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NBA: 20 Past Players That Would Have Owned Twitter

By Bill Speros

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
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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7 Jun 1996: Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls and Gary Payton of the Seattle Supersonics exchange words during the final seconds of game two in the NBA Finals at the United Center in Chicago. The two players had to be separated by teammates and refere
7 Jun 1996: Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls and Gary Payton of the Seattle Supersonics exchange words during the final seconds of game two in the NBA Finals at the United Center in Chicago. The two players had to be separated by teammates and refere /

9. Gary Payton

If Gary Payton Tweeted half of the verbal rubbish he fired at opponents during his playing career that ran from 1990-2007, The Glove’s feed would be a wondrous and record-sized compilation of delicious insults and personal jabs.

When it came to Payton taunting his opponents, there were no boundaries on the topics. Again, potential greatness for someone’s Twitter feed while their flying coast-to-coast after a tough loss to the Lakers.

Payton went after the likes of Michael Jordan as hard as did when it came to no-name scrubs. One infamous unknown player who absorbed Payton’s putdowns was Jamie Feick.

As Payton once told Dan Patrick:

"“Jamie Feick. He said something to me. I said, ‘Man, you won’t even be in the league next year.’ And then Scott Burrell came over and said I hurt Feick’s feelings.”"

When he was upset by former Timberwolves coach Sidney Lowe, he yelled, “Sit down, you smurf.” Payton saved his best for the best. In his first preseason game as a rookie, he talked trash to Jordan as MJ sat on the bench.

Later that season, Jordan scored 35 points on the rookie Payton. His most famous verbal brawl took place when Seattle faced Chicago in the NBA 1996 Finals.

"“It was a lot everything,” Payton told ESPN. “A lot of ‘s—‘, ‘f—‘, ‘f— you’. And then Ron Harper got into it, Scottie Pippen got into it, Phil [Jackson] got into it. We were going back and forth with the ‘f— you.’”"

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