Best Subtle Insults and Backhanded Compliments in Sports

Although the final outcome of a sporting event is decided on the field, court or ice, we all know the war of words is one of the major ways athletes try to intimidate an opponent.

And while there are different levels of talking trash, some guys know exactly how to get under another person's skin, saying something that is more than just a "yo mama" joke and making things a bit more personal.

With so many good ones over the years, here are some of the best insults and backhanded compliments we've ever seen.

Ray Lewis Doesn't Tuck His Tongue

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He might have said it prior to winning his fourth career Super Bowl, but even when he had three rings in five tries, it's hard for anyone to doubt the career of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Yet, former Baltimore Ravens great Ray Lewis did just that.

After claiming that no one would know who Brady was if it weren't for the infamous "Tuck Rule" game against the Oakland Raiders in the 2001 AFC divisional-round playoff game, Lewis stated that "there’s no such thing as a tuck rule...but guess what? We created a freaking tuck rule!"

Lewis is entitled to his own opinion and had battles with the Pats during his career, but I'm pretty sure people would know Brady without that 2001 playoff game.

LeBron James Reminds Us His Life Is Better Than Ours

Admitting that the whole villain role didn't suit him well, former Miami Heat forward LeBron James showed he's better off playing nice than letting his ego get in the way.

After losing the 2010 NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks—James' first in South Beach with his Big Three teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh—Bron reminded everyone that, at the end of the day, he's still LeBron James and everyone else still has their problems.

Oh, you minions, you.

James didn't enjoy getting blasted for his decision to join forces with his buddies in Miami, so when the time came to address the adversity and negativity he got that entire first year, that was how he responded.

Thankfully, though, No. 23 has since gotten back on fans' good sides—he was ranked the world's most popular athlete in 2014.

Wes Welker Wants to Put His Best Foot Forward

Wes Welker doesn't play for the New England Patriots any more, but when he was a member of the team, he made sure he poked fun at a report that surfaced of then-New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan's foot fetish.

Prior to a playoff game between the two teams in 2011, Welker made sure he mentioned the word "foot" at least 10 different times as a metaphor in his response to questions.

Maybe more impressive is that the wide receiver was able to keep a straight face throughout the entire episode, ensuring he went right to the core of the outspoken Ryan.

Unfortunately, while it was a major dig on the coach, Rex's Jets wound up winning the "foot"-ball game over Welker's Pats.

Everybody Lays Their Hands on Wes Welker's Butterfingers

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If you're going to openly dig on people, you'd better be ready to take some heat back too.

And while former New England Patriots wideout Wes Welker didn't get a reply from Rex Ryan about the aforementioned comments, he did take serious crap from a local company in Boston following a less than stellar performance during Super Bowl XLVI.

Dropping a few balls in key situations, the store wanted to personally thank Welker for his contribution, literally dropping a bunch of Butterfinger candy bars around town as a gesture.

As if having a teammate's supermodel wife blast him wasn't enough.

Kevin Durant Isn't Sure Who Lil B Is

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An absolute superstar and last year's NBA Most Valuable Player, one would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't know who Kevin Durant is.

According to the Oklahoma City Thunder forward, though, he can't say the same about rapper Lil B.

While the rapper might have made some choice words and a video about KD, Durant doesn't even publicly acknowledge the feud that began on Twitter, even saying: "I don’t know who that is. Who is that? ... He needs some attention, I guess. Whoever that is, he needs some help."

After tweeting out that he couldn't stand listening to Lil B back in 2011, the feud began, and hasn't let up since.

To a man, there might be nothing worse than another guy belittling you to the point of nonexistence, just as Durant has done with the emcee—and the last thing Lil B wants is to get humiliated on the floor by the four-time scoring champ.

Steve Spurrier Knows 50 Points Is Enough

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No one likes a sore loser, but maybe more than that, no one enjoys a sore winner, either.

Yet, Steve Spurrier, one of the most brash head coaches in college football history, was exactly that following a 54-3 win over the Kentucky Wildcats during the 2011 season.

Rather than talk about what his team did well and give the PC answer that most coaches might give, the South Carolina Gamecocks head coach went the opposite way, boldly saying with a smirk that: "We could have picked up 70 or 80 points today. But 50 was enough."

Way to respect your opponent there, coach.

Rory McIlroy Calls Tiger Woods 'Ordinary'

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We've all heard the term, "being basic," implying that someone is nothing special and, more than likely, gets unnecessary attention in most people's eyes.

And PGA golfer Rory McIlroy all but called 14-time major champion Tiger Woods basic.

Actually, the current No. 1-ranked golfer in the world referred to Woods as "ordinary," saying that Woods no longer has the aura that used to intimidate players.

Seeing how Woods just had a miserable showing in the Phoenix Open, maybe Rory is onto something.

Micky Arison Let's a Former Employee Know That Miami Is a Happy Place

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Watching the best basketball player on the planet openly make the decision to leave your franchise in sunny Miami for the cold and gray of Cleveland has to be tough.

Seeing how the Miami Heat went to four straight NBA Finals and won two titles during that run, it has to be that bit more discouraging.

While Heat owner Micky Arison had a classy initial reaction to LeBron James returning home, he made some unusual tweets in January that had people wondering if he was making a backhanded dig at James.

Tweeting about how Miami was the city Forbes ranked as the happiest in the country to work in, Arison followed that an hour later with the link stating Cleveland was the unhappiest.

I'm sure it was just coincidence, though.

Randy Moss Dogs Cris Carter

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Former teammates with the Minnesota Vikings for four seasons, wide receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss were unstoppable forces when on the field, racking up 93 touchdowns during their time together.

While they complemented each other beautifully on the gridiron, when it came to their moods toward one another off of it, that's a different story.

Carter was Moss' protege and mentor during the Minnesota days, so when Carter—now an analyst who is paid to give his opinion—questioned Randy's competitive drive, the latter fired back on Twitter, saying "it's sad how you stroked your own ego when you were suppose to be my mentor! Then you wonder why karma bites you in the ass! #GoodLuckWithHOF."

Something tells me that that hashtag wasn't exactly entirely true, yet Carter did eventually get into the Hall in 2013.

Allen Iverson Ignores the Tyronn Lue Roadblock

Sometimes, an insult doesn't need to be more than a simple action.

And stepping over a grown man after crossing him up on the basketball court, then hitting the shot to all but ice an NBA Finals game is a good way of humiliating someone.

That's exactly what former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson did to poor Tyronn Lue in 2001, killing him with something that can be replayed over and over rather than saying something during the game—and it's one of the best, and most memorable, disses anyone has ever seen.

Steve Smith Is Classic

As great a football player as Steve Smith has been during his 14 seasons in the NFL, he might be an even better trash-talker.

Never shy to share his thoughts, Smith has proven that his words aren't just disses but mic-dropping stuff, as he rarely gets shown up again after he gives the final words.

One instance came against the New England Patriots, when he told then Pats cornerback Aqib Talib to "ice up" after the defender was unable to finish the game against Smith and the Carolina Panthers in 2013.

Another example came in 2009, when Smith actually said the following about his then-quarterback Jake Delhomme: "I never really liked you as a quarterback. But as a person...I love you as a person."

With quotes like these, it's clear that Smith just keeps it real.

Sam Wyche Disses the City of Cleveland

The city of Cleveland is full of a bunch of blue-collared people who don't take crap from anyone.

But back in 1989, then-Cincinnati Bengals head coach Sam Wyche thought that throwing the city located just up I-71 under the bus would be a good idea—even though his team was playing against the Seattle Seahawks.

Following Bengals fans throwing stuff onto the field after a bad call, Wyche addressed the entire stadium, reminding them that they are from the Queen City and not the Rock and Roll Capital of the World so they should be a little bit more classy than those who hail from Cleveland.

The entire place erupted, stopped the littering of the field and explained just how big the rivalry between the Bengals and Browns really is.

Russell Westbrook Reminds People That the New York Knicks Are an NBA Team

Just in case anyone was wondering, the New York Knicks are still, in fact, an NBA team.

Sure, the 35 losses in 38 games at one point this season may have given some fans doubt, but Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook reminded everyone that the Knicks aren't some AAU team following a loss to them in the Big Apple last week.

Knowing it was an embarrassing loss, Russ made sure he gave his opponents credit for getting the better of him and his team that night—even if it was an unnecessary reminder that the Knicks belong in the league.

Pedro Martinez Asks Karim Garcia, 'Who Are You?'

It's one of my favorite insulting quotes ever by an athlete: "Karim Garcia, who are are?"

Said by former MLB pitcher Pedro Martinez after a little dust-up with former New York Yankees player Karim Garcia during the 2003 American League Championship Series, Pedro wonders why a peasant such as Garcia would stare a king such as himself down.

Making it even better is that Martinez refers to himself in third person, which is always a good way to be recognized for a memorable quote if you're an athlete.

Brett Favre Is and Isn't Surprised by Aaron Rodgers

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From Day One, there was always a lot of tension between Aaron Rodgers and incumbent starter Brett Favre when both were members of the Green Bay Packers.

With Favre accomplishing as much as he did during his 16 years in Green Bay, he wasn't ready to hand the starting gig over to a first-round draft pick anytime soon.

But when the Pack decided to hand the starting reins to Rodgers prior to the 2008 season—after playing second fiddle to Favre for three years—it was clear there was always going to be animosity between the players.

Favre continued to add gas to that burning fire following Rodgers' Super Bowl win during the 2010 season, saying that, while he wasn't surprised the guy won a ring, he was a little shocked that it took him so long to do it.

That's sort of like telling someone that they're the best looking person in the room but only because everyone else is really unattractive.