Your Most Unpopular NBA Opinions

[hardenASG13]

Iverson is the most talented offensive player I've ever seen pound for pound. Shame he wasn't on better rosters in his prime.

[Capn'O]

Most of y'all are by and large a bunch of haters that don't really get that deep into hoops.

[Ein Sof]

Player fans are better than franchise fans.

Player fandom is, at least on some level, about basketball. Franchise fandom is mostly just tribalism.

[Fencer reregistered]

Bill Russell was the GOAT.

[nikster]

Player fans are better than franchise fans.

Player fandom is, at least on some level, about basketball. Franchise fandom is mostly just tribalism.

We don't see a bunch of tribalism for player fans? Lebron fans vs his haters has been one of the biggest drivers of activity on this forum for more than a decade. Lebron vs other GOAT candidates, Lebron vs Kobe when he was still in the league, Jokic vs Embiid in these MVP debates, Young vs Luka because of the draft etc...

[SilentA]

Isiah Thomas has the most compelling "underdog champion" storyline in NBA history. He is the ultimate "fk you, I do it my way" antihero.

- Led the rough, industrial Detroit to championships vs big market LA, Chicago and Boston. Just from a city perspective, that's a good storyline.
- Small PG leader of a championship team.
- Beat Bird, Magic, Jordan.
- Stepped up hard in the playoffs.
- Fun to watch and relatable playstyle. Shaq's physicality, Jordan's athleticism, Curry's skill, Jokic's combo of IQ and height... all seem kind of unattainable to me. On the other hand, someone like Stockton is a little too boring. Isiah's flashy handle, smart passing, effort on defense (more than Magic), and finishing is just the right mix. This might make people think of Iverson and Kyrie, but I like Isiah's "leader" vibe better than Iverson and I find Kyrie a bit too obnoxious.

I understand there are statistical criticisms and I cringed at Isiah's shot selection sometimes when reviewing old tape but I've seen enough to believe that there are indeed "intangibles" that he brings.

[Ein Sof]

Ref's are unfairly critised.

A big reason for perceived dips in refeeing over the years is because of the added complexity to the rules and team O and D schemes that created higher error rates.

referees (officials in general) suffer due to the systems in place as they come up the ranks and almost more horribly, the fans constant criticism.

I've been involved in some mid to high level officiating as well as working with Ref's of all ages and experience and it always blew my mind at how aggressive parents and fans are towards officials. 15 year old getting abused by Adults.

I've had too many drop out because they didn't want to deal with the abuse for $12 a game and I don't blame them.

Also to add, officials sign up rates are at an all time low and a big reason is due to how they see the officials of today treated. Who would want their child to go through that system? And now you lose a lot with great potential for it before they even had a shot. Bit of a rant but it does bug me.

Everyone always complains about the refs in every sport, so I'd say it's not really driven by anything rational or particular to today.

[bisme37]

Frying oil is hot. However, fish grease is the oil naturally occurring in the fish itself and not inherently hot.

[ItsDanger]

Watch on YouTube

Not my opinion but the premise in some young stars may be accurate, they don't care about winning.

[InsideInfo]

The NBA dress code was great in the early 2000s.

The current dress code should be stricter.

To many guys looking like straight up clowns walking into the arena.

[therealbig3]

I probably rank Kevin Garnett and Steve Nash way higher than most of you.

I think there’s a pretty strong argument to rank Jordan as low as 4th all time.

Ian Eagle is the greatest PBP guy of all time.

[therealbig3]

Steve Nash should’ve never even finished too 3 in MVP voting and those 2 awards are an embarrassment. The only reason that nba writers like Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe voted for him is very obvious and the NBA should be ashamed.

We know your angle here... but just for fun...

- Bill Simmons first voted for NBA MVP in 2013.

- Zach Lowe was a crime reporter in a small town in Connecticut when Nash was winning MVPs.

I mean NBA writers that look like Simmons. And yes thought what I was saying was obvious? NBA writers look like Nash and voted for him, probably the same reason you’re up and down here defending Nash in every post.

You’re going the racism angle? True, probably why the MVP is only awarded to white guys.

2000 - Shaq
2001 - Iverson
2002 - Duncan
2003 - Duncan
2004 - Garnett
2005 - Nash
2006 - Nash
2007 - Dirk
2008 - Kobe
2009 - LeBron
2010 - LeBron
2011 - Rose
2012 - LeBron
2013 - LeBron
2014 - KD
2015 - Curry
2016 - Curry
2017 - Westbrook
2018 - Harden
2019 - Giannis
2020 - Giannis
2021 - Jokic
2022 - Jokic

True, they gave 5 MVPs in the last 23 years to white guys that have had some of the most dominant seasons in history, how racist!

[Johnny Bball]

Watching 100 threes/game after pass pass pass around the perimter over and over is boring as ****.

[Priest24]

Great white hopes do still shamelessly exist.

[azcatz11]

Watching 100 threes/game after pass pass pass around the perimter over and over is boring as ****.

You think that’s unpopular?

[nikster]

Watch on YouTube

Not my opinion but the premise in some young stars may be accurate, they don't care about winning.

All he is describing is a tanking team. Especially in Houston's case they are committed to losing, and the fans are okay with it. 8 of their top 9 guys in minutes played this year are 22 years old or younger. They're starting backcourt is a bad fit. The only vet with meaningful minutes a 34 year old Eric Gordon. The front office is fully committed to losing and this is the result.

[Fencer reregistered]

The draft and salary cap is terrible for the league.

99 percent of teams are intentionally non-competitive.

The NBA is merely a vehicle for the trendy newly minted billionaires to park their money.

The NBA rewards mediocrity and punishes continued excellence.

The NBA has the worst fans out of all of the American sports leagues. No group of fans cry more about things that is just about competition. Never seen a group of fans cry about a California franchise being better at making money than than a team in Minnesota.

Which are the 0.30 teams that you believe do try to compete? The Wa? The L?

[blackcosmos]

David Robinson is a superior player, teammate and leader than Kevin Garnett

[FluLikeSymptoms]

Kobe as great as he was (arguably top 10/15 all time) is overrated by most NBA fans and players.

That's what happens when you are one of the most skilled players of all time, with a very fun game and personality.

Same thing happens with Kyrie nowadays.

Didn’t used to be unpopular at all. After he did his Achilles and we were reflecting on his career, and we’d only seen good Kobe to that point, he was still like 85% Kobe when he got hurt, this was the majority opinion. Somewhere outside the top 10. Played against several better players, was never the best- but a top-3 in the league, top-5 player for a long time.

He was awesome. Well done. But the nostalgia has gone crazy as his fan base has gotten older and louder. He was always the kids’ favourite, including current players, former players and media members, I get it. People younger than Kobe. And players love buckets, the same guys who think Russ is a great signing and that Carmelo and Crawford and Joe Johnson should still be in the league and that Allen Iverson was the greatest scorer ever. Yeah Chuck used to say Kobe was the best for a couple years but if you go along with that you have to go along with everything. He did take Iverson #1 overall all time in a fantasy draft. But I saw everything, I know what happened. How am I supposed to accept that he’s up there as a goat candidate, who some now say was the best player for 5-6 years(must’ve been a stitch in time)? What? That was not a reasonable opinion when he was alive. Is there a gas leak?

I’m sure it’s the same kids who were talking crazy on realgm about Kobe 20 years ago as 12 y/os who are now 32 and making videos on social, and those are the elders, and if they’ve been going this long it’s never going to stop. They’re actually speaking it into existence. He’ll probably end up the best of all time, he’s the only one who will continue to get better the farther you get from his peak. Bill Simmons will go along for the ride, he won’t piss off his audience.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter who cares who people put in the goat conversation, but is every player better than Kobe from here on out going to be attacked relentlessly? Already killing guys in the past like Terminators. What about the future? Will it be the plot of Wakanda forever, just kill every scientist who comes along?

[NbaAllDay]

Ref's are unfairly critised.

A big reason for perceived dips in refeeing over the years is because of the added complexity to the rules and team O and D schemes that created higher error rates.

referees (officials in general) suffer due to the systems in place as they come up the ranks and almost more horribly, the fans constant criticism.

I've been involved in some mid to high level officiating as well as working with Ref's of all ages and experience and it always blew my mind at how aggressive parents and fans are towards officials. 15 year old getting abused by Adults.

I've had too many drop out because they didn't want to deal with the abuse for $12 a game and I don't blame them.

Also to add, officials sign up rates are at an all time low and a big reason is due to how they see the officials of today treated. Who would want their child to go through that system? And now you lose a lot with great potential for it before they even had a shot. Bit of a rant but it does bug me.

Everyone always complains about the refs in every sport, so I'd say it's not really driven by anything rational or particular to today.

The unpopular opinion is more to do with Ref's being unfairly treated and the systems in place that prevent the recruitment of the best talent.

The fan complaints are the catalyst for a lot of it which is my issue since it starts young and drives kids out of even considering it.