever seen and their nastiest moments:
5. Kevin Garnett – “Happy Mother’s Day Motherf*cker!!!!”
This is just all bad. So in case you’re not familiar with this incident, this dates back to May 1999. The Timberwolves and Spurs are playing in the playoffs on Mother’s Day. Tim Duncan is going to the line and KG yells, “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY MOTHERF*CKER!!!!” Now on the surface this is just plain rude. But when you realize that Tim Duncan’s mom passed away from breast cancer a day before his 14th birthday you see how this catapults KG into the upper echelon of verbal warriors. Between this and telling a man his wife tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios, I don’t see how he still has teeth.
4. Reggie Miller – Knick Killer
Just for the torture he put the Knicks through alone, he is going to be mentioned. From basically tormenting John Starks to giving Spike Lee the choke sign and grabbing his crotch with his wife sitting next to him, Reggie is a trash talking phenom. He even got MJ so worked up that they got into a scuffle. You have to be pretty obnoxious to get Mike out of his character.
3. Gary Payton – “At least nobody will see me take the ball from you.”
Now GP had more vicious moments than this but this is one of my favorites. The victim, Kenny Anderson. The Sonics are playing the Nets and there isn’t hardly anyone at the game. So during a play, Payton says this to Kenny Anderson. During this time, the Nets were god awful so that just puts salt in the wound.
2. Michael Jordan – “Shoot it you f*ckin midget!!!!!”
Here’s the scene. It’s 1995. The Hornets are trying to avoid elimination against the Bulls in the playoffs. Hornets are down by 1 point with a few seconds left in the game. Muggsy Bogues gets the ball with MJ guarding him. Legend has it that Mike just stepped back, gave Muggsy space to shoot and says, “Shoot it you f*ckin midget!!!!” CLANK!!!!! Bulls win. Bogues’ career nosedives afterwards. There has been some pretty special guys as far as trash talking goes but MJ has been known to end dude’s careers with words.
1. Larry Bird – “Merry F*ckin Christmas!!!!”
I don’t know why but I have an affinity for the insults that involve holidays and profanity. So here’s how this went. A few days before their Christmas day matchup with the Celtics, Chuck Person says the Pacers will go “Bird hunting” on Christmas (his nickname was The Rifleman). Of course Bird sees the comment. Early on in the game, Bird gets the ball in front of the Pacers bench, shoots a three, while the ball is in the air he turns to Person on the bench and says, “Merry F*ckin Christmas!!!!” That will put a damper on your holidays.
There you have it. The All Savage team. Is there anyone who should crack the top 5? Who would they replace?