NBA - Main

Kawhi Leonard.

He was the humble, unassuming, super talented guy with a weird laugh.

Now he's... I don't even know anymore. A diva who complained until he got his way and followed that up by doing literally nothing of merit.

Westbrook is an interesting case study. Sometimes we focus on the negative a lot, even when talking about people who are good enough to earn millions purely due to their craft.

Kevin Durant - grew up a Thunder fan. Top 3 player to bottom 5 when all is said and done.

Ben Simmons.

I used to doubt his mindset.

But I realized that nba fans and even players consider everybody garbage that doesn’t average 25+ regardless of whatever other god gifted abilities you have.

You clearly didn’t watch him while he was on the lakers then

I did it a 360 on KD.

One of my favourite players when he was with the thunder. Completely hated him when he went to the warriors. Then the Bucks vs. Nets series when he had the toe on the line reminded me why he’s one of my favourite players. Coming back from that injury and being every bit as good as he was before is incredible. He’s the definition of “ball is life” and a joy to watch.

Jordan Clarkson. Before the Jazz traded for him, i just thought he was a ball hog with a major attitude problem and wouldn't fit in Utah.

Now, he's become not only one of my favorite players, he's one of my favorite people. Such a joy to watch play and a great person to have on your team.

Wait? You started out hating Westbrook and Kobe but they won you over late in their careers? Gosh it is the complete opposite for me.

Westbrook was one of the most thrilling young players - helped lead a team to the finals etc. when he lost his athleticism, he became unwatchable imo.

Kobe - finished his career in a terrible way. Not to mention his terrible impact off the court on sexual assault cases. Also the toxic and idiotic mamba mentality bs.

Russ is exactly the same as he always was lol. He's always been one of the most likeable guys and best teammates in the league.

For my 180, it's KD obviously. Dude went from franchise GOAT to the softest player in league history overnight

JJ Redick. Best character arc I have seen since Bodie in The Wire.

Chris Paul, I liked him a lot back in the day but now can't stand him. I don't like his attitude on the court and I met a few people he's played with and against and they had nothing nice to say about him.

As a Warriors fan, Chris Paul.

Westbrook, he was brutalized in LAL. I admire he man for how he handled it so well, being he was made the scapegoat for the chemistry issues on that team. He’s just a good dude.

Josh Kiddey

I loved Lebron when he was in highschool and his rookie year. Had multiple posters on my wall.

Michael Porter Jr. 3 or 4 years ago, I thought he hated playing. His attitude seemed to suck. It turns out he was almost constantly in pain after several back surgeries. Now that the Nuggets are successful, in part for his playing, he's playing with joy which is fun to watch.

Kyrie Irving. Went from hate to neutral after listening to a long twitch stream from him where he explains all that was going on in his life from the Cavs trade to the end of his time at Boston.

tldr He felt snubbed from NBA awards while on the Cavs despite putting up his best numbers. He suffered depression after a close family member died. He had a months long, incapacitating infection. He had a big Celtics trade planned that fell through because of reasons behind the scenes, which is why he initially said he was committed to Boston and then left.

I can't forgive him for the anti-vax, anti-galileo, and NOI shit. But I can at least sympathize with all the criticism he's received for the things outside of his control.

Bulls fan. I couldn’t stand lebron. I still think he’s corny but man .. watching him play is a joy. The other day he was going crazy. Put back points. Clutch. Me and my dad were all giddy

Pat Bev. I've done two 180s on him lol.

First I didn't like him much (for obvious reasons), then he joined the Wolves and I loved that man. Then this summer, he said Ant will leave MN and needs to. Then he said KAT didn't do anything in the Draymond-Gobert chokehold (despite KAT physically inserting himself trying to remove Draymond's arm). He said KAT should have choked Draymond too (even though that would have got him ejected and lost us the game).

Thankful for what he's done on the Wolves but I'm over Pat Bev, I find him annoying now lol

Johnathan Isaac. used to think he was so garbage, but after seeing him healthy i can admit he brings a lot of energy and defense to our Magic squad. i think he’ll be a menace in a couple years

Lebron. Prior to 2018 I thought nothing much of him aside from him obviously being the best player in the league but I didn't see him on MJs level and barely above Kobe's.

His 2018 run was the kind of stuff you'll be telling your grandkids about a few decades from now, just like the oldheads love to do about Magic, Bird, Robertson etc.

I'm ashamed to say it was only then that I acknowledged that he was in fact, that dude.

I’ve gotta say Lebron. As a diehard bulls fan it’s safe to say I HATED Lebron for years. I hated the heat. I hated the Cavs. I would call him “Queen James”. But when he came back to Cleveland and came back from 3-1, I realized how foolish it would be to spend 20 years hating on our generations greatest player. I started imagining my future kids asking “how was it watching Lebron” and my response being “ohh it was horrible i hated how great he was”. I started to appreciate and root for his greatness. I wanted to see him break the scoring record. I want to see him play with bronny next.

Used to hate Marcus Smart

KD.
Loved him at Texas, loved watching his game develop at OKC then it started to change. As a Grizzlies fan I always attended games against OKC just for a chance to see him live but he almost always had some bs reason to sit out it seemed. Then I got to meet him once outside of a basketball environment and he was a complete shithead. Shortly after that he got called out for his burner account, forced his way out of OKC, bad mouthed coach and teammates along the way, joined up with golden state and I’ve hated him ever since. .

Jah Okafor, thought dude was gonna be a Tim Duncan if not at least like close enough to get a few all star games. Same with Nerlens Noel, though he’d be Gobert/Ben Wallace/Rodman.

LeBron. Easily