A List Of 15 People I Blame for the Respect of the Game Rule Change

Bare with me this is my first semi-article in a while…By applying the "Respect of the Game", rule not only is Stern being "Stern" and trying to impliment a more professional way of earning your million dollars as an NBA athlete, he is also trying to take away the belief that the players have more power then the owners. Here is a list of players who has forced Stern to take this course of action and apply these rules to insure a less immature game.

Rasheed Wallace- Leading the league in Technical Fouls was not what Wallaces motto was supposed to be when he was drafted from UNC, but he did just that for multiple years. The fact that if a play didnt go his way the ref was a "beepin"-"beep", or a "removed comment" didnt bode well for staying off this list.

Kendrick Perkins- Someone who quickly became Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallaces go to guy for voicing his opinion and freaking out on refs Kendrick Perkins was usually number 2 in the league next to Rasheed Wallace for technical fouls even before Sheed came to Boston.

Lebron James- It seems on the court there are about 5 players who can whine as much as they want with no consequences and Lebron is ontop of that list. Not only being aloud to whine at officials LBJ can also be seen taunting his opponents, dancing on the baseline during active games, and doing things on the bench that would have Tim Duncan removed from play never to be seen again.

Kevin Garnett- Now enter the absolite KING of trash talk and talking ever since he has been in a Celtics uniform (but also before that he can be seen &$#%#&@! slapping Tim Duncan). When it comes to taunting KG leaves it all on the floor and I mean sometimes he would get on all fours, on the floor, and taunt your ass. You have to admit that you are happy you wont see any of this anymore.

Joakim Noah- Altough whenever Noah spoke out it seemed somewhat necassary it never did matchup with NBA protocol and what Stern expects from his players. I doubt half of Noah’s antics wuld have even occured if it wasnt in response to another players immaturity or a real missed call.

JR Smith- Someone that seems a match made in heaven with Carmelo Anthony I wouldnt be surprised if Snith gets Rashaad Mccants’ED after his contract ends. He is just a bad eprsonality on and off the courty and someone who is in no position to complain to refs, start altercations with opponents, and be in fights on court. Smith better be careful with his actions this year if he wants to stay in the league.

Carmelo Anthony- Here is a quite unique type of pre-madonna injury faker. I vividly remember after being shut down by Velvet Smooth, Anthony faked collapsing and lay down on the court for a rest. He has been in his share of altercations and voices his opinion often with refs.

Ron Artest- Yeah, perhaps Artest (and the Los Angeles Lakers) did fix up Ron-Ron’s image quite a bit, but he is still the rowdy crazy guy he has always been, now he is just happy with his situation so he isnt gonna go on air and say something negative and crazy. Instead if you listen he says/does positive crazy things. We cant forget the disciplinary actions, suspensions, countless technical, and flagrant fouls, altercations with fans, and on court scraps Artest has had.

Ben Wallace- Possibly the player with the most edge to him, and true tenacity and fear installed in players, coaches and refs Ben Wallace is a shoe in for this list. Big Ben wouldnt put up with any nonesense on or off the court and basically made a living out of beating people up, outworking and out intimidating the league. The big brawl in Detroit can be blamed on many occurances, but if Wallace never pushed Artest initially no brawl would have occured, Stern doesnt want these guys thinking they can resort to these types of actions, and he doesnt want things to escalate to these events. 

Matt Barnes- Matt Barnes maybe a top 3 pest in this league not only for the players to listen to but also the refs. The new aged Bruce Bowen imo has contributed to this rule change by attempting to intimidate and really get in teh heads of opponents. One example that remains obvious is the ball fakes he sent to Kobe in attempts to make him flinch, unsuccsessfully…

Nate Robinson- IMO this is the most annoying player in the league. The little man who hides his insecurities by acting bigger then everyone else. He just never shuts up! He has a great amount of skill and talent and could be a very good player if he focused on being that. Instead you may see him standing over men 7 feet tall that he blocked, or dunked on poising like Hulk Hogan in the flesh. "T" him up and Toss him out!

Kobe Bryant- Just like LBJ,Kobe is one of the players who can get away with alot of crying, the refs barely come short of handing him napkins while hes complaining. If Kobe had an off night shooting everything always seemed to be the refs fault, and he wouldnt ever say that in interviews but he would imply it through inderect speech and facial expressions. They want this to end. Not only this but it seems to throw Kobe off players get sent on the court to try and intimidate him. He is a magnet to NBA Pests and the league does not want Pests anymore.

Jermaine Oneal- Jermaine Oneal comes from an age of NBA Basketball where he was undersized, and to adapt and play effecient minutes at the 5 he had to really be tough and intimidating. This man wouldnt give an inch to anybody and has been in his fair share of scraps as well. Techs arent anything Jermaine isnt used to, and hard fouls are a way of life.

Shaquille Oneal- Shaq’s contreversial statements are usually fun and outgoing but the bigman also has some very scary on court moments. He gives extremely hard fouls, intimidating staredowns and proballly swears 5 times for every missed free throw he shoots. If you wanna hear soome swear words while watching your basketball game, just crank your volume up when Shaq is on the line.

Zaza Pachulia- Yes he has made a list, possibly for the first time in his NBA Career. Zaza is extremely notorious for complaining to refs about fouls even in his breif stints of playing time. He can be heard screaming in agonizing pain if fouled (and sometimes if not fouled). This is KING CRYBABY if he does not get his call.

If you guys want you can vote to make an order for who is the top 15, 1-15.