Every NBA Team's Best Trash Talker According to Fans
We've reached the end of another enthralling NBA campaign packed with stories, incredible performances and heated debates over awards like MVP and Rookie of the Year.
But you've more than had your fill of those traditional awards. And at this point, no one's mind is going to be changed by even the most compelling arguments.
So instead of another rehash of those arguments, we're going to dive into some superlatives that might be even more entertaining.
Today's order of business? Looking at the best trash talkers on every team, as determined by thousands of you fans in a vote taken on the Bleacher Report app.
Atlanta Hawks: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
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Three years ago, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned his cousin when asked about the biggest trash-talkers in the NBA.
And now, Nickeil Alexander-Walker's expanded role has given him plenty of opportunities to let opponents know he's cooking. A jump from 9.4 points to 20.9 would certainly generate a lot of confidence.
And though he didn't run away with the voting (in fact, his 33 percent was one of the smallest vote shares in the exercise), it should come as little surprise that fans would expect him to be the Atlanta Hawks' biggest chirper.
Boston Celtics: Jaylen Brown
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Like NAW, Jaylen Brown has certainly had more chances to let opponents hear about his game.
For most of the season, he got to step into the alpha role while Jayson Tatum recovered from a ruptured Achilles. And he had a career year while doing so.
Brown backed up any chattering he might've done with 28.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists.
Brooklyn Nets: Terance Mann and Ziaire Williams
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The Brooklyn Nets may not have a ton to talk trash about, but you can see why fans would expect Terance Mann and Ziaire Williams to be the ones doing it.
Both play with plenty of confidence, despite all the losses their team has suffered. And they bring that flair to opposite sides of the floor.
For Williams, it feels like the trash talk probably accompanies his own scoring. For Mann, it's likely happening when he's applying his aggressive on-ball defense to opponents.
Charlotte Hornets: LaMelo Ball
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This one feels about as obvious as anything in the slideshow (which makes it pretty surprising he only got 64 percent of the vote).
There isn't another player in the NBA who plays with quite the same verve as LaMelo Ball. He's almost constantly flouting basketball conventions with his shot selection and reactions to big plays. He jumps when his receivers finish oops. He has to be leading the league in "ice in his veins" celebrations per game.
Honestly, much of what Ball does throughout any given game sort of blurs the line between reality and NBA Street, so it's easy to see how he finished atop this poll.
Chicago Bulls: Matas Buzelis
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Matas Buzelis is only 21 years old, but he already looks more than comfortable enough to let his opponents hear about his best plays.
Buzelis often looks like he's out for blood when he's attacking the rim. He's not afraid to celebrate with a scream.
This is just the beginning. As he continues to develop (hopefully, for Chicago Bulls fans) and his team gets better, he's only going to get more vocal.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Thomas Bryant
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This result's honestly a little surprising. When you watch the Cleveland Cavaliers, the players whose games seem to lend themselves to trash-talking are James Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
Generally, Thomas Bryant just looks sort of happy-go-lucky out there. But clearly, there's a trash talker in there somewhere, even if it sometimes results in embarrassment.
The results were relatively close here. Maybe just enough fans remember that dubious moment from Bryant a few months ago.
Dallas Mavericks: P.J. Washington
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P.J. Washington garnered just 44 percent of the vote here, in part because Cooper Flagg has already shown so much intensity as a rookie.
But this feels like the right choice, given how often Washington comes to his teammates' defense. And he even has something of a trademark, trash-talk-adjacent pose.
On more than one occasion, Washington has put the final punctuation on an exchange by planting both feet, folding his arms and simply staring at a player or maybe even the whole bench of the other side.
Denver Nuggets: Bruce Brown
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Every good team needs someone who'll bring a little jerkiness to games. That player is Bruce Brown for the Denver Nuggets.
He's not afraid to mix it up with anyone, regardless of size. And he's not afraid to bark about his highlight plays on either end of the floor.
But what really stands out this season is Brown's new trademark celebration, which is also a hat tip to Colorado. It's, well, a tip of the imaginary cowboy hat to the fans, the benches or really anyone who'll pay attention after he makes a momentum-shifting play.
Detroit Pistons: Isaiah Stewart
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This is another one that seems pretty obvious, even if Isaiah Stewart's outbursts don't always come in the form of "talking."
Stewart has earned a reputation for having one of the shorter fuses in the league. On more than one occasion, it's led him into an altercation.
It would certainly be a little surprising if he made his way through those in total silence.
Golden State Warriors: Draymond Green
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As was the case with LaMelo, this spot feels abundantly obvious. It's actually a little surprising that he only picked up 78 percent of the votes.
If you watch any Golden State Warriors game, you're almost guaranteed to see Draymond Green yelling at, chirping or taunting someone at some point. You'll probably see him do it to multiple people. Multiple times.
As with Stewart, the trash-talking often develops into more than that, too.
Green isn't just the biggest trash talker on this team. He's one of the biggest in the entire NBA.
Houston Rockets: Kevin Durant
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Now we're rolling with some pretty easy choices.
Kevin Durant picked up a whopping 86 percent of the fan vote, thanks to nearly two decades of roasting opponents with pull-up jumpers and follow-up trash talk.
And as if this selection wasn't obvious enough, KD gave us more vivid evidence of why he should be here just this week.
Whether it's letting lesser NBA players have it on the court, or fans have it in his mentions, Durant has long been willing and able to tear people apart, verbally and otherwise.
Indiana Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton
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We obviously didn't get to see his trash talk in game action this season, but Tyrese Haliburton still feels like the right call by the fans here.
Over the years, Haliburton has followed some of his biggest moments with iconic, one-step-beyond-trash-talk celebrations like (we'll call it) the Sam Cassell dance and the Reggie Miller choke signal.
And those are almost certainly just the exclamation points. You can just about be sure that Haliburton hurled plenty of trash talk in the lead-up to all of the above.
Los Angeles Clippers: Kris Dunn
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The Los Angeles Clippers are an interesting team for this exercise. Their best player, Kawhi Leonard, is famously about as stoic as NBA players can possibly be.
The honor falling to Kris Dunn feels similar to Mann getting it for the Brooklyn Nets.
Yes, you can occasionally see some trash-talking from Dunn during games, but this is more about the way he plays. His attitude almost leaps off the screen in the way he defends.
His intensity on the ball suggests he's providing plenty of commentary while trying to lock up perimeter threats.
Los Angeles Lakers: Luka Dončić
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All game long, Luka Dončić will chirp at just about anyone who will listen. Heck, he'll chirp anyone who isn't listening.
Refs and defenders probably get it the most. At times, teammates or coaches come in the crosshairs, too. No one's safe. Not even Luka. The number of technical fouls he's received this season eventually led to a suspension.
If he's playing, you simply cannot watch a Los Angeles Lakers game without seeing Dončić letting someone have it at some point. It's no wonder 83 percent of the votes went his way.
Memphis Grizzlies: Ja Morant
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Another player we didn't actually see much of this year, Ja Morant was still a relatively easy choice for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Beyond actually seeing him verbally spar with opponents during games, Morant has a game and a confidence that accompanies it that almost talks trash for him.
With much of the rest of the roster being on the fringes of the NBA (a whopping 33 players have suited up for Memphis this season), the name recognition for Ja was probably overwhelming.
Miami Heat: Tyler Herro
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Like Morant, Tyler Herro plays with a bravado that almost acts like a stand-in for trash-talking itself.
But if you watch the Miami Heat, you're sure to see plenty of the actual chatter, too.
Herro lets opponents hear about his exploits as a scorer several times a game, and the fans clearly noticed.
Milwaukee Bucks: Bobby Portis
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It's pretty common for Bobby Portis' in-game vocalizations to come out as roars or other intense outbursts directed at no one in particular.
His eyes somehow do plenty of communicating on their own, too.
But there's also more than enough traditional trash talk from Portis to support his spot on this list and the fact that he picked up 70 percent of the votes for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards
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No one in this slideshow garnered a bigger percentage of the votes for his team than Anthony Edwards. Ninety-three percent went his way.
It's not hard to see why. Whenever he plays, and seemingly any time he makes a play, Edwards lets his opponents hear about it.
His trash talk and general demeanor are so well known that they eventually had a character in a movie spawned from it. And Edwards even played the character himself.
Ant isn't just the biggest trash talker on this team. He's one of the very biggest in the NBA.
New Orleans Pelicans: Dejounte Murray
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After missing most of the last two seasons with injuries, Dejounte Murray may have subconsciously felt a need to do some catching up in the trash-talking department.
So just a few weeks ago, after dropping Toronto Raptors reserve Jamal Shead after a series of dribble moves, Murray let Shead hear all about it.
His trash-talking isn't always that demonstrative, but it's typically pretty obvious. So, it's not all that surprising that, despite all his absences, Murray still won this vote.
New York Knicks: Josh Hart
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There are multiple good options from the New York Knicks.
Jalen Brunson plays with the kind of pep that suggests he's chirping at opponents. Mikal Bridges' three-point celebration is surely accompanied by some commentary, at times. Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado probably had to be considered, too.
But it's hard to blame fans for going with Josh Hart over all of the above, given how excitedly he celebrates his and his team's best plays and how intensely he approaches every possession on both ends.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Jaylin Williams
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Playing for perhaps the deepest team in the NBA, one that features Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, means Jaylin Williams doesn't get to spend a ton of time on the floor.
But when he's out there, he certainly makes his presence felt, and does so with far more than his game.
On just the basketball level, he's a solid gap-filler who does the things that rarely garner widespread praise. As a talker, he carries himself more like a star.
Orlando Magic: Moritz Wagner
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Moritz Wagner isn't a star. News of his exploits rarely travels outside his own fan base. So, if you haven't watched a ton of the Orlando Magic in recent years, this one may come as a bit of a surprise.
Back in 2019, Wagner's teammate with the Washington Wizards shed some light on his attitude.
"Mo talk a lot of trash, man," Bradley Beal said. "That's what a lot of people don't know about Mo. Mo talk trash and get up under your skin a little bit. But he plays hard, so … can't fault him for it."
Injuries have kept Wagner out of a lot of games since then, but his approach hasn't changed. And Magic fans are noticing.
Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid
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Like KD, Joel Embiid seems to have so much trash talk inside him that the games aren't enough of an outlet to get it out.
Over the years, he's more than earned the nickname "Troel Embiid."
When he does play, he can often be seen following up his buckets (or a drawn foul) with plenty of yapping towards the opposition.
Phoenix Suns: Dillon Brooks
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Dillon Brooks is another entry who's both obvious and seemingly bursting with so much desire to talk trash that he can't confine to opposing players.
On more than one occasion, he's gotten into it with mascots.
Of course, that stuff is in good fun, but Brooks obviously does whatever he can to push the buttons or get under the skin of opponents in seemingly every game.
He famously said he likes to "poke bears" in reference to a matchup with LeBron James.
Brooks probably would've been tagged for this exercise on just about any team, but it was a near certainty on this Phoenix Suns roster.
Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard
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Like Haliburton, Damian Lillard didn't make a single regular-season appearance in 2025-26 (though he did win the three-point contest). He spent the campaign rehabbing his ruptured Achilles.
But as soon as he returns, we can probably expect plenty of taps on the wrist signifying "Dame Time."
Since that particular celebration is usually reserved for late-game situations, we can probably expect plenty of trash talk leading up to it, too.
Sacramento Kings: Russell Westbrook
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Even in his age-37 campaign, and now as a journeyman on his seventh NBA team, there aren't many players in the league who approach every game with the intensity that Russell Westbrook does.
He gives maximum effort, particularly on the offensive end and on the boards. And all that effort and intensity often boils over into verbal outbursts.
The Sacramento Kings have been disastrously bad this season, but even that wasn't enough to tamp down any of the above.
San Antonio Spurs: Keldon Johnson
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Several of the San Antonio Spurs' best and most productive players are the "quietly goes about his business" type, but that description certainly doesn't apply to Keldon Johnson.
He's been seen getting into it with plenty of opponents over the years. Earlier this season, he had a heated exchange with Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren.
Like several of the other players already detailed here, Johnson's best plays are often punctuated by verbal exclamations directed at no one in particular.
Toronto Raptors: Sandro Mamukelashvili
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There aren't a ton of obvious options from the Raptors.
None of Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley are overly demonstrative. So Sandro Mamukelashvili almost emerged by default.
Still, we have some documented examples of him mixing it up with opponents, though it's often in fun when it comes from Sandro.
Utah Jazz: Will Hardy
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That's right. We're 29 teams into this exercise and springing a coach on you. And yes, this is actually who the fans voted for.
Certainly, a lack of well-known trash talkers on the roster is part of this, but Hardy still deserves credit for commanding this many votes.
You're not going to find many examples of Hardy (or just about any other coach, for that matter) hurling trash talk as we traditionally know it at opponents, but he's definitely among the league's most vocal and fiery sideline presences.
Washington Wizards: Trae Young
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He's barely played since being traded to the Washington Wizards, but we have years of evidence to back up the fans' vote on this one.
The "Ice Trae" celebration is one of the best-known in the league. Years ago, he famously rolled imaginary dice on the Knicks logo. On more than one occasion, he's sarcastically waved goodbye to opposing crowds after a road win.
Young didn't have much to talk trash about this season, but you can be sure the antics and attitude will come roaring back in 2026-27.
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