Like with every team sport imaginable, there are one or two teammates who are absolutely loathed by each member of the team. That’s an inescapable fact because, at the end of the day, we are purely different individuals who have different outlooks in life. The same can be said for several teammates in the NBA.
Despite the on-court chemistry, there’s a possibility that not everything clicks when the lights are off. Sometimes, the animosity is visible on the court if you just take a keen look at it. Almost every team has that one teammate who irks them whenever they are playing basketball or off of it.
Let’s have a look at the ten big NBA names whose teammates are sick of them.
Which top 10 NBA players aren’t too popular with their teammates?
Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
There was a time when Draymond was one of the best stretch fours in the league. Everyone loved his passion for the game and what he brought to Golden State. But as we all know, there were multiple instances in which he spoke too much, which inevitably hampered the Warriors’ chance to further their dynasty.
First, Green infamously boasted to then-Warriors teammate Kevin Durant that they were NBA champs in 2015 before KD signed with them in 2016. He essentially implied that they didn’t need Durant’s services to win another title.
Another incident involved Green punching his then-teammate, Jordan Poole, in practice before the 2022-2023 NBA season. The preseason turmoil carried a dark cloud over their title defense in 2023, causing them to fail in their bid to repeat. Poole was on the trajectory to become Stephen Curry’s heir apparent but left after the following season.
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With Klay Thompson’s departure in the offseason (probably sick of Draymond’s on-court and off-court antics), it looks like poor ol’ guy Stephen Curry is the only guy who can tolerate him on a nightly basis.
Chris Paul (San Antonio Spurs)
Paul doesn’t necessarily carry a clean reputation as a player due to the antics he tried to pull on the court throughout his career. While Paul isn’t a bonafide diva or anything like that, he may try to do some questionable things on an NBA court, playing a little bit dirtier than others or trying to make some over-the-top speeches in the huddle, which may rub his teammates in the wrong way.
Paul views himself as a leader, but not everybody is ecstatic to meet his demands. Just to prove the point, it’s not a coincidence that Paul has been playing for four different franchises in the last five years. Victor Wembanyama was visibly disappointed after he and Paul were disqualified in the Skills Challenge during the 2025 all-star festivities. There’s no way that Wemby came up with that absurd idea to cheat on that event. That was CP3’s idea to tip-toe over the rules, and everybody knows it.
Paul George (Philadelphia 76ers)
Here’s a quick fun fact about Paul George’s time with the Sixers: He’s appeared in more of his podcasts than games played for them this season. Not exactly the stats they’d want to have for a guy they just signed to a 200 million contract during the offseason.
It’s safe to say that George has severely underwhelmed for the Sixers. Injuries played a part in it, but whenever he’s healthy, his contributions have been subpar. Add Joel Embiid’s injury woes to their Paul George problem, and the Sixers went from plausible title contenders to a lottery-bound team this season.
And oh…Paul George didn’t exactly shield his teammates from criticism when he openly relayed in his podcast about the intense locker room meeting the SIxes had after their struggles at the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season.
Patrick Williams (Chicago Bulls)
While not a star, unlike other guys on this list, Williams is best remembered as a lottery pick in the star-studded 2020 NBA Draft. Williams may not strike you as a bad teammate, but there are levels to this if you dig deep enough across multiple NBA-related posts across the internet, especially from their loyal fanbase. The Bulls won’t admit it, but the 2020 4th overall pick is a certified bust. He’s not a bust like former Cavs’ player Anthony Bennett, but more like the former Orlando Magic Mario Hezonja kind of bust. You get it, right?
After underperforming in his first few years in the league, the Bulls hastily gave him a five-year extension worth 18 million a year. Absolutely nobody in the league would give up that much for Williams. And the aftermath? The Bulls had no other choice but to play him significant minutes each night, which took away the opportunity from other deserving players on the roster.
The animosity may have been subtle, but if you look closely at any Bulls game, his teammates are hesitant to give him the ball. They fully know that he’s a one-dimensional player, having measly numbers throughout his career. The players know he won’t score, and giving him the ball often results in a wasted trip down the court.
Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans)
While it’s true that Zion’s journey in the NBA has been rough due to all the injury problems he’s had to face, we get the feeling that his teammates must have been sick of him being sidelined for an insane amount of time instead of battling on the court with them.
Much of Williamson’s injury history can be attributed to his weight. No matter what the Pelicans do, his playing weight has fluctuated widely since 2020. As a result, Zion has missed a ton of games throughout his NBA career but still gets paid like a star, eliciting animosity from his teammates in the process.
There’s no doubt that they are sick of him for not treating his weight issues seriously and robbing the team of a chance to become something special with all the talent on their roster.
Isaiah Stewart (Detroit Pistons)
Does challenging an NBA royalty such as LeBron James to a dogfight automatically make you a bad teammate? Yes. Most definitely. And that’s not the only infamous incident that Stewart was involved in, though.
That incident was the sole reason everybody in the NBA knows him. The clip was viewed by millions across the internet.
First of all, Stewart, at 6 foot 8 and weighing 250 pounds, is built like an NFL linebacker. In other words, he’s hard to stop whenever he gets out of control. Stewart is well-known as a bit of a hothead in the NBA, and that has posed some serious problems for the Pistons, especially his teammates.
During some of his rampages, Stewart could be seen knocking his teammates down and brushing them off the way like paper dolls. His team wants nothing to do with him whenever he’s angry, and they’d often be seen apologizing to their opponents due to his behavior.
Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies)
Much of Ja Morant’s troubles started in 2023. He was suspended by the NBA for eight games after an Instagram Live video of him brandishing a gun inside a Denver nightclub quickly circulated online. Two months later, he was filmed posing with a firearm while in a vehicle. This all happened after the Grizzlies had their best season in franchise history. They were a team on the rise, but two off-court incidents by their superstar halted their progress.
Additionally, Morant only played nine games in the 2023-2024 season after suffering a shoulder injury. His father, Tee Morant, was also involved in some off-court controversies. The team’s momentum toward the top was in serious jeopardy due to all of the unnecessary distractions that Morant had created.
His teammates may not say it, but it’s evident that they are sick of the two-time NBA all-star’s off-the-court antics. As evidence of this claim, they have built another identity for this franchise that’s far from being too Ja Morant-centered. Recent rumors have swirled that Morant might be on the move after this season.
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)
It’s hard to pin down Edwards as a bad teammate, but there are a couple of reasons so far in his NBA career that made him qualify for this list. First of all, he has cost the Timberwolves a lot of games. Like a lot. The rising superstar has only converted less than 10% of his game-tying or game-winning shots throughout his career. We fully understand that he’s young, but if Edwards wants to become a leader, he should not be taking ill-advised shots with the game on the line. Just pass the ball if you’re not built for it. Not everybody can be like Kobe.
The other thing is his off-court affairs. Sure, we don’t want to intrude on what he does off the court, but after impregnating a couple of women in recent years, he infamously made a remark about aborting his would-be kids. It was such an odd choice of words for the rising NBA star, as he’s had veteran teammates who have families on their own, and they wouldn’t even think of an idea as absurd as Edwards had suggested.
Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
Weight problems. Foul baiting. Flopping. Injuries. Missing games. Do you have any more negative stuff to add here? It’s no surprise that another Sixer is on this list. When healthy, Joel Embiid is one of the best players in the league. But he hasn’t been healthy enough to lead this team to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance throughout his career.
The Sixers’ brass often hides his failures, but sometimes, some of his former and current teammates spill the beans. There’s no way you could call out your teammate for a lapse in a defensive assignment if you are barely healthy enough to play on an NBA court. It’d be hard to win some peers inside the locker if you are constantly on street clothes.
LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
When you are an NBA royalty, you’d expect to have jealous teammates wherever you go. The most glaring problem about having LeBron James on your team is to build a roster around him that’s capable of contending for a championship. Cleveland and Miami knew that from the start. Now, it’s the Lakers’ time to do it.
Granted, they’ve done an astounding job to fleece the Mavericks in order to get their hands on Luka Doncic in the most discreet and shady manner imaginable. Who were the odd guys out? Anthony Davis and youngster Max Christie. If you are LeBron’s teammate, you are not safe from any trades. He’s dubbed by fans as “LeGM” for a reason.
Some players thrive with him, while plenty of others do not. Half of his all-star teammates love him, and half of them are sick of being his Robin. It’s a polarizing case for one of the league’s best players.
