Power Ranking: The Top 10 Trash Talking Teams in Sports

The art of trash talking is not a new development. Caveman used to sit on branches of trees and make fart noises at ground-ridden sabertooth tigers. And this was before they knew how to build a fire to cook them.

Once people started playing sports—forget about it—trash talking took off. It has recently elevated to such a level in this year's NFL playoffs that the league sent out a memo saying something to the effect of, "If you continue to trash talk, Roger Goodell is going to pound you to smithereens." 

In light of this recent apex of smack, I think it is a good time to take a look at the teams that dish out the best.

No. 10: Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have some players that can dish the smack. J.R. Smith and Chauncey Billups never shy away from running their mouths, but the unquestioned leader in this is Kenyon Martin.

Martin runs his mouth all game and he is not afraid to target anyone. Martin got into a famous trash talk session with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

No. 9: Cincinnati Bengals

When your starting Wide Receivers are the two members of a show called T.Ocho, chances are your team will be talking some mess.

The two great wide receivers make an impressive pairing on the field, but it is an even more impressive pair of trash talkers.

No. 8: New York Rangers

The Rangers don't have a lot of players notorious for slinging verbal garbage, but Sean Avery makes up for the rest of them.

Avery trash talks early and often. As you can see in the above clip, he is going at it before the game even starts.

No. 7: Dallas Mavericks

As far as NBA players go, the Dallas Mavericks are not the biggest trash talkers. Maybe that's just because you can't hear them over their owner.

Players have talked trash about other athlete's mothers forever, but they don't do it to their face and it never comes from owners—unless that owner is Mark Cuban. Cuban famously told Kenyon Martin's mom that her son was a punk. 

No. 6: Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are led by Ray Lewis in more ways than one. He leads with his on-field play and with his on- and off-field trash talk.

Lewis is certainly not the only smack-talking Raven. Terrell Suggs is blossoming into an elite trash talker in his own right.

No. 5: Chicago White Sox

Baseball is not as ripe for trash talking as the other sports, but one franchise currently sticks out as bright shining sheet-talking star: The Chicago White Sox.

Ozzie Guillen speaks his mind. He will talk trash about the opposition, his organization, his players or the league. He is not alone either. A.J. Pierzynski is probably the biggest talker in the game, and let's just say he is not universally loved by his peers.

No. 4: Philadelphia Flyers

The Broad Street Bullies wear their tough identity like a badge of honor, and they aren't afraid to let you know about it.

Led by Daniel Carcillo, the Flyers enjoy getting under other players' skin. Carcillo is the type that is loved by his teammates and hated by everyone else.

No. 3: Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant is often compared to Michael Jordan. One aspect that does not get mentioned often is Kobe and Michael's similarities in the vocabulary used to talk to opponents. Kobe can sling it and he is not alone.

Is there another coach that has perfected the art of trash talking more than Phil Jackson? He can slam someone and it will take them five minutes to figure out if it was a compliment or an insult.

As evidence of the Lakers total team effort to talking trash, we haven't even mentioned Ron Artest yet. Artest and Matt Barnes would be trash talking front runners on most teams—on the Lakers they are an afterthought.

No. 2: New York Jets

Well, I just said that Phil Jackson may be the king of the trash talking coaches. Rex Ryan has thrown his hat into the ring to challenge for that title.

The Jets are the main reason the league has told teams to ease off the trash talk. The Jets take the cue from their coach and run with it. This is a team that is raising the NFL bar in smack.

No. 1: Boston Celtics

In 2010, a poll of NBA players was taken. The question was: Who is the biggest trash talker in the game? Kevin Garnett won with an amazing 62 percent of the vote.

The poll listed the top ten NBA smack talkers. Nate Robinson, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo joined Garnett in the top ten. Only nine of the 10 players are active in 2011. The retired player on the list is former Celtic Rasheed Wallace.

Congratulations the Boston Celtics—kings of the trash talk.