The Craziest Players in NBA History

No matter what era, the NBA attracts a wide array of characters. Some guys make it to the league because of their relentless work ethic and singular passion for the game. They approach their craft with the care and precision of someone whose very life hinges upon their ability to competently do their job without making any waves or creating any distractions or controversy.

These are not those guys.

Today’s birthday boy Dennis Rodman is the most notorious of a different type of NBA player: the nut case. Whether it’s on the court, off it, or both, some guys just have a proclivity for both causing and getting involved with troubling activities, and others seemingly invite attention upon themselves by acting out. It may be childish and strange, but it also has given them a legacy that lasts long after their playing days are through.

While many players have acted out in one way or another over the course of the years, guys like Marvin “Bad News” Barnes and Ron Artest have been habitual offenders. These are the Craziest Players in NBA History.

Career years: 1984-2000
Team(s): Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets
Craziest moment: Trying to spit on heckling fan, hitting little girl instead.

“Sir Charles” was always one of the NBA’s most colorful personalities, never afraid to give an outrageous quote or stir up controversy. Most notorious was the 1991 incident in which he tried to spit on a fan hurling racial slurs at him, only the spittle veered off course and landed on a little girl instead.

There was also Nike’s controversial “I Am Not a Role Model” campaign, during which Barkley lashed out at people looking at him to “raise your kids” and thus starting a national debate about the role of athletes in society. He also refused to back down either on or off the court, thus earning several arrests during his career including a memorable bar fight where a guy decided it would be a good idea to throw an empty glass at Barkley, only Sir Charles then grabbed the guy and threw him through a plate glass window.

Career years: 1997-Present
Team(s): New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers
Craziest moment: Running into the stands to fight fans.

Stephen Jackson has said and done a lot of strange things throughout his NBA career, and like his on-court production the results of his actions have been decidedly mixed. His role in the “Malice at the Palace” will always be a stain on his career, but this is also the guy who once said “That’s what I live for. I make love to pressure.”

He also got into a fight at a club last year with poor Steve Francis, who quite honestly doesn’t need any more problems than he already has.

Career years: 2001-2012
Team(s): Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies
Craziest moment: Bringing guns into the locker room over a gambling-related beef with teammate.

Agent Zero looked like a true rags-to-riches tale during his emergence into superstardom, but it did not take long for Gilbert Arenas' inner crazy to sabotage his career. In addition to the guns incident with Javaris Crittenton—certainly no small matter—Arenas has been a poster child for irrational spending ever since landing his first huge contract, a six-year/$111 million deal. A full list of highlights can be found here, and includes things like a car wash he visits that costs $675, a shark tank with over $6,500 in monthly costs attached to it, and a hyperbaric chamber he keeps in his bedroom. Somehow, we suspect this frivolous spending may catch up with him someday.

Career years: 1980-1994
Team(s): Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons
Craziest moment: Played the role of the NBA's villain during his time in Detroit.

Bill Laimbeer wants to coach in the NBA. He coached in the WNBA and won three titles with the Detroit Shock. But the rep he built as a player is the main reason why he hasn't gotten a shot as an NBA head coach yet. A lot of folks that were around during his playing days are calling shots in today's game and they still hate him, and for good reason. Laimbeer never committed a foul and when he did they were all borderline assault. He punched people, clotheslined people, body-slammed people, all to gain a mental edge.

For the most part it worked while he was in Detroit. As the enforcer on those "Bad Boy" Pistons clubs, Bill helped them appear in five straight Eastern Conference Finals, and win two back-to-back titles in the Bird/Magic era.

Career years: 1970-1983
Team(s): San Diego/Houston Rockets
Craziest moment: Fathered 14 children by nine different mothers.

Calvin Murphy’s brand of crazy is all over the map; he got into a lot of fights on the court as a player, earning himself a reputation as one of the NBA’s toughest players by instigating or being involved with 17 fights in eight years. He also has managed to father 14 children by nine different women, which has to be some kind of record even for the NBA and is likely where Antonio Cromartie learned his contraception skills. On a more troubling note, five of his daughters accused him of molesting them, although a jury found him not guilty when the case went to trial in 2004. And he started the rumor about Delonte and Gloria James.

Career years: 1998-2008
Team(s): Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets
Craziest moment: Said publicly that his own fans "don't matter."

One of the poster children of the Jail Blazers era, Bonzi Wells is at least somewhat aware of all the trouble he caused while in Portland. He told OregonLive.com in 2009 that he wanted to “apologize for the bad, the way things went down as a whole. And that's from my heart.” What is this “bad” he’s referring to? Well, in 2001 he said that the fans “don’t matter,” and over his career also earned fines or suspensions for a heated confrontation with his coach, striking an official, and making an obscene gesture at a fan.

Career years: 1998-Present
Team(s): Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers
Craziest moment: Shot on his own hoop to complete a triple-double.

Ricky Davis was a special kind of crazy. In March 2003, with the Cavaliers leading the Utah Jazz by 25 points, six seconds to go, and Davis needing just one rebound to complete a triple-double, he did what any normal person in that position would do: he collected an inbounds pass, took a shot on his own hoop, and grabbed his 10th rebound of the game.

Sadly for Davis, he didn’t understand the rules of basketball, and was not given credit for the rebound. He’s now back in the D-League, trying to resurrect his career after antics like the triple-double incident (deservedly) earned him a reputation around the NBA as a selfish player. He also once said: "I thought LeBron James was just going to be another addition to help me score," when the Cavs drafted the soon-to-be King.

Career years: 1996-Present
Team(s): Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics
Craziest moment: Paid to stay away from team.

Stephon Marbury has had quite a career. From Coney Island to Georgia Tech to being the No. 4 pick in the draft, Starbury had a relatively uneventful career until money started getting involved. That's when he began to clash with coaches, teammates, and management, earning himself numerous trades and making very few friends. His battles with Larry Brown when they were together with the Knicks were absolutely epic, and he didn't fare any better under Mike D'Antoni, who ultimately paid Marbury to stay away from the team.

Starbury has found new life in the Chinese Basketball Association, though, where he has been an All-Star four years in a row and has won two championships. No word on whether or not he still eats Vaseline.

Career years: 2004-Present
Team(s): Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks
Craziest moment: Arrested with a guitar case full of guns.

Delonte West has had to overcome a lot during his professional career, getting into numerous run-ins off the court and being involved in some outrageous rumors all while battling bipolar disorder. Most famously, he was romantically linked with LeBron James’ mother Gloria during the 2010 playoffs, a rumor that may have played a role in LeBron’s decision to leave Cleveland that summer.

There also was the time West was arrested for riding a motorcycle with a guitar case full of guns attached to the back, and even had a bizarre Twitter outburst aimed at a sportswriter who he felt did him dirty.

Career years: 1988-2001
Team(s): San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Dallas Mavericks
Craziest moment: Went into stands and punched fan.

Vernon Maxwell was the classic “wild card” on the mid-90s Rockets, a player whose specialty (apart from being crazy) was being the one guy who could somewhat contain Michael Jordan when guarding him. He was a terrific three-point shooter who led the league twice in makes, and also earned the nickname “Mad Max” for his erratic behavior. Among the many incidents that earned him this moniker were the time he pulled a gun on someone who cut him off in traffic, cursed out his own fans at the beginning of the 1994 NBA playoffs, and the time in 1995 when he went into the stands and punched a fan.

Career years: 1993-2001
Team(s): Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets
Craziest moment: Threatening to have teammate Dikembe Mutombo murdered.

J.R. Rider, who soon became known as Isaiah Rider, was an incredible athlete but never lived up to his potential because he's a bonehead. Despite a 20-plus points per game average during his second year in the league, he feuded with his coach so much that the team decided to suspend him. He also released this heinous single called “Funk in the Trunk.” He also physically assaulted a female manager of a sports bar, spit on a fan sitting courtside, and threatened to have Dikembe Mutombo killed. And he still has run-ins with the law to this day.

Career years: 1999-Present
Team(s): Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks
Craziest moment: Running into the stands to fight fans.

While Ron Artest (or now, Metta World Peace) will best be remembered for the infamous “Malice at the Palace,” we don’t think it’s fair to undersell his other incidents so much. This is a guy notorious for his short temper and ample elbow throwing throughout his career, and is also the same guy who reportedly showed up late for a team bus to a playoff Game 7 wearing only his underwear. Plus, he changed his last name to “World Peace.” There was also his ill-fated rap career.

It’s been one long, turbulent trip through the NBA for ol’ Ron, who will be looking for a new team this offseason after being cut loose by the Knicks.

Career years: 2007-2011
Team(s): Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Washington Wizards
Craziest moment: Bringing guns into the locker room over a gambling-related beef with teammate.

Crazy can take many forms. Sometimes, it simply means there are a lot of silly hairstyles and personal quirks that are largely endearing and make the person in question simply perceived as unique. Then there’s crazy like a sociopath who would not hesitate to do you serious bodily harm. Based on what we know, Javaris Crittenton is the latter. His willingness to bring guns into the Wizards locker room does not represent the actions of someone who has any regard for the safety of others, and it doesn’t come as much of a shock that he now awaits trial in Atlanta for drug trafficking and murder.

Career years: 1974-1986
Team(s): Spirits of St. Louis, Detroit Pistons, Buffalo Braves, Boston Celtics, San Diego Clippers
Craziest moment: Showed up 10 minutes before a playoff game while eating McDonalds.

Marvin “Bad News” Barnes would have absolutely dominated SportsCenter had he come around this era. The man’s antics were legendary, especially during his ABA days. Barnes really can sum it up best himself, as he once said: “I'm a basketball player, not a monk. I play the women, I play the clothes, I play the cars, I play everything I can play. There's players and there's playees. The playees are the ones who get played by the players. I am a player.”

Perhaps the best Barnes anecdote is the time he missed the team flight, took a private plane to the game, arrived 10 minutes before tip-off, announced as he strolled into the locker room “Boys, Gametime is on time,” devoured a bag of McDonalds, then went out and put up 51 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. We think it’s safe to say: there will never be another Bad New Barnes.

Career years: 1992-2005
Team(s): Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves
Craziest moment: Choking his coach during practice.

Before we answer the question of whether Latrell Sprewell belongs here, we have a few questions for you: Is it “crazy” to tell your coach you’re going to murder him, then start choking him in the middle of practice? Is it crazy to turn down a three year, $21 million offer because you “got [a] family to feed,” even though you also happen to be making $14.6 million that year? Is it crazy to buy a $1.5 million yacht when you live in Milwaukee? Oh wait, it is? Never mind then.

Career years: 1986-2000
Team(s): Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks
Craziest moment: Befriending homicidal foreign dictator.

Of all the strange, occasionally danger characters to pass through the NBA, Dennis Rodman is far and away the most bizarre. His antics during his playing days ranged from the relatively harmless (e.g., dyeing his hair and taking his shoes off while on the bench) to the malicious (shoving refs, kicking cameramen). Through his relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, “The Worm” has entered the next level of insanity by freely associating and being a “friend for life” of one of the world’s worst human beings.

Just when you think Rodman may be slipping, he goes and does something completely nuts and reminds us all that he is forever the king of the crazies.