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NBA superstars usually transcend the world of sports. Whether it is for good or bad reasons, elite players are constantly under scrutiny. It has been that way for a long time and under the current era of social media and endless media outlets, it has only increased. In NBA history, several stars have also become culture figures and images of controversy for their lifestyles or some unfortunate off-court situation.
While for some players it was and is rare to see them involved in controversial situations, other NBA superstars, from past and present, seemed to run into some kind of off-court trouble from week to week.
Right now, Kyrie Irving seems to be the one that is under scrutiny for any acts or comments he might have made on social media or during press conferences, as the Brooklyn Nets' guard is an outspoken individual.
LeBron James faces lots of scrutiny, but it is not normally about his private life or any thoughts he might have on specific public matters. He is usually under media pressure for his on-court actions and for simply being the face of the NBA.
Like Irving, many others have had to endure the media attention that occurred due to off-court situations, and he will not be the last to face it.
In this article, we will give you five NBA players who are or were big figures on the court, but also created lots of controversies because of their off-court lives.
Without further ado, let us start.
#5 Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson is definitely one of the most popular players in NBA history, and his career was full of great achievements and accolades, both individually and collectively.
With the LA Lakers, Johnson won five NBA championships, three Finals MVP awards and three regular-season MVPs, along with nine total appearances in the NBA Finals.
However, his career was cut short after he announced his immediate retirement from basketball after testing positive for HIV. The announcement came on November 7th, 1991.
The controversy around him was not totally negative though, as he is still going strong 30 years later and has become an advocate for HIV prevention and remains one of the most respected NBA figures of all time.
#4 Kyrie Irving
These days, almost anything negative surrounding Kyrie Irving has become a big focus point around the media and fans. Irving has become one of the most outspoken players today, and his quest to point out injustices and express his particular beliefs on several matters have rubbed some the wrong way.
He is one of the best players in today's NBA and is already a champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, but negatives or controversial situations seem to be regular with him, although he's done lots of positive acts off the court too.
Right now, Irving is in the middle of the anti-vax controversy surrounding the NBA, and if he does not take the Covid-19 vaccine, he is set to miss at least half of the Brooklyn Nets' games.
He stomped on the Boston Celtics' logo in last year's NBA Playoffs, has been away from his team for personal reasons, and also broke the NBA's health and safety protocols.
However, Irving has also done many positive things, such as donating money to WNBA players, New York city families during the Covid-19 pandemic and standing up to injustice almost every time he's had the chance.
Irving is one of the greatest players in today's NBA and one of the most skilled athletes ever, but controversy seems to be as regular for him as dribbling a basketball, and he seems to be fine with it as long as he stays real to himself and his beliefs. We can't really blame him for that.
#3 Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley was one of the greatest NBA players ever to have graced the game, as the undersized power forward managed to be a dominant force in the league constantly, even winning an NBA MVP award.
His playing career was great on the court, earning unique accolades and arguably falling short of an NBA title due to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' brilliance during the 1990s.
However, Barkley was involved in several controversies off the court and has been heavily criticized for it. To be fair, he's owned several of those controversies recently and has admitted he learned from them and hasn't been looking for excuses.
LeBron James, a player who's been criticized by Barkley in comments made on the NBA's biggest show, Inside the NBA, made some public comments four years ago about Barkley's off-court life.
Spitting on a kid was definitely low for Barkley, while other controversies have included him fighting fans in road arenas, as he's admitted in his widely known comments from Inside the NBA.
His "I'm not a role model" commercial with Nike from 1993 also created lots of controversy regarding Barkley, but it just shows how honest he can be. To be fair, he has a point on what he says in that commercial too, though it might be raw.
#2 Karl Malone
Karl Malone is also one of the best power forwards in NBA history and another 'victim' of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, as Malone's Utah Jazz fell twice in the NBA Finals against the Bulls' dynastic team.
A two-time NBA MVP and the second-leading scorer in NBA history with 36,927 career points, Malone was definitely brilliant on the court. However, he had some off-court affairs that are often remembered by NBA fans even today.
Malone was one of the players who spoke out against the possibility of Magic Johnson playing in the 1992 All-Star after he had tested positive for HIV, although it seemed like a matter of ignorance on the topic rather than something with evil intentions.
One of the biggest controversies about Malone's off-court life comes from an affair he had with a 13-year-old girl, Gloria Bell, when he was a 20-year-old and was playing basketball at Louisiana Tech. Malone had a non-existent relationship with his son, Demetress Bell, until the former NBA player and former NFL player came together in 2014.
Bell played in the NFL from 2008 to 2013 and has admitted, to the Deseret News, how his relationship with Malone started:
“He came to the house, we sat down and talked about everything and how it was and put it behind us and we’ve been on an up-and-up ever since. The first thing we did was went on a hunting trip to Utah. That was the first thing we did as a father-son around 2014."
Malone himself talked about his relationship not only with Bell, but also with twins Cheryl and Daryl Ford:
“Getting that relationship with them, I was wrong, they wasn’t,” Malone said. “I made a mistake, they’re not a mistake, but being young myself and the responsibilities was overwhelming to me, but you just deal with it. I didn’t handle it right; I was wrong, but I’m not going to every time I see you try to go back and make up for it because you can’t.”
#1 Dennis Rodman
This one is a no-brainer. Dennis Rodman is the single most controversial NBA figure outside the basketball court, and he was also a particular one inside the court.
Rodman, a basketball Hall-of-Famer, five-time NBA champion and surely one of the greatest rebounders and defenders in league history, had a crazy life outside the court, and it remains even today.
Rodman had big controversies throughout his playing career, such as making racial comments about Larry Bird, marrying himself, having a short-lived affair with Madonna and marrying Carmen Electra.
As a member of the 'Bad Boy' Detroit Pistons, Rodman was definitely hated by rivals for his and the team's use of physical display to minimize opposing teams. But that was clearly left behind given how Rodman's career and life evolved in the 1990s.
Rodman's on-court affairs also involved suspensions for head-butting a referee and kicking a cameraman during a game. More recently, Rodman became friends with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and was even coaching basketball players in North Korea.
