J.R. Smith
J.R. Smith is another case of one of those egotistical pro athletes that let their attitude create negative energy and environments around them for the smallest of reasons. And sometimes, it seemed like he had no reason. During the 2017-2018 season, Smith was suspended for tossing a bowl of food at Damon Jones, the assistant coach at the time.
And most recently, he’s been in some hot water with the league over a tattoo he got that went against rules and regulations. The tat is on his leg and shows the logo of the brand Supreme. The NBA’s rules don’t allow for any corporate logos to be promoted in that way, and they both fined him and told him he needs to figure out a way to cover it up.
Vince Carter
This former basketball pro played 22 seasons with the NBA. And, while he may not have been Kobe Bryant, he still made a name for himself in the game. In fact, he’s one of six players to average 20 points or more.
Many long-time Raptors fans still haven’t found it in their heart to forgive Vince Carter for the way he treated their team. First, he pulled all kinds of things like faking injuries and failing to provide any effort. Then, he just completely ditched them. After all, he put them on the map and basically acted as their face and then, poof, disappeared into the night.
Gilbert Arenas
Guns don’t belong at sporting events. People get way too heated over sports, and that includes both the fans and players. Remember that time there was a showdown between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton? The bizarre event all took place as the result of a $1,100 gambling debt. The men apparently both pulled out weapons in the locker room, as other players took off running.
Antoine Walker
Does it make it better or worse for Antoine Walker to be making this list for something other than attitude issues? Most players so far have appeared due to arguments or fighting on or off the court, but not Walker. He definitely wasn’t the worst by any means, and his three-point shot was actually pretty good. So good that he’d do his famous shimmy-dance after making one.
The problem was, he shot for too many of them and only averaged making them about 34% of the time. You can imagine that this may lead to some stress between teammates. Walker wasn’t without his legal issues off the court, either. He’s been arrested several times, including multiple times throughout 2009 and 2010 for writing bad checks to cover gambling debts.
Ron Artest
During Artest’s stint with the NBA, which saw him play on six different teams, he was involved in several issues on the court. Of course, he was also an award-winning player, taking home the 2004 NBA award for Defensive Player of the Year, along with an All-Star title and All-NBA honors. But we’re here because of the way Artest acted during some of his appearances.
Most notably, there was the Pacers-Pistons brawl, which has also been dubbed, Malice at the Palace. During the incident, Artest fouled Pistons center Ben Wallace, which spurred a massive fight on the court between players. The entire stadium was basically in chaos. Nine players were suspended, including Artest, who missed out on a record 86 games – the longest suspension in the history of the league.