Trashtalk – Basketix Lexicon

Trashtalk… What a wonderful invention, though. Can you imagine the sheer joy of violently blocking a player and immediately yelling a huge “get that garbage out of here” or “in your face,” or perhaps mimicking a short person to tell him “you’re too small,” all while looking him right in the eye? Well, I can tell you it’s incredibly exhilarating, and above all, extremely addictive. And in today’s NBA, this kind of behavior has become commonplace, even though it’s absolutely not rare to see these provocations completely spiral out of control and trigger full-scale brawls worthy of the best bar fights. So, buckle up. Today, we’re diving into trashtalk, a phenomenon that can either plunge a game into irrationality or create rivalries between players or franchises that will be etched in stone as the greatest in basketball history.

What is Trashtalk?

Trashtalk is the art of finding the right words to make your opponents lose it. Throughout a game, trashtalkers (there’s usually one per team) have only one goal: to get inside the head of the opposing star player and make him blow up by targeted teasing through words, gestures, or by giving him little sneaky hits out of the referees’ sight. It’s a double-edged sword. If the plan goes off without a hitch and the opponent responds to the provocations, then the objective is met. If the player completely loses his focus, his impact as a Franchise Player (FP) is greatly diminished, increasing the opposing team’s chances of victory.

But beware of the boomerang effect if the FP stays focused. Under conditions of intense trashtalking, angering the opponent’s best player can give him a second wind to literally unleash his hatred on his defender.

Trashtalk is also often the trigger for a rivalry between two franchises. It is not uncommon to see two teams despise each other, especially when the New York Knicks are involved. Between the Pacers of the 90s and the Hawks of the 2020s, trashtalk against the New York franchise was the starting point for two of the biggest rivalries our sport has known, with the second one still ongoing. We all know it in every one of these matchups. The players aren’t there to win; they’re there to crush the opponent by all means necessary… even the most vicious. And generally, this gives us an immense spectacle, combining intensity, tension, and a thrilling “money time.” The kind of game you decide to show your friends to make them fall in love with the Big League.

Nevertheless, there is such a thing as “healthy” trashtalk between players. Two players who know each other perfectly can tease each other, even heat things up, but respect will always prevail. In this scenario, the best modern-day examples being the Lillard-Westbrook or Curry-James rivalry, it’s mostly a way of proving to your main rival that you are the best.

5 Lovely Trashtalk Gestures

1 – Stephen Curry, Night-Night: Time to sleep, my dear.

2 – Michael Jordan: The Shrug, not his fault, MJ is too good

3 – Russell Westbrook: Rock the baby

4 – Reggie Miller: Choke Sign, please get some air for Spike Lee

5 – Patrick Beverly x NBA – You’re too small

The 5 most iconic trash-talkers of all time

1 – The Glove: Gary Payton (Seattle Supersonics)

2 – Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)

3 – Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)

4 – Rasheed Wallace

5 – Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics)

A Little Anecdote…

Kevin Durant has a technique all his own for getting inside his opponents’ heads: Trashtalking in his defender’s native language. Our French player Evan Fournier was a victim of this when he was still playing for the New York Knicks, receiving a gentle “tout petit” (which means “very small”) from KD, complete with the corresponding hand gesture. But Fournier is far from being his only victim.

This technique is inspired by that of Kobe Bryant, who used to learn phrases in his defenders’ native languages before each game to surprise and destabilize them.

Just goes to show you, real recognizes real