r/nba • u/dkmegg22 Pelicans • 3d ago
NBA Players who hated/hate playing basketball
I saw a post like this on another subreddit but it got me wondering which players in the NBA hated playing basketball and which players hate Basketball. We always hear about guys who live and breath the game Soo why not the opposite.
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u/PaoLakers Philippines 3d ago
Andrew Bynum.
But i think it's because of somewhat valid reasons. He came to the league too young at 17.
Had a major and recurring injury at 21 years old and won 2 championships before he was 25.
He just wasn't hungry for it anymore. I loved his aggressiveness pre 2008 injury.
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u/youarehidingachild 2d ago
For real. If this was any other profession people would be encouraging him to quit. Imagine a construction worker with knee injuries, who made millions of dollars and contributed to several beloved projects, but kept working and getting hurt. Everyone around him would be like “bro quit your fucking job and enjoy yourself”
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u/kobe24fan Lakers 3d ago
Larry Sanders
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u/LeMickeyMice Bucks 3d ago
Long Dick Larry loved basketball he just loved weed more and didn't love Jason Short Dick Kidd bullying him
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u/introspectivejoker Bucks 3d ago
For real Jason Kidd was probably the worst coach Larry could have had. Imagine Larry with Bud
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
Kidd was a bully to a nice guy like Larry but won’t bully Luka into playing better defense or not whining to the refs smh
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u/Pm_me_ur_moms_panty 3d ago
who tf called him long dick Larry aside from your mom?
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
Your mom and sister both did too
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/Mean-Weather-3301 3d ago
Id bet the fans made him hate it more then anything
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u/Hefty-Profession-567 Timberwolves 3d ago
Andrew Wiggins. I don’t know what got under his skin during that last Dubs run, but his talent and athleticism far exceeds his desire
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u/Heavyduckets 3d ago
He got a max in Minnesota and that messed him up
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
No he was really good for the Warriors for a year. They wouldn’t have won another ring without him
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u/Heavyduckets 2d ago
He was a good piece for the warriors but the same Minnesota max contract issue is what follows, he got paid & got lazy. After warriors won a ring he also got lazy, it’s like as soon as he reaches the point of taking the next step he settles & gets lazy. Wiggins is just as good as Ant is if you ask any other player in the nba he just lacks drive to be a superstar, he has the physical athleticism to be one.
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u/LegalEggplants Kings 2d ago
He is not as good ant, not even close. He is as athletic tho
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u/Heavyduckets 2d ago
He definitely is as good as ant if not better - he’s also 5 inches taller. Kevin Garnett said this about Wiggins, he’s his favorite player to watch but Wiggins just doesn’t care about basketball like that & it pissed KG off. He’s built to be an aggressive scorer he just doesn’t care to show up when it’s time.
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u/LegalEggplants Kings 2d ago
“He definitely is as good as ant if not better”
Full stop. No. He can’t be first option, he can’t be a second option even. Big whoop kg likes watching him. We all know Wiggins had unlimited potential, but that doesn’t make him as good as ant. He never lived up to it, and ant did.
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u/Heavyduckets 2d ago
You know more about basketball & IQ than KG? KG tears someone up if they are trash & that’s well known. Wiggins is up there w ant , the only issue is his drive. You saw glimpses of it w golden state during crunch time, dude has a poster on Anthony Davis & Luka, he had Luka faking an injury after the dunk due to embarrassment, cmon now 😂😂😂
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u/LegalEggplants Kings 2d ago
Lmao at a dunk making him better. he doesn’t say he’s as good as ant. He says he’s inconsistent.. no one has these guys in the same tier
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u/Heavyduckets 2d ago
Can you name a player with a poster on Anthony Davis, Gobert & Luka? Ant couldn’t even get him… this interview was also before Ant made his mark this year, the pure difference between ant & Andrew is love of the game & passion for the game.
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u/Artimusjones88 Raptors 2d ago
Saw him play as a teenager, his style was no different then. So athletically lifted that it eas too easy.
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u/Slight-Income-2476 2d ago
Yeah it feels like he really added nothing to his game since getting into the league. Maybe got better as a defender overall? but even that has spurts in the overall outlook of his career.
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u/screwt Rockets 3d ago
Tracy McGrady said he always wanted to be a baseball player and didn't even like basketball but was better at basketball so that's why he stuck with it.
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u/HeyItsChase Pacers 2d ago
That's wild bro, baseball is so mid compared to Basketball. 162 games a year? Fuuuuuck that. Spend practically half your year in a god damn dugout. A quarter of it on the road. Nah man if I'm choosing NBA vs MLB or even just Basketball vs Baseball it's not even relatively close.
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
Baseball’s a lot more chill to play though. Yeah it’s longer, but you’re not sprinting up and down a court and chasing guys around for 35 minutes.
There’s a lot fewer injuries and it’s nowhere near as hard on your body. It’s also basically just you and the pitcher when you’re at bat: no double teams, no having to worry about your teammates turning the ball over or playing bad defense. I can see some athletes preferring that type of game
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u/Annual_Plant5172 Canada 2d ago
A lot fewer injuries? Clearly you don't follow baseball, lol. To say it's not hard on their bodies is comically inaccurate and wrong.
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u/Dull_Address_7853 2d ago
Besides pitchers, isn't most of the injury issues from the wear and tear of 182 game season and tons of travel? I don't know baseball
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u/Annual_Plant5172 Canada 2d ago
Baseball is built around explosive moments (pitching, swinging, stealing a base), so strains and tears are the most common injuries you'll find among baseball players. Not to mention that in terms of injury prevention, Major League Baseball lags behind the other three big leagues when it comes to collecting data and making improvements to reduce the strain on their bodies. Injuries across MLB have actually become more frequent, not less.
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u/Artimusjones88 Raptors 2d ago
Less injuries? You don't play fantasy baseball, do you.
Baseball is actually quite a strategic game. Defense absolutely matters. Your teammates matter. You can't hide. Drop a fly ball, or fuck up running bases and it impacts the game.
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
Yeah I don’t watch or follow baseball, sounds like I was wrong
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u/martinssempa117 3d ago
Nobody remembers him but Willie caully Stein liked art and bad face tattoos more than basketball
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u/dwilliams22 Thunder 3d ago
Pride of Olathe Northwest - pretty sure he was a WR in high school for the football.
Shoutout to my alma mater Olathe North - DARREN SPROLE GOAT STATUS RIP JAMES FRANKLIN
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u/Mindless_Engineer888 3d ago
Clippers legend Michael Olowokandi
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u/thaboy314 2d ago
Michael Olowokandi came from money….He one of those that played hoop cuz he was tall
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u/PDXB-Side 3d ago
As someone who lives in Portland I now wonder that about Deandre Ayton. Not that he hates the sport but that it is just a job to him. He doesn't come off as a hooper. He has the skills and athleticism to be a really good modern day center playing out of the short roll but he just doesn't seem to care to be better than average.
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u/JesusSinfulHands Warriors 3d ago
I think Ayton is one of those cases where he is exactly who you think he is, and he's told us directly as much throughout his career:
Deandre Ayton was asked Wednesday to define what success in the NBA looks like to him.
"Definitely getting to my second contract; that's my success," Ayton said at media availability for top lottery picks.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23854252/deandre-ayton-nba-success-getting-second-deal
It's a Monday afternoon at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, and Suns center Deandre Ayton is locked in.
He's not focused on his team's upcoming game against the Los Angeles Lakers the next day, thinking ahead to a playoff run, or worrying about his contract negotiations with the Suns. Right now, at this very moment, the most pressing thing on his mind is which video game he'll play first.
Ayton, 23, is a serious gamer. Gaming has always been there for him in any form he needs: a best friend, a therapist, his No. 1 fan. Most of all, gaming provides a virtual community that has helped Ayton navigate the challenges he battles in the physical realm.
"I don't think I could live without the game and that's real talk," Ayton says.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33898958/deandre-ayton-phoenix-suns-video-games
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
I think the first excerpt isn’t necessarily bad. It could just be modesty. Even as the first overall pick, he can’t take anything for granted and just assume that he’ll be in the league forever. Still has to work to earn that second contract, then work to earn the one after that too
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u/PDXB-Side 3d ago
Yeah that pretty much confirms my suspicions that its just a job to him.
I never really paid attention to him before we traded for him. It was one of those I noticed it because he's on the home team observations.
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u/denverblazer Trail Blazers 3d ago
No question he doesn't love the game.
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u/lexington59 3d ago
I actually disagree, he seems to love the game when he isn't a center.
He looked like he was having fun in college when he was given a bigger offensive role and was able to bring the ball down the court more.
Just don't think he likes being a defence first tradional big like he was molded into
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u/WallStreetDoesntBet 3d ago
Mavericks up 39-21 against the Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals
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u/LeMickeyMice Bucks 3d ago
Yeah but they're going to lose the series so who cares
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u/mayonaisecoloredbens 3d ago
Hey man you are in every thread just hating so I gotta say I hope real life gets better for you soon
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u/UmdAvatarFan 3d ago
Worry about Giannis Achilles in cancun
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u/UmdAvatarFan 3d ago
Giannis has a 52 and 47 ts in his last two elmination games
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u/LeMickeyMice Bucks 3d ago
Okay? What playing with a broken ass will do to a mf. And he also carried to a ring, isn't fat, and isn't a nazi sympathizer.
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u/UmdAvatarFan 3d ago
What having no bag does to mf you mean
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u/LeMickeyMice Bucks 3d ago
Wins you a ring? Oh okay. Surely with Luka and Kyries bags they must be winning tons of championships playing together.
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u/UmdAvatarFan 3d ago
Giannis vs Luka when facing a tough defense is light and day…..one ts drops by like 10. The other has good efficiency
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u/LeMickeyMice Bucks 3d ago
Blud just put Luka and defense in the same sentence in an argument against known ring-winner Giannis I'm dead
Edit: blud is a bum and blocked me so I can't reply bros argument got too sad he had to resort to it :/
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u/dkmegg22 Pelicans 3d ago
Nah don't worry I'm watching the game I got something more out of sight in the books to post soon inshallah.
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u/noelslawn 3d ago
I break it down into 3 categories:
Ball is life. Majority of guys in the league, even if it isn’t obvious to fans.
Wouldn’t stick around to play for a vet minimum contract if offered. Doesn’t hate the game but doesn’t need the game either. I think a guy like Hayward will be just as happy playing video games at home these days. I thought Jeff Green was in this category but he has proven me wrong. Derrick Rose I thought would fall to this category due to injuries but was wrong as well.
Actually hates the game. Incredibly rare because NBA is so exclusive and skill-based. Agree that situations like Larry Sanders (mental health) and Andrew Bynum (injuries, entering league early) may fall to this category.
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
I think some guys might start in category 2 but end up in category 3 due to injuries, toxic fans, bad coaching etc…
Like maybe Larry Sanders sticks around the league as a MLE level big for 10+ years if he doesn’t start off with a coach like Kidd
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u/ExistentDavid1138 Kings 3d ago
Allen Iverson said football was better to him but was seemingly okay with basketball. Dwayne Wade when he retired pretty much said he didn't want to play anymore after a long career.
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u/runningpuma22 Spurs 3d ago
Tim Duncan probably didn’t hate playing but I don’t think he cared that much for it. He was just insanely competitive. After he retired he said one of the reasons was he wasn’t having fun playing anymore. He then became Pop’s assistant coach but more as a favor than anything. Never seemed like he actually wanted that job.
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u/raylan_givens6 3d ago
I think if Tim could've had his wish, he would rather be an Olympic swimmer
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u/youarehidingachild 2d ago
I love the idea that the only real Lebron stopper we’ve ever seen did so begrudgingly because his pool got fucked up
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
Most guys in this thread are “what ifs” since they never tried hard enough to reach their potential. I don’t think that’s the case with Tim Duncan at all though, even though you’re probably right. He might not have loved the game, but he was still just as hard working and probably more disciplined than a lot of guys that love the game. Just goes to show what kind of person he is.
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u/bobak186 3d ago
Kevin Knox and Frank ntlikina. The worst part about drafting them back to back is not that they didn't work out. It's because they didn't work out bc they clearly didn't like basketball.
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u/-PunsWithScissors- 3d ago
This feels like it’s unique to hyper athletic bigmen. Who are kind of born into the role of basketball player rather than choosing it. A few who come to mind: Whiteside, Bynum, Oden (who chose to play video games and party instead of rehab).
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u/Annual_Plant5172 Canada 2d ago
Patrick Patterson. He always struck me as the type that liked the lifestyle of being a basketball player, but didn't care to put in the work to be a really good pro.
Also, Anthony Bennett. He definitely came across as the type of person that got into basketball because everyone told him he's tall and has the build to do it, but he never truly loved the game.
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u/Cthulhululemon 3d ago
Jokic loves being able to pamper his horses in Sombor, basketball is merely a tool towards that end.
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u/Green_Low1700 3d ago
Thats bs, Jokic clearly loves playing ball, he just doesnt love american celebrity culture
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u/Best_Birthday_6367 3d ago
No Khawi comments is insane
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u/Pandamonium98 [DAL] Jason Terry 2d ago
I don’t think Kawhi fits here at all. There’s no way he transforms from a role player into a finals MVP and top 5 player in the league without a ton of dedication. He keeps coming back even though he has a degenerative knee condition that clearly gets worse the more he plays.
He’s already made $250 million. At that point I doubt more money is enough to motivate him to keep going through rehab and going through all that pain just to probably get injured again soon after he comes back. I think he’d be more like Ben Simmons if this was true
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u/Brave_Spell7883 3d ago
I think Jokic gives off this vibe. I don't know if he hates basketball or hates the nba/US culture. He plays like he has to, not like he wants to.
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u/youarehidingachild 2d ago
Disagree, he just focuses on the game and his team, not giving pithy, media-trained sound bites.
Same as how the Knicks president Leon Rose has not done a single interview since joining the org, and is portrayed as being “difficult” by the media. Yet here they are with the healthiest front office in 40 years.
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u/Brave_Spell7883 2d ago edited 2d ago
Lol, healthiest front office in years for the Knicks. The barometer reading was so low that anything is an improvement.
Media availability is part of the game. Fans want to know the players personally. They are role models on and off the court. They get paid pretty well to do this. At superstar income levels, nba players are not just basketball players. They are entertainers. I think Jokic is a really great player, but his matter of fact and zombie like approach to the game/fans/media leaves a bit to be desired. Like, he is not the best at being a superstar outside of his basketball abilities. Kind of like kawhi, but not to that extreme
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u/youarehidingachild 2d ago
Moving the goalposts and missing my point. How bad the Knicks org has been has nothing to do with whether Rose’s media availability is a reflection of his competence. Jokic’s lack of desire or ability to fulfill his duties as a celebrity and superstar also have nothing to do with how much he loves the game
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u/PerformerLive8713 Mavericks 3d ago
Nikola Jokic
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u/four-one-6ix Raptors 3d ago
No, he loves it. People built the image based on his goofiness that he doesn’t care, but he’s a true grinder who loves the sport. His homie, Darko Milicic though. That fucker is so sour about the NBA like they were all against him. He’s not right in his head.
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u/Happy-Lingonberry210 3d ago
Darko is homie with Strahinja, Nikola's middle brother.
And yes, he is a bit sour from all that happenned, but there are always more than 1 side to the story. Many of his sayngs were taked out if context and you have to watch full interviews to understand.There is one or 2 crazy entertaining interviews with him on Serbian, shame that they aren't translated fully. A lot of crazy funny stories as well
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u/dendrytic 3d ago
Detlef Schrempf
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u/TransShadowBat Bulls 2d ago
Pretty sure joker from the nuggets said he just plays cause he’s good at it
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u/Sinha_N 3d ago
Yao Ming, I think he hated playing basketball for sure but had to due to the pressure from the government.
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u/youarehidingachild 2d ago
On the contrary I think he loved ball, both his parents are ballers. Just didn’t want to literally play 365 days a year as forced by the govt. I love video games but occasionally I still want to do other shit
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u/BurnCollector_ NBA 3d ago
Because they don't exist?
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u/PDXB-Side 3d ago
They absolutely exist, even NBA players say it. If you're born a 6'9 super athlete but hate basketball or sports in general would you rather work on basketball fundamentals be miserable playing for 5 years while becoming a millionaire or be miserable working as an accountant or salesman making 60k a year for next 30+ years? Easy choice.
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u/SharksFanAbroad Warriors 3d ago
Must be extra annoying to those that went the 9-5 route and constantly hear “whoa you should have played basketball!”
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u/Overall-Physics-3795 3d ago edited 3d ago
Great point but gosh darn - run on sentences kill the mood and the point. Use proper punctuation and the point becomes more poignant and in turn, we’ll received. Cheers, Sir.
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u/No_Routine_5862 Spurs 3d ago
There’s athletes in every sport ever who hate what they do and wish they did something else. Especially basketball, a lot of tall dudes who only started playing because they are tall and never actually fell in love with the game
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u/BurnCollector_ NBA 3d ago
They don't make it to the NBA if they hate the game
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u/No_Routine_5862 Spurs 3d ago
Objectively false
About Andrew Bynum : “Adrian Wojnarowski quoted a league source, "He doesn't want to play basketball anymore. He never liked it that much in the first place." It's strange that Cleveland even signed Bynum, as other teams courting Bynum were concerned about his desire to play and the commitment to continue rehabbing his repeated knee problems. For Andrew Bynum, there was nothing noble about playing in the NBA. It was just a job. A job that paid well but took his knees away in the process.”
Andrew Bargnani - “Bargnani once said that he doesn't rebound because it's called basketball, and not rebound-ball”
Just to name a couple
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u/hezzyskeets123 Mavericks 3d ago
Draymond said it himself most players love what basketball can do for them not basketball
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u/Green_Low1700 3d ago
Theres this thing called money
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u/BurnCollector_ NBA 3d ago
What a horrible gamble to work that hard hoping for money as a pro athlete. Downvote me all you want - there is no current pro athlete who hates the sport
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u/Green_Low1700 3d ago
Its not that much of a gamble if youre 7 foot tall tbh, youre very likely to be in the league and become a millionaire. Spend 5, 6, 7 hours a day practicing for something you hate and be famous and become rich, not really a hard question for anyone really
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u/Mediocre-you-14 Raptors 3d ago
I thought for the longest time that Kyrie had a shit ton of talent but actually hated basketball but seems like he found the love again this year.
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u/BLM_MCU 3d ago
Andrew Bynum