15 Most Notorious Cheaters in NBA History

By Chipper Murphy

15 Most Notorious Cheaters in NBA History

David Stern — Professional sports is plagued with allegations of cheating, scandal and deception. Fortunately the NBA mostly manages to stay out of the spotlight — unlike MLB and the NFL — but they have had their image issues as well. These are 15 examples of the most notorious cheaters in league history.

15. Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan

15. Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan — The greatest athlete of all time definitely played dirty, but there is more to him than that. Jordan's first retirement to go play baseball came at a suspicious time. His gambling problem was not a secret and there were rumors that the NBA had launched an investigation into Jordan and temporarily banned him.

14. Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas

14. Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas — You have to be really stupid to bring a gun into the locker room and argue with your teammate (who happens to be gang member and a murderer) over a gambling debt. Arenas broke NBA rules against bringing firearms into an arena, and instead of learning his lesson he infamously pulled the "finger guns" pre-game celebration.

13. Tony Parker

Tony Parker

13. Tony Parker

Tony Parker — Tony Parker was married to actress Eva Longoria for seven years before getting divorced after he cheated on her with Erin Barry, wife of former Spurs teammate Brent Barry. That's pretty low.

12. Connie Hawkins

Connie Hawkins

12. Connie Hawkins

Connie Hawkins — Connie Hawkins may not have shaved points while in college at Iowa, and he may have not been a cheater at all but he might as well have been. Hawkins was treated like dirt by the basketball world for years with no proof of any wrongdoing. He doesn't belong on this list, so he's here not because of his actions but because of a sullied reputation.

11. The Minnesota Timberwolves

Glen Taylor

11. The Minnesota Timberwolves

Glen Taylor — The Joe Smith "underhanded" deal that was made between Smith and then Timberwolves executive Kevin McHale was not uncommon among NBA front offices. The only difference was that no one had ever been caught before. There was plenty of speculation as to why Minnesota would even bother taking a risk with a player of Joe Smith's caliber in the first place.

10. Bruce Bowen

Bruce Bowen

10. Bruce Bowen

Bruce Bowen — Bruce Bowen is one of the dirtiest players in league history. He made a career out of his menacing style of play and was open about how he intended to hurt certain players. Bowen was infamous for putting his legs underneath players when they would come down on jump shots.

9. Vlade Divac

Vlade Divac

9. Vlade Divac

Vlade Divac — Every kid that watches a flop in an NBA game and cringes with anger has one man to thank: Vlade Divac. For years Divac conned officials into thinking he was being abused by opposing players. If he played now, in the Twitter era, he would be one of the most despised athletes on the planet.

8. Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant

8. Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant — Bleacher Report called Kobe Bryant a classic "sneaky dirty player" and I can't think of a better description. No one has ever thrown an elbow like Bryant or gotten away with them at such a high rate.

7. Reggie Miller

Reggie Miller

7. Reggie Miller

Reggie Miller — Reggie Miller was annoying, he would get under the opponent's skin and commit cheap fouls. Miller knew how to draw the officials' attention with exaggerated contact and was not shy about wanting to get opponents ejected from games.

6. Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed Wallace

6. Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed Wallace — Rasheed Wallace was very dedicated to his "physical" play down low and it earned him the respect of his teammates and the ire of his opponents. Wallace is the career-leader in technical fouls with 304, including 40 in one season. Of course most of those fouls came from yelling at the refs.

5. Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett

5. Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett — Kevin Garnett is one of the most hated players in the NBA because he plays dirty and is a relentless trash talker. Due to his resume he still commands respect though especially from the young players who are the frequent targets of his ridicule.

4. Bill Laimbeer

Bill Laimbeer

4. Bill Laimbeer

Bill Laimbeer — Bill Laimbeer committed hard fouls, complained to the referees, flopped, and provoked opponents. He is the dirtiest NBA player ever and could arguably be further up this list.

3. The Refs From Game Six of the 2002 Western Conference Finals

Dick Bavetta

3. The Refs From Game Six of the 2002 Western Conference Finals

Dick Bavetta — This incredible series between the rival Lakers and Kings was disgraced by a rigged Game 6. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers shot 27 free throws en route to a 106-102 win. The Lakers won Game 7 at home and the rest is history.

2. Tim Donaghy

Tim Donaghy

2. Tim Donaghy

Tim Donaghy — Tim Donaghy is the ref who went to jail for giving tips to bookies about certain games in exchange for money. To make things even more pathetic, he wrote a book after getting out of prison detailing how he influenced the outcome of games.

1. David Stern

David Stern

1. David Stern

David Stern — David Stern was accused of rigging the draft lottery, showing favoritism towards big markets and star players, and influencing the league's officials, and that is just to name a few. He was harshly criticized when he vetoed the Chris Paul to the Lakers trade, in an attempt to control where a player who was going to be traded would end up.

Chipper Murphy is a Beat Writer for the New York Knicks on www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChipperMurphy or Google. “Like” him on Facebook.

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