Ranking the NBA's Villains Entering 2012

There is an culture of hatred in the NBA. Not real hate, but sports hate. It may sound like I'm picking nits here, but there is definitely a difference. You can hate a player but like a man, and on the contrary, you can like a player but dislike a man.

There are two obvious examples of this in the NBA: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Bryant has millions of fans all around the world, and many like him despite his life off the court (although he does have his fair share of opposers). Meanwhile, people hate, and I mean hate, James for his actions related to basketball, but off the court, he's a philanthropic young man who really has done nothing wrong (besides spit in the face of an entire city on national television).

Then there are those players who you couldn't care less about their life off the court, you just know you hate them when they're on the court. You hate the way they play, the way their wear their hair, the way they run, the way they act. Anything and everything sticks in your craw about them.

So, who are these most hated in the NBA? Let's take a quick look at the usual suspects.

15. Anderson Varejao

There are so many things that fans hate about Anderson Varejao that it's hard to figure out where to start. Wait...no, it's not.

NBA fans hate floppers. This isn't soccer, and there's no place for faking an injury just to get a call, but one of the things Varejao was best at early in his career that kept him on the court was taking a charge. Whether it was his hair flying around or his long limbs that sold it best it's hard to say, but for a time there, he was one of the best in the league at ending up on the ground in a good way for his team. An anti-Shawn Bradley, if you will.

Now that he's a more developed player, he flops far less, but he still complains about calls and peskily tries to get under his opponents skin.

Trust me, as a Cavs fan, I can see why people hate him, but he's a player you love to have on your team.

14. DeMarcus Cousins

When you talk about immaturity in the NBA, one of the first names on that list is DeMarcus Cousins.

Last season, he led the league in fouls with 4.1 a game and was fifth in technical fouls with 14, although he played over 100 fewer minutes than Stephen Jackson, the guy in fourth, and more than 500 fewer minutes than the top three guys.

That type of whining and immature play doesn't sit well with the fans on either side of the ball.

Now it seems that he's going to encounter even more booing, as he has reportedly requested a trade, although the details do seem a bit sketchy.

13. Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade pretty much gets the leftover hate that doesn't fly in and hit LeBron James and Chris Bosh, and when you're surrounded by that much ill will, it's hard not to get in the crossfire.

Wade has seemed like a good guy for most of his career, and he is without a doubt the most respected of the Heat superstars, but he plays for the Heat, so he must be hated.

Although, some of that hate recently is probably more deserved, especially after he dislocated Rajon Rondo's elbow (dirty-ish) and got caught making fun of Dirk Nowitzki during the finals.

12. Joakim Noah

There's something about Joakim Noah that has made people hate him ever since he won a national championship with Florida.

It may be the fact that he looks like a homeless man, or it may be the fact that he just kills everyone he plays with hustle, but whenever he steps on a court in somewhere other than Chicago, the boos come pouring in.

For my money, I would say his draft-day suit is the biggest reason he gets booed.

Hell, he's even more hated in Cleveland right now than Carlos Boozer, and Boozer took advantage of the kindness of their former owner, Gordon Gund. That's one hell of an accomplishment.

11. Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce gets a lot of hate in the NBA, and it's for the way he has carried himself over the years.

Early on, Pierce was deemed a ball-hog and immature as he toiled away on mediocre and bad Celtics teams, and then they got good.

Once the Celtics got good, Pierce, understandably, gained a bit of swagger and just started to talk a bit more trash from time to time.

Oh, and of course, there's always the time in the Finals in '08 when he was taken off the court in a wheelchair, only to come back out just a few minutes later. That didn't help his reputation much. 

10. Kevin Garnett

Back when Kevin Garnett was donning pitch-black uniforms and looking like a fierce, yet timid, baller in Minnesota, he was much more respectable than he is in these days. Then, when he went to Boston, something strange happened to him.

It may have just been more noticeable with him on a better team, but he was talking trash more, playing with more swagger and doing anything to get under his opponents' skin.

It seems like something he did when he realized he was getting older, replacing his slowly waning skill with toughness and ferocity, and it worked.

9. Andrew Bynum

What's to hate about Andrew Bynum, you may ask? Well, he just so happens to be one of the most immature, yet most talented, young big men in the NBA.

There probably was far less hatred directed at Bynum at this same time last year. Fans just hated him for what they did to their team on the court, but then he body-slammed JJ Barea in the playoffs last season.

The hit on Barea was bad, sure, but it was his actions after the hit that I think stuck in people's minds more. It was that "Yea, I'm bad" strut off the court after he ripped his jersey off that instantly turned people who couldn't care less into people who would forever boo him.

Good job, Bynum, you elbowed a dude who is more than a foot shorter and 100 pounds lighter than you while he was in mid-air.

8. Carmelo Anthony

There's something about Carmelo Anthony that has always drawn ire, but now that he's a part of the Knicks, that just continues to grow.

Before, Anthony just seemed like a cocksure young kid who knew he was good at basketball, and then he had to dictate where he was to be traded, holding Denver hostage for half a season while they tried to figure out what to do with him.

7. Metta World Peace

I think I'm one of the few people out here east of the Mississippi that actually enjoys Ron World Metta Artest Peace and his antics.

However, ever since (actually long before) the fight he had in Detroit, people have disliked him. He's always played with a bit of an edge, something that's softened a bit as the years have gone along, but it'll still cut you if you get to close.

Then there's the name change. This is something that a lot of people I know see as an attention-grabbing, pointless, narcissistic thing to do, which will never gain you any fans.

6. Kobe Bryant

Is it any surprise that Kobe Bryant is on this list? People have hated him since he came into the league.

It seems like the hatred for Kobe has kind of dulled (or maybe our recognition of the hatred has dulled), as it has been around for so long, but he's still quite hated.

For every Kobe fan boy, there are five people who won't miss a beat to remind you of a dark point of Kobe's career, whether it's warranted or not.

He's easily the most polarizing player of the last 15 years, and he'll probably continue to be so until the day he retires, possibly beyond then.

5. Chris Bosh

There are so many things that paint Chris Bosh in a villain's make-up when you really break him down.

First, he is a part of the Heat, which warrants hate from much of the public in the first place. Beyond that, he seems like the red-headed stepchild compared to LeBron and Wade, even though he visibly wants to be so much more.

Going further, he's a goofy-looking fellow who really doesn't fit the stereotype of an NBA player, as he's intelligent, well-dressed, well-spoken and tame.

Plus, there's that scream. Oh lord, that terrible, velociraptor-like scream.

4. Dan Gilbert

Some see him as a jilted ex-girlfriend; some see him as a modern-day plantation owner. Most just don't like the guy.

When he sent out an e-mail two years ago to the Cleveland Cavaliers fans after LeBron's decision, it came off as petty and short-sighted, even if it did give some hope to his team's fans.

Then, a letter was "leaked" from him to David Stern last month, urging him to veto the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers, which didn't exactly win him any fans either.

3. Kris Humphries

This is one that I really find hilarious. Call him the flavor of the month villain, as everybody's going to forget that they hate him by the time this season ends.

However, Kris Humphries, a name that only die-hard NBA fans knew a year ago, has been garnering jeers everywhere he goes, all because of his relationship with Kim Kardashian and his role on her reality program. 

Apparently, people saw Humpries in a not-so-positive light during his stint on the show (Is he still on it? I have no clue with these things.) and with the following divorce, leading to fans everywhere hating him and seemingly leading to him missing out on a big contract. Seriously, what else can explain a double-double guy not getting signed until four days before the season started?

2. LeBron James

Is there any surprise that LeBron James is this high on the list?

Actually, now that I think of it, some of you may be surprised to see that he's not No. 1, but I had to reserve that spot for the most special of NBA villains this year.

Still, LeBron is the most villainous player in the NBA this year for two reasons. One, I don't think the hatred of Kris Humphries will last, as the Nets are dropping games quicker than Kim Kardashian dropped Humphries (Hey-ooo!). And two, it's LeBron James, people. The hatred will never stop; the best he can hope for is for it to dull, which should happen eventually.

1. David Stern

He's not the commissioner the NBA needs anymore, and he's not the one they deserve, either.

For years and years, NBA fans have put up with David Stern's power trips because he was improving the game, making it more marketable, making it more enjoyable and making it more fan-friendly. However, things have not gone the same way in recent years.

Stern killed a third of the season by stubbornly digging in with no show of budging during the lockout, and then he went and seized control of the league by vetoing the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers after the lockout ended.

He's done some great things for this league, but the people are going to remember him for multiple conspiracy theories, two lockouts and his most recent power trip. 

I think it's time for the old man to go the way of the VCR.

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