The NBA is home to accomplished superstars whose names are etched in both record books and memories. Many of those players are beloved and appreciated — in other words, they’re given their flowers either during their playing career or soon after retiring.
But there are a select few who have achieved greatness on the court and aren’t recognized. For whatever reason, this group of NBA stars didn’t quite garner the deserved recognition during or after their playing days.
The following players fit that mold as the most disrespected in NBA history.
Most Disrespected Players in NBA History
1) Paul Pierce
Largely due to his post-career broadcast journey, which has included working — and later being fired — by ESPN and co-hosting a podcast with fellow Boston Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce’s place in history has taken a beating.
His outlandish NBA takes have put a damper on his Hall of Fame career. Much of the younger generation may know Pierce only for his retirement activities, rather than for the stone-cold killer he was.
The 10-time All-Star and 2008 NBA Finals MVP winner was known as one of the purest scorers in the league in his prime. At his peak, he averaged 26.8 points along with 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
“The Truth,” as he became known, continued to hit big shots late into his career. It’s a shame that his off-court antics have tarnished his reputation on the court, but aside from his post-career activities, Pierce’s career is often overlooked nowadays.
2) Draymond Green
Though, like Pierce, his own antics have brought some negative energy his way, there’s still far from enough appreciation for what Draymond Green has meant to the game of basketball.
Coming into the league as the 35th pick, not much was expected from the pudgy kid from Michigan State. But soon enough, he was too good to keep off the floor.
His defense led the way, as he went on to claim the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the league in steals with 154. He was a mastermind, conducting the defense that won the 2017 NBA Championship.
But it hasn’t been just his defense that has been a major factor in the Golden State Warriors’ four championships; his feel for the game offensively — whether finding Steph Curry or Klay Thompson for open 3-pointers or screening them open — is superb.
Green is truly a one-of-a-kind player and should be a sure-fire Hall of Fame selection when it’s all said and done. But with a number of suspensions and public beefs with other players, his behavior has been called into question when discussing his place in history.
But outside of that, his play speaks for itself as he’s one of the greatest defenders in league history and the glue behind four NBA championships.
3) Rudy Gobert
A defensive stalwart who routinely is the engine behind top-ranked defenses in the league year after year, it seems like Rudy Gobert still hasn’t gotten his respects — even after becoming the third player in the history of the league with four Defensive Player of the Year trophies (Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo are the others).
For whatever reason, opposing players don’t seem to like Gobert. He has had several moments that make you cringe, such as when he cried after not making the All-Star team and when he joked about touching every reporter’s microphone during an uptick in COVID cases. Soon after mocking it, Gobert was the first known NBA player to contract the virus.
While Gobert’s offensive game is sometimes clunky, he has still averaged a double-double throughout his career (12.6 points, 11.7 rebounds). He’s also a solid screener, freeing his guards in the pick-and-roll.
It may continue to be a mystery why NBA players and many media members tend to overlook Gobert’s accomplishments and resume, which are among the best in the league on the defensive side of the ball.
4) Isiah Thomas
Yes, Isiah Thomas had a major hand in the “Bad Boy Pistons,” an infamous — or, if you were a fan, famous — era of the Detroit Pistons in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, the Pistons were arguably the most physical team the NBA had ever seen, engaging in mental and physical warfare to gain an edge over the opposition.
And it worked to the tune of back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990. He won the finals MVP award in 1990 after averaging 27.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.0 assists against the Portland Trail Blazers. Detroit won the series 4-1, cementing itself in history with two championships in two years.
READ MORE: Reliving the Time Isiah Thomas Wanted LeBron James To Join the Knicks in 2010 Free Agency
Thomas was the best — and most visible — player on those teams, consistently receiving criticism from fans and opposing players for the style of play the Pistons employed. In addition, a comment on Larry Bird’s skin color was construed as racist, further staining his resume.
Regardless of the Bad Boy Pistons and the sheer physicality his teammates showed, Thomas’ name has to be in the conversation among the best point guards to ever play the game. However, due to outside factors, his name is rarely mentioned.
5) Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy’s name has been mentioned recently as a slight to the era of basketball he played in. Cousy was hands-down the best point guard during his career, which spanned from 1950 to 1963, with many references to him as a wizard with the basketball.
In all, he helped the Boston Celtics to six NBA titles — but it didn’t stop there, as the individual accolades rolled in as well. He was named to 13 All-Star teams and led the league in assists for eight seasons, one of the first players to emphasize getting others involved.
No doubt the competition was less when Cousy was running up and down the court dominating, but in 70 years, we may look back at the era we’re in right now and think the same thing.
Cousy, nearly 97 years old, deserves his recognition as a pioneer of basketball and is deserving of none of the hate.
6) Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook is unlike any player in NBA history. He has experienced the lows, such as when Los Angeles Lakers fans and media criticized him after a disappointing stint. The Los Angeles Clippers disregarded him after his erratic performance in the playoffs. The Denver Nuggets appear to be letting him walk in free agency this summer despite a productive comeback season off their bench.
If an NBA fan just started watching, they’d think that Westbrook is the wildest, most uncontrollable player ever to grace the court. And while that may partly be true, his successes were extremely high.
During the 2016-17 season, in which he won the MVP award, Westbrook averaged a triple-double across the entire season — the first time that feat had been done since Oscar Robertson in 1962. Westbrook proceeded to do that three more times, setting a precedent that was the expectation for the rest of his career. During his MVP season, he set the record for the most triple-doubles in a season with 42, and it still holds today.
While that hasn’t been the case and never should have been expected, the former MVP is known for always giving his entire heart to each and every game, playing as if his life depended on it.
But somehow, he continues to have dirt thrown on his name after a Hall of Fame-worthy prime.
