Over the last 40 years, the NBA has worked rigorously to enhance its product and bring more revenue in by cleaning up its image in any way possible. The league has instilled its harshest punishments in history for things such as technical fouls, flagrant fouls, physical altercations, and bench players getting involved in on-court disputes. Regardless of the work the league has done, there are players that still stand out in today’s game as who we would overall consider as “dirty” players. These players are the ones who deliver cheap shots and play a game that very few can enjoy because of the way they carry themselves.
By no means does being a dirty basketball player mean that a player is bad at the game of basketball. They just happen to be the bad boys of the NBA who embrace the villain role better than anybody else in the league. Facing off against these players makes our blood boil and our skin crawl, yet we would defend some of them with our lives if they played for our team. There’s nothing wrong with a little physicality or trash talk. In fact, I believe the game needs more of it, but for the players below, it is time to take things down a peg.
These are the dirtiest active players in the NBA.
8. Kelly Olynyk
To be fair, Kelly Olynyk’s reputation as a dirty player stems from an incident that occurred eight years ago as the Cavaliers chased an NBA championship, and Olynyk was still with the Boston Celtics. Olynyk Would basically shred Kevin Love’s shoulder out of its socket on purpose in their playoff matchup, crushing any hopes of Cleveland capturing an NBA championship that season. The incident with Love is not the only time Olynyk has been accused of this.
Later in 2017, Olynyk was in his final season with Boston when he found himself in a similar situation in a regular season against the Bulls. Olynyk would make a similar move on Robin Lopez’s arm just as he did Love’s two years prior in the playoffs. Thankfully, there was no major injury this time, but Olynyk had been tabbed as one of the dirtier players in the game.
7. Marcus Morris Sr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDz_xzPSZA4
Markieff and Marcus, the Morris Twins, are notorious for the on-court antics that have found each of them in precarious situations in the past. Marcus is no stranger to controversy on the court, especially during his time with the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. Most of these incidents happened during the 2019-20 season but still hang over his head like a dark cloud everywhere he goes.
First, in the preseason as a member of the Knicks, Morris found himself guarded by Wizards forward Justin Anderson. Seemingly frustrated with Anderson’s defense, Morris emphatically slammed the ball off Anderson’s head and was promptly ejected. It did not stop after he was traded to the Clippers midseason. In that year’s Bubble playoffs, Morris got into multiple altercations with Luka Doncic in their playoff matchup against the Mavericks. First, Morris seemed to intentionally step on Doncic’s already injured ankle in Game 1, causing discomfort for the star for the rest of the series. Morris would then be ejected in Game 6 of that series for an egregiously hard foul on Doncic as well. No matter what he says, Morris is a dirty player.
6. Markieff Morris
Just as his brother has come to be known, Markieff Morris also has a reputation for being a dirty player during his career. He has been ejected from games for kicking players in the groin. He has started scuffles with the likes of Nikola Jokic that ended up with him being injured and recovering for months after essentially what is known as whiplash. He has even been known to retaliate against players while they have their own backs turned. Talk about karma, eh?
Even just last season, Morris displayed some questionable behavior in Miami’s playoff matchup against the Hawks. As Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter chased a loose ball out of bounds, Markieff Moriss wrapped Hunter in his arms and held him back from returning to play.
This prompted a fine from the league. Some of the things Morris does are just plain inexplicable and downright detrimental to team success. Other things he does are out of pure emotion and failure to keep them in check.
5. Patrick Beverley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjYK-8LVQ7Y
Don’t let Patrick Beverley see this. Mostly because Beverley will take offense to being called a dirty player and just say that he plays with passion and commitment to helping his team win by any means necessary. The thing is, this behavior is nothing new to Beverley, who ranked eight in technical fouls in 2022-23 with 12 on the season. One of his most infamous dirty moments came back in 2013 when he basically took out Russell Westbrook in the playoffs in a brutal collision that tore Westbrook’s meniscus.
Between then and now, Beverley’s antics have not only gotten louder but gained a cult-like following as well. It isn’t that Beverley is inherently violent or dirty by nature. It is just that he is willing to go to different lengths than most in order to gain an edge. If he can throw an opponent off by getting inside their head or being a little rough with them, he is going to do it, no questions asked. Despite talking a big game, Beverley’s production doesn’t always match his mouth, and this is where even more trouble stirs up on the court. Tactical or not, it doesn’t change the fact that Patrick Beverley is one of the dirtiest basketball players in the game.
4. Grayson Allen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoisNEwkIg4
Grayson Allen has been a famously dirty player since his days at Duke University. As if anybody needed more of a reason to hate Duke, Allen made it easy after getting caught multiple times committing dirty fouls and tripping players as they were running up the court. Although there were national television cameras everywhere and Allen had been caught numerous times in the act, Allen still acted as if nothing happened and he was this innocent party in the matter. This only added fuel to the hatred and scorn for Allen as he made his way into the NBA.
Allen has made his fair share of dirty plays in the NBA as well, and ones that nearly ended in all-out brawls on the court. It continued in summer league as he broke into the NBA and was ejected for two flagrant fouls on Grant Williams. He nearly caused a benches-clearing brawl in 2022 when he clotheslined Bulls guard Alex Caruso out of mid-air, fracturing his wrist. Allen has had numerous close calls and near-boxing matches on the floor and was recently voted one of the dirtiest players in the game in a poll amongst his fellow players.
3. Chris Paul
There aren’t too many players with a record as a dirty player as extensive as Chris Paul has. Paul has long been known to be a consistent complainer to the refs as well as a trash-talker to his peers. As annoying as those things are, they are not why he is considered to be dirty. Those would be the little things that barely anyone notices or just flat-out refuses to take note of. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the video shared above.
Paul has been known to deliver subtle yet debilitating shots to the groin of opposing players for quite some time. Players such as Rudy Gobert and Kevin Durant can attest to this, as can Jose Alvarado from the 2022 NBA playoffs. On defense, you can tell he is constantly making contact with opponents and getting any little shot that he can. On offense, he will make any slight contact look like he just took a solid right cross from a prime Mike Tyson.
Chris Paul is one of the dirtiest players ever, and here is the perfect example. Do you know any player who has a beef with Kawhi Leonard? Of course not. But Chris Paul bumped into Kawhi Leonard’s shoulder after Game 2 when the Suns beat the Clippers. We will see how the Clippers star will react in a crucial Game 3 for both teams.
2. Dillon Brooks
When even one of your fellow players deems you the dirtiest player in the league, we have to place you pretty high up on the list. Dillon Brooks took his role as a villain in the NBA to an entirely new level in 2022-23. He nearly got into a brawl with Donovan Mitchell after delivering a shot to his groin on a play that was already over. He led the NBA in technical fouls with 18 for the season stemming mostly from his need to be the instigator on the court.
He even tried getting right in the face of an NFL legend for talking trash on the sidelines and engaged in a very public feud with Warriors forward Draymond Green as well. What makes it all worse is that Brooks loves it and has embraced his role like a WWE wrestler that has found a gimmick that sticks. Brooks is almost fueled by it and fans the flames every time he opens his mouth to the media, foreshadowing the scene set to come the next time he gets on the court.
1. Draymond Green
How else did you expect us to cap off the list of the NBA’s dirtiest play than with its most notorious member? Draymond Green will likely remain on this list until the end of time, given his extensive history of dirty plays, flagrant fouls, technical fouls, and excessive use of his feet against his opponent. Remember, this is a man who was famously suspended in the 2016 NBA Finals for kicking LeBron James in the groin, paving the way for the greatest comeback in NBA history.
At this very moment, Green finds himself at the center of controversy once again after stomping on the chest of Kings forward Domantas Sabonis in Game 2 of the Warriors’ first-round matchup against the Kings. After the game, Draymond said, “Nothing wrong here, solid basketball play, but of course, the league didn’t buy that.
Once again, when the Warriors need him the most, Green was suspended for a critical postseason game due to his dirty and foolish ways. The question is no longer if Golden State can put up with it or not. It is how much are they willing to pay to look the other way and re-sign him if Golden State loses this series. As one of the greatest players in franchise history, they may be at an impasse.
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