NBA: 20 Past Players That Would Have Owned Twitter

By Bill Speros | May 16, 2016

Nov 11, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The NBA Canada Twitter logo is displayed on a signboard and reflected in the floor before the Toronto Raptors game against the Orlando Magic at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Magic 104-100. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

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12. Bill Laimbeer

Bill Laimbeer was the resident thug/enforcer on the Pistons “Bad Boys” teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s that won back-to-back NBA titles in 1989-90. Laimbeer never met a foul that he liked and was in a state of perpetual denial nearly every time his number followed a ref’s whistle.

Meanwhile, he threw elbows, slipped in kidney jabs, stepped on feet, pushed and shoved his team’s way to five consecutive NBA conference finals. Payback’s a bitch and many of those same opponents Laimbeer cheap-shotted are now NBA presidents and GMs, unwilling to give him a head coaching job despite his success in coaching the WNBA’s Detroit Shock to three titles.

His voluminous stream complaining about the refs and “dirty play” of his opponents during games would have been the stuff of Twitter and social media legend today. He likely would have rolled up at least six figures worth of fines during his first season on social media.

Even more enticing is the thought of his opponents firing back at him on various social platforms.

Next: The Magic Man