Ranking the Filthiest, Most Disrespectful NBA Moments of the Last Decade

As the NBA continues to work through its unexpected hiatus, scores of fans are looking back on the league's history.

Rewatching old games, digging up highlight reels on YouTube and reading up on the game's greats have all become quarantine pastimes for many.

As they comb through the oldies, they're surely reminded of some of the biggest moments of the last 10 years. This slideshow is a nod to those moments, with a twist.

Inclusion here was dependent on being high on two subjective scales: filthiness and disrespectfulness.

With the level of confidence most NBA players have, they often can't help but bring a little extra before, during or after a big play.

The following have all of the aforementioned ingredients, but remember: This is subjective. With millions of fans around the world and 10 years of games to sample from, we surely missed some of your favorites.

If that's the case, post the play you wanted in the comments and defend it with ferocity.

15. Jeremy Evans Gets Ronny Turiaf on Both Ends (2012-13)

Jeremy Evans only appeared in 250 games, mostly with the Utah Jazz. He was 261st among all NBA players in wins over replacement player during his career (2010-18). His biggest claim to fame is probably winning a 2012 Slam Dunk Contest that may or may not be lost to history.

But he still made this list for a number of reasons.

First off, he has a volleyball swat wherein he takes off a good two or three feet away from a jump shooter. Then, he doesn't just collect the ball and pass to a guard for the break. He brings it up himself and dunks all over the same player (Ronny Turiaf) he just denied on the other end.

14. Larry Nance Jr.'s Statue of Liberty (2016-17)

It may be unfair to other candidates to give Larry Nance Jr. a few extra imaginary points for going with the Statue of Liberty dunk. Honestly, it's kind of the way the ex-Los Angeles Laker always dunks.

But seeing it deployed through contact and against a seven-footer who's always been a solid rim protector, Brook Lopez, is just the amount of extra style needed to crack the top 15.

Nance gets more bonus points for the facial expression afterward. And this play has that fun little levitation illusion that often happens when a dunker is stalled in midair by contact with the defender.

13. JR Smith Makes an Alley-Oop out of Thin Air (2012-13)

No one will ever convince me that then-New York Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni was even trying to throw an alley-oop pass on this play. He turns the corner after the ball screen and throws a one-hander that's closer to a dart than a lob. It was maybe five feet off the ground when JR Smith caught it.

But that didn't stop Swish from taking off before catching the pass and turning it into an impromptu reverse alley-oop.

Sure, he could've just caught the ball and laid it in, or even finished with a more traditional dunk. Instead, he pretty much created an alley-oop out of nothing and went reverse for good measure.

12. Gerald Green's Windmill Alley-Oop (2011-12)

The windmill wasn't necessary, but even then, this one isn't terribly high on the disrespectfulness scale. No one was that close to Gerald Green on the finish. And windmills are almost, well, run of the mill for him.

But this alley-oop darn-near broke the scale for filthiness.

The then-New Jersey Net took off from outside the restricted area, windmilled the pass and had his chin around the rim at one point.

DeShawn Stevenson's reaction says it all.   

11. Paul George's Arrival (2012-13)

The 2012-13 playoffs served as Paul George's arrival. He averaged 10.0 points over his first two seasons with the Indiana Pacers, then jumped to 17.4 and made the All-Star team in 2012-13. But he first looked like a star that postseason.

PG averaged 19.1 points on the way to an Eastern Conference Finals matchup with LeBron James' Miami Heat. And he punctuated the playoff performance with this monster jam during Game 2 of that series. It gave him two of his 22 points during the Pacers' win in Miami.

Of course, the Heat would go on to win that series and the championship, but that didn't derail the star trajectory George put himself on.

10. Joe Johnson Doesn't Respect His Elder (2012-13)

In his final season with the Boston Celtics (2012-13), Paul Pierce found himself matched up with a player who was, in some ways, sort of a younger version of himself.

Joe Johnson, then with the Brooklyn Nets, played the game at his own pace and used his solid 6'7", 240-pound frame to leverage good looks against more athletic defenders. But this play was against an elder statesmen. And Johnson was just mean.

With the first few dribbles, Johnson puts the ball well in front of his body, basically begging the past-his-prime Pierce to reach. The moment he did, JJ was gone. And the crossover was so low that Pierce literally couldn't get up right after the reach.

Pierce almost looks like he's moving in slow motion, but those of us who play pickup ball well past our primes know that feeling all too well.

9. Lance Stephenson Shimmies on Courtney Lee (2013-14)

There's a lot going on here, as is often the case with Lance Stephenson.

A nice, tight spin move gets Courtney Lee going one way before a quick crossover back to the left drops him. Then, and this isn't a given with the then-Indiana Pacer, he hits the jumper.

All that in itself probably would've warranted consideration for this list, but it's what Stephenson did after the shot went in that secured his spot in the top 10.

It's not so much a shimmy as just a distinctly Stephenson dance. And it had to make Lee and the Celtics feel even worse about giving up the bucket.

8. LeBron James Levels Jason Terry (2012-13)

LeBron James may get docked a point or two on our imaginary scale for the overwhelming difference in size between him (6'9", 250 lbs) and Jason Terry (6'2", 185 lbs), but the image of this dunk is still striking.

LeBron literally levels the then-Celtics guard here. He gives him a brief stare-down afterward too.

One has to wonder what Terry was thinking by even attempting to contest that lob. That was undoubtedly a moment for a "business decision."

Instead, Miami Heat-era LeBron flew through him like he wasn't even there.

7. James Johnson Hammers on Andre Drummond (2014-15)

Allow me to provide a sampling of reactions from the Toronto Raptors broadcast crew to this ridiculous dunk from James Johnson:

"With an absolutely monstrous jam!"

"Wow, that is ridiculous."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"That was the nastiest dunk of the season."

"That's one of the best power dunks I have seen live."

They were in awe, as if each was attempting to find the words and couldn't, forcing each to try to describe what just happened over and over again.

This wasn't just a baseline dunk over someone. Johnson goes airborne just outside the restricted area, is met in midair by then-Pistons big man Andre Drummond (who is huge, at 6'10", 279 lbs), cocks it back with one hand and just crushes the rim.

Athleticism, flair on the dunk and doing it on a notable big man makes this a worthy moment for the top 10.

6. Kobe Bryant Catches 2 Nets (2012-13)

Of course, there were a number of moments from the last decade we could've gone with for the legendary Kobe Bryant.

This poster through two Brooklyn Nets in 2012-13, before he tore his Achilles that season, deserves the love.

The Lakers great was nearing the end of his age-34 campaign. Players that age, with the kind of mileage Bryant had on his legs, aren't supposed to be able to do this.

After he burns Gerald Wallace, a decent defender, with a slight hesitation on the perimeter, Kobe goes airborne from outside the restricted area, even though Wallace is still on his hip and Kris Humphries rotates over in time to help.

Neither could deny Kobe. He didn't just dunk on them. He somehow threw it down through them.

5. James Harden Drops Wesley Johnson (2017-18)

Some might try to discredit this James Harden play by saying he gave a little bit of an off-arm shove to the Clippers' Wesley Johnson mid-crossover. That's fine. It's everything else that happens after the dribble that pushed this moment into the top five.

After giving Johnson the jelly legs, the Rockets star stares at the downed defender, spins the ball and then drills a three.

And, as if all that weren't enough, Harden lets anyone who'll listen know about the play as he runs down the court.

4. Blake Griffin Destroys Kendrick Perkins (2011-12)

How is this only No. 4?

The further we climb this list, the harder it is to make judgment calls between one play and another. 

And while I'm asking questions, how is this the only inclusion for Blake Griffin?

The former Clippers star had a similar dunk over Timofey Mozgov (although he didn't actually touch the rim on that one). He also had that absurd spin and slam over Danilo Gallinari in transition.

But an arbitrary limit of one moment per player forced me to settle on this utter destruction of Kendrick Perkins and his attempt to contest perhaps the greatest in-game dunker of all time.

Here's a fun game. Try to pause the video at the peak of Griffin's jump. No matter where you land, you'll likely start giggling to yourself over how ridiculous this play is.

3. DeAndre Jordan Annihilates Brandon Knight (2012-13)

The Lob City Clippers were something else. During their time there, L.A. was plus-9.1 points per 100 possessions when DeAndre Jordan was on the floor with Griffin.

But they aren't remembered for their points per 100 possessions as much plays like this. The all-out assaults on the rim often defied comprehension.

How does a human being that size (6'11", 265 lbs) get that far off the floor?

On top of the sheer athleticism displayed on this alley-oop, Jordan stepped over Brandon Knight after the dunk. Then, he gave the stinkface that instantly became a mainstay in NBA memery. And finally, he hit the free throw to complete the three-point play in a season in which he shot 38.6 percent from the line.

2. Stephen Curry over All of the Clippers (2014-15)

Most mornings, around 4 a.m., my cats wake me up by running all over the house and batting a toy mouse around. The toy, of course, is helpless. It can't fight back. And yet, the cats torture it anyway.

That's kind of what I think of when I watch Stephen Curry torture four of five Clippers on this single play (JJ Redick was the only one spared, since he stayed on his man in the corner).

In a span of two or three seconds, and within maybe two or three square feet of the floor, Curry seemingly puts a move on Matt Barnes, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Hawes.

Then, after dribbling away from the rim, the Warriors star launches a turnaround, fadeaway three that would be considered a dreadful shot for just about every other player in the history of this sport.

"That could be the greatest move I've ever seen live," ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy said on the broadcast.

And he may not be wrong. This is all subjective, but the totality of what Curry did in those few seconds is mind-boggling.   

1. Damian Lillard Waves Goodbye to Russell Westbrook (2018-19)

"Every time I play against [Russell Westbrook], I say something back." Damian Lillard told The Athletic's Jason Quick. "I'm not intimidated, and I don't really care what you gotta say; I'm gonna say something back. You know, kind of set that tone."

In the 2019 postseason, Lillard's actions spoke much louder and with more force than any words could.

After being on the receiving end of plenty of trash talk throughout their first-round playoff series, the Portland Trail Blazers guard stared down Oklahoma City's George, a lengthy defender who was an MVP candidate that season, and launched from 36 feet as time expired in the fourth quarter of Game 5. He drilled it, giving him 10 threes and 50 points for the game and ending OKC's season.

Just look at where this dot is on the shot chart.

What really pushes this moment to No. 1, though, is what Lillard does afterward. He completely and utterly dominated Westbrook in this series and then he waved goodbye to him after this shot.

His stone-faced expression in the dog pile afterward gave him bonus points he didn't even need.