NBA Power Rankings: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the Biggest Ego from Each Team
The NBA has the most recognizable athletes in the world.
Not only are there only five players on the court, but they wear nothing more than a sleeveless jersey and shorts. NBA players are far more recognizable than NFL and MLB players because of this.
Couple that with the gigantic player contracts in a league that is completely driven by stars and you have some titanic egos floating around the league.
Half of an NBA coach’s job is to massage and manage players egos. But some are just too large to tame.
What player has the biggest ego on your team?
30. Blake Griffin—Los Angeles Clippers
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OK, I know he seems pretty humble in front of cameras…but how could you not have a big ego if you're Griffin?
He is the hottest thing in L.A, the newly crowned dunk champion and a emerging great in the league.
He must have countless amounts of people in his ear telling him about how great he is and how he needs to get his acting and rap career going.
Did I mention he is only 21?
29. Wesley Matthews—Portland Trail Blazers
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You would think Matthews might show some sort of loyalty to the team that signed the undrafted free agent.
Instead he chased the money and is now laughing all to the way to the bank in Portland.
28. Jose Calderon—Toronto Raptors
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The sensitive point guard gets angry seemingly any time criticism is thrown his way.
The Raptors are sick of paying the emotional Calderon $9 million and a trade seems imminent for the diva.
27. Richard Jefferson—San Antonio Spurs
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The Spurs have always been about team basketball as they follow their leader Tim Duncan.
Jefferson has played along for the most part, with some slight complaints mixed in.
He is a distant fourth option on the Spurs—and after being one of the most exciting open-court players in the league in New Jersey—he has trouble coping with the realities of his current situation.
Pouting is never going to get you far.
26. Trevor Ariza—New Orleans Hornets
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The Lakers had just won the 2009 NBA Championship and Ariza was now a free agent. Instead of taking a slight discount to stay with L.A…Ariza took the deal that paid him the most money in Houston.
Now he is just another player on the Hornets as the Lakers are looking to win their third straight title.
Big ego's love big checks.
25. Stephen Jackson—Charlotte Bobcats
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“Captain Jack” first unleashed his ego when he was a free agent after the Spurs 2003 championship. He laughed at the three-year $9 million deal thinking he was going to land a much bigger deal.
He ended up signing a two-year $2.2 million deal with the struggling Hawks.
24. Andre Iguodala—Philadelphia 76ers
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Allen Iverson was enough ego for this franchise.
Iggie really isn’t too bad on the ego front but did show a bit of immaturity in his early days.
Elton Brand was an option because of his $16 million contract, but he is one of the most humbled big name players in the league.
This 76ers team is young and ego-free for the most part.
23. Carlos Boozer—Chicago Bulls
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One of the reasons the Bulls are currently the No. 2 team in the East is because of their lack of ego.
But fans in Cleveland will never forget when Boozer back stabbed the franchise after the Cavs front office thought they were doing him a favor.
22. Michael Beasley—Minnesota Timberwolves
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Ever since he took the college basketball world by storm with his incredible freshman season at Kansas State, Beasley has fallen victim to his own ego.
His days as a member of the Heat can be described as disastrous and the former No. 2 overall pick turned to taking pictures of himself with a bag of weed in the background.
He has had a bit of a resurrection in the Twin Cities, averaging 19 points a game in only 32 minutes of action.
21. Raja Bell—Utah Jazz
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Remember his days of trying to get into the head of Kobe?
It worked to some degree but Bell’s ego skyrocketed in the process. He was cocky enough to even clothesline Bryant and act like it was nothing.
Now he is nothing more than a role player that could only wish to stay in front of Kobe.
20. DeShawn Stevenson—Dallas Mavericks
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Remember that heated playoff series when Stevenson and the Wizards played the Cavs?
Stevenson held LeBron in check for about one game and thought he had the right to act like he had just won the big prize. He would do that stupid “can’t feel my face” hand gesture over his face and was a trash-talking machine in that series.
Diss songs and videos ensued and the ego of Stevenson swelled.
The Cavs ended up winning and Stephenson has never been relevant since.
19. Kevin Martin—Houston Rockets
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Martin can be a bit of a ball hog wih his 15 shot attempts per game...but they got rid of their biggest ego at the trade deadline in Aaron Brooks.
Martin may have never rushed to the locker room after being subbed for in the fourth quarter of a game, but he sure does love to shoot.
Spread the love Kevin.
18. Lance Stephenson—Indiana Pacers
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Having a big ego while only averaging 4.8 points?
Stephenson’s ego was created during his storied prep career in New York City. He went onto Cincinnati to have one mediocre and uninspiring season before jumping ship to the pros thinking he was a top 15 pick. Instead, he dropped all the way to 10th in the second round and is just beginning to see the court.
Stephenson has a long way to go for his numbers to match his ego.
17. Tracy McGrady—Detroit Pistons
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The former NBA star demanded a trade out of an awful Magic team when the going got tough. Obviously it wasn't his fault.
He single handedly killed the careers of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley in the process of his reckless trade demands.
T-Mac went on to lead the Rockets to first-round playoff exits and nothing else.
16. Andray Blatche—Washington Wizards
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He is having a terrific year on paper—averaging 16-points and eight rebounds a night. But it’s his lack of maturity that is stunting the growth of the young Wizards.
He has a tendency to jog up the floor and is no stranger to altercations with a coach or teammate.
The 24-year-old Blatche still has a lot of growing up to do and a lot of ego to check.
15. Baron Davis—Cleveland Cavaliers
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While he has been a model citizen in three games with the Cavs, Davis has a long and storied history of showing up to training camp extremely overweight and unfocused...especially after signing big contracts.
He has enough talent to get away with it but ask any Clippers fan how they feel about Davis and they will shake their heads in frustration.
A talented player that is just a bit to confident in his ability to play at the highest level without the proper preparation.
14. Nate Robinson—Oklahoma City Thunder
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Krypto-Nate wins a few slam-dunk competitions and it goes straight to his head. He has cost his team easy points trying to go for the flashy dunk over a boring yet much more reliable layup.
This is the only time fans pay attention to Nate and he knows this. That’s why he will always take a SportsCenter top play over something like a great defensive effort.
13. Brandon Jennings—Milwaukee Bucks
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This guy has had an ego since he stepped foot on a basketball court. He was the first player to skip out on college basketball to go play in Europe.
After an unmemorable season he declared for the draft.
As soon as he was drafted Jennings was ripping the teams and players that were drafted before him.
He is a great talent that needs a bit of a reality check.
12. DeMarcus Cousins—Sacramento Kings
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The cocky and confident rookie has crossed the line on multiple occasions this season.
Just last month he was suspended for a game after he didn’t get the ball at the end of a two-point loss. He has already been fined by the coaching staff, kicked out of practice and benched for a choking gesture.
The guy has all the talent in the world...but he really needs a ego check. Cousins needs a veteran to put him in his place.
11. Josh Smith—Atlanta Hawks
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Smith rarely cares what other people think about him and he proved that point again at the end of January. Smith made a motion near his groin area as he ran back up the court and received a $25,000 fine for his actions.
Smith is a freak physically that too often relies on his greatest asset. Smith is more willing to try and pull off the spectacular dunk then get the easy layup. He loves the attention too much to have it any other way.
10. Zach Randolph—Memphis Grizzles
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Z-Bo was accused of being a drug dealer in Indianapolis and once got busted going to a strip club instead of a regular season game.
His Portland days were quite infamous. Randolph was cited for drag racing, and carrying his firearm in downtown Portland just to name a few issues.
Drug dealing and drag racing? He must have a gigantic ego with those hobbies.
9. Vince Carter—Phoenix Suns
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Carter’s mammoth ego derives from his early days of the high flying self-proclaimed “Half-Man, Half-Amazing”.
Now he is looking older by the minutes as he jogs up the court waiting to launch his next off-balanced 20-footer.
Carter has completely lost his athletic ability that made him so good but his ego has yet to catch up to his play.
8. J.R. Smith—Denver Nuggets
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If there were ever a player that gave his coach a heart attack it would be J.R. and coach George Karl.
He has shown flashes of absolute brilliance while also forcing Karl to bench him for entire games.
When he’s hot there are few players as dangerous. But the need to continually jack up forced shots in the sake of getting a hot streak alive can be tough to stomach.
His lack of desire to play defense is a sign that he is more concern with his own personal stats than team success.
7. Orlando Magic—Gilbert Arenas
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He has got to be one of the more entertaining players off the court of all time.
Before he had multiple knee surgeries that crushed his athleticism, Arenas really was one of the most explosive players in the league. Just ask him…
He once bet a few fans that he would score 50 points in a game. He also has a book that gives readers the chance to talk, think and sleep just like Agent Zero.
6. Mikhail Prokhorov—New Jerey Nets
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He bought the Nets thinking he was going to take the NBA by storm. Cool YouTube videos of him jet skiing and being sweet made the state of New Jersey giddy with excitement.
Yet the team is still one of the worst in the league.
Whiffing on all of the major 2010 free agents was one thing…but getting embarrassed so publicly by Carmelo Anthony made the Nets franchise look like punks.
The Russian billionaire has a long road ahead to become a successful owner in the NBA.
5. Paul Pierce—Boston Celtics
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This one is easy.
He once told reporters that he was the greatest athlete of all time in any sport.
Such a down to earth guy.
4. Monta Ellis—Golden St Warriors
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Ellis is one of the best scorers in the current NBA landscape…and he’s got the ego to prove it. This is the response of Ellis when asked who were the best three players in the NBA:
"I’m going to say LeBron James [third]. He can do it all, pass, score, defend, block shots. No. 2, I would have to say, me. I can do a whole lot of things: defend, score, make passes, do whatever I need to do."
Better than LeBron? Really?
3. Los Angeles Lakers—Kobe Bryant
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He plays with an almost snobbish passion that pisses off the majority of the league.
Bryant has given himself his own nickname in the past and is obsessed with comparing himself to the all-time legends of the game.
While his spectacular play over the last 15 years allows him to be pretty cocky...the way he basically told the entire Western Conference All-Star team that this was going to be his MVP to win is a bit egotistical don't you think?
He took a ridiculous 26 shots in a game that is supposed to be showing off the young new talent of the league.
He is infatuated with himself and his perceived legacy in the game and will throw anybody (Shaq, Rudy Tomjanovich) that get in his way.
2. Carmelo Anthony—New York Knicks
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The events that have transpired in the last nine months are all you need to know.
Everyone in the league knew he want to go to NYC yet 'Melo still acted like he gave a crap about the Nuggets—even though it was crystal clear that he had already mentally checked out.
‘Melo got what ‘Melo wanted…regardless of how many people he screwed and pissed of in the process.
Take a look at Nuggets coach George Karl’s comments after the trade. Karl went on-and-on about how much he is going to miss Chauncey Billups.
Not a word about ‘Melo.
1. LeBron James—Miami Heat
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Sure you remember the famous phrase "I'm taking my talents to South Beach" but don't forget about the previous summer.
The "Nike Tape" debacle annoyed many NBA fans. He made sure a video of Jordan Crawford dunking over him was confiscated.
Was it a decent dunk? Nothing special. Was it that big of a deal? Only after LeBron made it one.
He thought he was the perfect basketball player until the entire NBA turned on him. He thought everyone in the world was in love with him and they would get over his insane narcissism and ego.
This season has been a painful reality check for the guy that thought he could walk on water.
