When Trash Talking GOES WRONG In The NBA

Trash talking is hilarious. Players love it, the media loves it, and the fans, well, they love it even more. I mean, it creates storylines, it creates a game within the game, and honestly, it turns ordinary sports matches into some of the finest entertainment that the world has to offer. There is one thing funnier than trash talking though, and that's when trash talking goes wrong. Tracy McGrady is one of the best NBA players of the 2000s. I mean, his accolades speak for themselves. Seven All-NBA selections, seven All-Star selections, and two scoring titles. Sheesh, guys. On top of all that, Kobe Bryant once said about T-Mac, he could do everything I could, but he was 6'10". He had no weakness in his game, he could score from anywhere and defend. He's the hardest player I had ever had to guard. Still though, despite all the hardwares he won and all the compliments he received, T-Mac and his youth in prime has never gotten past the first round of the playoffs. So anyway, there was one time where McGrady almost got over the hump, but he opened his mouth just a little too early and that ended up biting him in his rear end. You see, it was back in the 2003 NBA playoffs when the 8th seeded Orlando Magic was matched up against the number one seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round. Orlando won the first game, then Detroit won the game, and then in games 3 and 4, McGrady willed his team to two consecutive wins, and just like that, the Orlando Magic had a 3-1 stranglehold over the Pistons. Teams that have a 3-1 lead in the playoffs go on to win the series about 95% of the time, and McGrady knew that. So, with all the adrenaline flowing through his veins after that game 4 win, he opened his mouth and said, it feels good to be in the second round. And uh, what happened after that was a nightmare for TMAG. Detroit ended up winning by 31 points in game 5, they ended up winning by 15 points in game 6, game 7 wasn't any different. Detroit won by 15 points in 108-93, and uh, this was just literally a week after McGrady had said, it feels good to be in the second round. Ouch. Anyway, moving on here. Skip Bayless is notoriously known for trashtalking NBA players on his Fox show, Undisputed. I mean, he's been trashtalking LeBron for almost two decades now, and he recently got in a twitter battle with the 2017 MVP when he called him Russell Westbrick. But during the 2022 regular season, Skip got a taste of his own medicine. You see, on December 14th, Kevin Durant put on a masterpiece when his shorthanded Nets outbattled a fully healthy Toronto Raptors squad. For the game, Durant had 38 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Immediately after the game, Skip went on his usual LeBron James trashtalk rant and tweeted this on Twitter. The best player on the planet was at it again tonight in Brooklyn, going assassin in overtime for the COVID rocked Nets. Nothing like Kevin Durant. You watch Bron? Well, LeBron didn't respond to that tweet, but Kevin Durant on the other hand tweeted this back to Skip. I really don't like you. Well, needless to say, Skip went on a long rant about this the very next day. The thinnest skin superstar I've ever seen. But the reason I don't condemn him for it is because he uses that weirdly. Honestly, if you watch the whole video, Skip seemed hurt from It also got a bit cringey at times, but hey, like what Lillard said after trashtalking Curry and getting 62 dropped on his own head, you can't dish it out and not be able to take it. Next off here, we got the infamous Devin Booker, the 2022 Phoenix Suns, and their father, Luka Doncic. Honestly, it wasn't just Booker. I mean, here's LeBron and Cameron Payne going at it mid-season. Then Anthony Edwards had a say at it too when he said, Then in the series between the Suns and the Mavericks, Booker went into full-on I mean, first he calls falling down the Luka special, and then he goes on to steal the ball from Luka when the clock has already stopped. Sheesh guys, look at the look on Luka there. Anyway, what followed was probably the worst beatdown I've ever seen in the NBA. Luka not only destroyed the Suns in Game 7, but he literally snatched their soul away. It didn't matter who they put on it. He was getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, however he wanted it. After the game, this question from a reporter was the cherry on top. This whole incident with Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns is now the textbook definition of trashtalking going wrong in the NBA, and I look forward to seeing their demeanor next season. Next off here, we've got one of my favorite players, Klay Thompson, who received the short end of this exchange. You see, back in 2016, when the Warriors had the Cavaliers on a 3-1 stranglehold in the NBA Finals, Draymond Green and LeBron got into a little war of words on the court. Apparently, Draymond called LeBron the B-word, and LeBron didn't like that, saying Green's trashtalk crossed the line. When Klay was asked about his thoughts on this matter, he responded, People have feelings, and people's feelings get hurt, even if they're called a bad word. I guess his feelings just got hurt. Then, when a reporter brought it up to LeBron, this was his reaction. What did you say Klay said? Klay said I guess he just got his feelings hurt. What happened after that was, uh, not good for Golden State. Anyway, there was another time that trashtalking LeBron went wrong. You see, back in January 2008, before LeBron and Bosh ever teamed up in Miami, the two of them had a little battle. The Toronto Raptors hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers, and with 10 minutes and 40 seconds left to go in the 4th quarter, the Raptors held a 70-61 lead, and it was at about this moment of the game that Chris Bosh's girlfriend at the time, Allison Mathis, decided that the game was over. I don't know exactly what was said, because there's no audio on this. Maybe she called him Queen James, or maybe she called him the B word like how Draymond did. But what happened after that was not good for the Raptors. LeBron went on full attack mode and scored 24 points in the 4th quarter, and as a result, the Cavaliers ended up winning the game 93-90. With 10.9 seconds left to go in the game, LeBron looked over at Allison's direction and yelled out, It's your fault, it's your fault. Yikes. Anyway, this next story we have here involves Trae Young. Here he is with the ball, Atlanta's up 4 with about a minute left in regulation. Then, just like that, Trae extends the lead up to 6, and following that bucket, he begins to yell out, It's over, it's over. He shouldn't have said that because, well, within 30 seconds, the Heat ended up scoring back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game up 1-17 apiece. Then in overtime, the Heat just clobbered the Hawks and ended up winning by 14 points, 135-121. After the game, Jimmy Butler had some fun and in an Instagram post, he wrote, This man at Trae Young is a teller of the future. He was right. Game was over. Anyway, last of all here, we have a trash-talking narrative which may or may not end up backfiring in 2023. You see, after the Phoenix Suns were eliminated in the playoffs by the Mavericks, Patrick Beverly, Chris Paul's probably number one critic, went on an epic rant that lasted for about a week. I've never seen an NBA player trash-talk a quote-unquote NBA superstar more than what Beverly said about Paul. He further goes on to say that when he battles against Steph Curry, he goes to sleep at 8 and shuts out all distractions. But when he battles against CP3, he goes for wine and steak the night before and for all intents and purposes, enjoys himself. My goodness, guys. Pat Bev wasn't holding back one bit. He further goes on to say, Sheesh, guys. Patrick Beverly called Chris Paul the quote-unquote point god, a cone on defense, and said that nobody in the league is afraid of him. In 2023, when the Suns match up against the Jazz, I know the whole arena is going to rise up on their feet when Beverly has the ball and CP3 is defending him. We've yet to see if this rant by Pat Bev is going to age like wine or if it's going to come back and bite him in the rear end. But one thing is for sure, basketball fans can't wait to see how this one plays out.