NBA players have fans from across the United States and the world, regardless of whatever teams they play for. Many are revered for their skills and their personalities, especially the stars that have played instrumental roles in winning championships. But the flip side of all the fame and adulation they receive is the hate and criticism, something that is just as much a part of the player’s experience as the love.
Players are hated across the league for several reasons, quite a few of them more than their counterparts. Those reasons can range from players playing too well against a fan’s favorite team to their style of play, and also their conduct on the court. And the players that are universally hated usually happen to tick more than one box when it comes to these reasons.
Social media has become an outlet for all the hate and criticism that fans want to give out to players, seeing as it is very easy for them to reach NBA stars directly. Twitter is notorious for this, and for every fan with a well-reasoned critique, 10 trolls are trying to put down players simply based on petty dislikes.
The 5 NBA Players That Receive The Highest Percentage Of Negative Tweets
The usual suspects come to mind when one thinks of players that get a lot of hate. Russell Westbrook, Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, and so on. Draymond Green is another one on that list, but surprisingly, none of these players top the list of those that get the most negative attention on Twitter.
NBA players that receive the most negative tweets:
1. Marcus Smart – 41.03%
2. Draymond Green – 38.27%
3. Bam Adebayo – 37.33%
4. Trae Young – 37.24%
5. Jimmy Butler – 36.7%
(Data by @ActionNetworkHQ )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 17, 2022
“NBA players that receive the most negative tweets:
1. Marcus Smart – 41.03%
2. Draymond Green – 38.27%
3. Bam Adebayo – 37.33%
4. Trae Young – 37.24%
5. Jimmy Butler – 36.7%”
This list is a surprising one. Perhaps Green is the only player that is to be expected on this list following his altercation with Jordan Poole. Marcus Smart is notorious for flopping, so that might be the reason, but it seems a little inadequate to put him at the top.
Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, both being on here, seems to imply that NBA fans on Twitter just have a problem with the Miami Heat. Neither is particularly hateable. And Trae Young is probably on the list thanks to his ongoing beef with the city of New York. This list just goes to show, though, that the actual statistics are so different from what the perception sometimes is.
