Top 10 NBA Teammate Beefs of All Time

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Altercations are part of any sports league, and the NBA is no exception. While beefs between players from different teams are generally considered healthy, altercations between players from the same team seldom lead to anything good.

Here are 10 times NBA teammates got into beefs.

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#10. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert

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Donovan Mitchell blamed Jazz CEO Danny Ainge for breaking the team up- Source: Imagn

This one started with a virus, not a basketball disagreement. On March 11, 2020, Gobert became the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19. Mitchell tested positive the next day and was furious. Gobert apologized publicly on Instagram, but by April 2020, the relationship had already soured.

The team publicly said they’d moved on, and in 2021, Gobert said he and Mitchell had a very honest conversation. The Jazz then traded Gobert to Minnesota on July 1, 2022, and Mitchell to Cleveland that September. Mitchell later told former NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski he’d asked the front office not to trade Rudy.

#9. Kyrie Irving and LeBron James

Three straight NBA Finals, one title and then a trade request. After the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in 2017, Irving met with owner Dan Gilbert on July 9 and asked to be moved. According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, the Cavs had explored moving Kyrie as early as June. Irving wanted out of Cleveland so he could get out of LeBron James’ shadow and make a mark on his own.

James wanted the Cavs to turn down the request. However, on Aug. 22, 2017, the Cavs sent Irving to Boston for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick.

#8. Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo

Kendrick Perkins later said the team made the two boxing gloves up to settle things, and Rondo confirmed it. - Source: Imagn — Kendrick Perkins later said the team made the two boxing gloves up to settle things, and Rondo confirmed it. – Source: Imagn

The Celtics won the 2008 championship, but there was not much camaraderie between the two players. In his 2018 book “From the Outside,” Ray Allen said things broke down after an April 2012 confrontation with Rajon Rondo, who told him they had 11 games left together. Allen also wrote that Rondo told teammates he’d carried the team to the 2008 championship.

In July 2012, Allen left a two-year, $12 million Celtics offer on the table for three years and $9 million in Miami, and Boston’s reaction was ugly. Fans turned against Allen, and they booed him every time he played at the TD Garden.

#7. Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard

In December 2015, during Bryant's last season, the Black Mamba and Howard hugged before a game. - Source: Imagn — In December 2015, during Bryant’s last season, the Black Mamba and Howard hugged before a game. – Source: Imagn

The 2012-13 LA Lakers squad featuring Kobe, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol lasted only a single season. There was tension in the locker room as Howard and Bryant wanted to do things differently. Dwight left LA in July 2013 for the Rockets. Their next on-court meeting turned ugly as Howard elbowed Kobe near the chin in a Rockets’ 108-90 win over the Lakers on Oct. 28, 2014.

Bryant got in Howard’s face, and both picked up technical fouls. Bryant had called Howard “soft” during the altercation. In a July 2019 episode of the “Fair Game” podcast, Howard told Kristine Leahy that he hated Kobe for the “soft” remark for years before thanking him for it. Howard later redeemed himself in LA, winning a title with the Lakers in 2020.

#6. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons

The Sixers put 25% of the money owed to guard Ben Simmons per his contract, $8.25 million, in an escrow account in response to his holdout. - Source: Imagn — The Sixers put 25% of the money owed to guard Ben Simmons per his contract, $8.25 million, in an escrow account in response to his holdout. – Source: Imagn

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons’ relationship hit its breaking point after a single play. In Game 7 of the 2021 second round against Atlanta, Simmons passed the ball to Matisse Thybulle instead of going for a wide-open dunk late in the fourth quarter. Thybulle was fouled, and the Hawks won. Embiid blamed Simmons for the loss, and Simmons was upset with Embiid for making him the scapegoat.

Simmons demanded a trade on Aug. 31, 2021, held out and was suspended for the opener. On Feb. 10, 2022, the Sixers traded Simmons to the Nets for James Harden and Paul Millsap. Embiid said later that he’d spent a lot of time chasing the former number one pick until he didn’t care anymore. In 2022, Simmons told ESPN’s Nick Friedell that he and Embiid never really spoke off the court.

#5. Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns

In 2023, Towns confirmed that he and Jimmy Butler were in a cool spot. - Source: Imagn — In 2023, Towns confirmed that he and Jimmy Butler were in a cool spot. – Source: Imagn

Jimmy Butler has been the problem child for most of the teams he has played for. During his time in Minnesota, he asked for a trade, sat out camp, then showed up to practice on Oct. 10, 2018, ending up creating a scene. He challenged Tom Thibodeau, then-Timberwolves general manager Scott Layden and teammates Towns and Wiggins.

In another practice session, he joined a group of players who weren’t going to make the team, and beat the starters in a scrimmage while guarding Towns. In an October 2018 interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Butler revealed that he’d been brutally honest in his behavior.

On Nov. 10, the Wolves agreed to send Butler and Justin Patton to Philadelphia for Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick.

#4. Michael Jordan and Steve Kerr

Kerr hit the go-ahead jumper off a Jordan pass in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals. - Source: Imagn — Kerr hit the go-ahead jumper off a Jordan pass in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals. – Source: Imagn

At the 1995 Bulls training camp, Phil Jackson put Steve Kerr on Michael Jordan in a scrimmage. Kerr talked trash to MJ during the scrimmage, but it escalated into a fight. Jordan claimed that Kerr hit him in the chest first, and he answered with a punch to the eye. Jackson threw him out of practice, and Kerr was left with a black eye.

When the former Bulls guard got home, he received an apologetic message on his answering machine. In 2020, Kerr referenced the incident as something he was not proud of and called it a test he passed.

#3. Draymond Green and Jordan Poole

Draymond Green had apologized to the team before the video of the incident went viral. - Source: Imagn — Draymond Green had apologized to the team before the video of the incident went viral. – Source: Imagn

Draymond Green’s beef with Jordan Poole is one of the most viral teammate altercations in league history. The incident happened at a Warriors practice session on Oct. 5, 2022. Green lost his temper at one of Poole’s provocations and punched him.

Then, TMZ published the video of the incident on Oct. 7, and it went viral. Green held a news conference the next day and apologized for his misconduct. Poole signed a four-year extension 10 days after the punch, but after the Warriors lost to the Lakers in the second round, he was sent to Washington in exchange for Chris Paul in the summer.

#2. Draymond Green and Kevin Durant

In February, Green questioned Durant’s response to burner-account rumors. - Source: Imagn — In February, Green questioned Durant’s response to burner-account rumors. – Source: Imagn

The Draymond Green-Kevin Durant beef is credited with ending the Warriors dynasty. It all started in the Warriors’ 121-116 loss to the LA Clippers on Nov. 12, 2018. Green rebounded late in regulation time and ignored Durant’s call for the ball. He dribbled upcourt and turned the ball over. The Dubs never got a shot off and lost in overtime. Durant and Green shouted at each other on the bench, and the argument continued in the locker room.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Warriors suspended Green for one game without pay, costing him $120,480, for conduct detrimental to the team. Since then, Green and Durant have traded jabs.

#1. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant

Bryant said Shaq comparing him to Penny Hardaway fueled his motivation to win titles without him. - Source: Imagn — Bryant said Shaq comparing him to Penny Hardaway fueled his motivation to win titles without him. – Source: Imagn

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002 and then lost the 2004 Finals to Detroit. Bryant, being as competitive an athlete as can be, aired locker-room issues publicly. Phil Jackson was let go, and Shaq demanded a trade. On July 14, 2004, the Lakers sent him to Miami and re-signed Kobe the next day.

Bryant and Shaq met on Christmas Day 2004, with the Heat winning in overtime. In 2018, Bryant told Shaq that he was ready to request a trade to Chicago before the Lakers dealt Shaq. They reconciled their relationship at the 2009 All-Star Game.

Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein

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