(Translator's note: The author of this article is Tim MacMahon, a reporter for esplantro, the content of this article does not represent the views of the translator, and the data in this article is as of January 14, 2022 Beijing time)
Today's NBA leagues are considered friendlier than previous eras, and this shift is reflected in the changing nature of garbage talk between players, or the fact that players no longer speak trash. Gone are the days when the trash talk master yelled at his opponent for 48 minutes, but the art of trash talk isn't gone. To be precise, garbage words become more secretive and trivial, sometimes not even generating "conversations." But there are still ways for the masters to use trash talk to build a competitive advantage.
"Kevin Garnett and Gary Payton-esque trash talk is rare," portland Trail Blazers player Damian Lillard said, "trash talk is no longer the language attack it used to be." ”
Butler and Ingles: Don't want to be fined for trash talk
Jimmy Butler stopped warming up and headed straight for midfield, where Utah Jazz's forward Joe Ingles was standing waiting for him to come. Butler's task, however, was to fight for peace.
Butler and Ingles are the kind of smart, venomous and competitive players who have been fighting for years. Earlier in his career, Ingles clashed over Butler's cover. Ingles was knocked to the ground and Butler, then a Chicago Bulls forward, glared at him. Luckily, Ingles' teammate Trevo Booker pulled Butler away.
"Butler stared at me like he was going to squash me." Ingles recalled. They never actually touched, but since then Butler and Ingles have spewed trash on each other, which often incurs technical fouls and four-figure fines.
"Dude, calm down," Butler, who is now in the Heat, recalled what he said to Ingles in that pre-game deal, "we've all been in the league for years." In order not to eat T, or calm down. I want to save money, and you want to save money too. Let him pass the past. ”
The Utah forward immediately agreed. So the two sides greeted each other, put down the holiday and protected their bank accounts.
"My idea is, I agree, because I also want to save some money." Ingles said, "Since then, we've been pretty good. ”
Butler said: "Since then we have been a harmonious bunch, he is a good man. ”
Lillard and Trae Young replace trash talk with signature moves
Reggie Miller's signature action is to lock the throat, and Mutombo's signature action is to shake his fingers. Lillard often does the "Lillard Moment" watch action, but his most meaningful action is waving and saying goodbye, which is meaningful.
In the first round of the 2019 playoffs, the entire series between the Blazers and oklahoma City Thunder was full of gunpowder, and Lillard and Russell Westbrook were the protagonists.
"It was probably the most trashy game in my life, and we insulted each other in the game," Lillard said. People are constantly being persuaded to open. Everyone exploded in the post-match interview, and that was all there was to it. ”
That series didn't last long — Lillard ended the game. Facing Paul George's defense, he scored his 50th point from 37 feet away. It was one of the greatest shots of our time, and it was a goal that also sent the Thunder into the holidays. Just as Lillard walked out of the court, he suddenly turned around and waved goodbye.
"There are people in the league who love to talk trash," Lillard said, "but in this day and age, it's more about gesturing." Lillard gave examples of looking at the bench after hitting a three-pointer, Coaxing Doll after Westbrook's single-pointer, and Drummond Green showing muscle after playing 2+1.
These gestures are occasionally used to express sarcasm, such as in another lillard-george garbage fight. In a 2020 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Lillard conceded consecutive free throws, and Patrick Beverley, who was watching in casual clothes on the bench, imitated his finger gesture and smiled forward and backward. At the end of the game, Beverly imitated Lillard's waving and bowing gesture, and George joined in, their howls continuing after the final whistle.
"At that moment, I thought I had to fight back." Lillard said. Of course he took it to heart. "I think I beat Beverley home in the 2014 playoffs and then I beat George home. Maybe they're still taking revenge. ”
For Atlanta Hawks player Trae Young, his "wave goodbye" moment took place during the 2021 playoffs at the most famous stadium in the world.
Young is born to be in the limelight, and the basketball world saw it in the first round of the playoffs between the Hawks and the New York Knicks last spring. Like miller of the previous generation, Young played better and better at Madison Square Garden, a performance that was creative and colorful amid the ridicule of home fans.
Young bowed to the crowd after shooting a crucial three-pointer to end the series as his summary, or action. Unlike Lillard's sudden thought of waving goodbye, Young described his movements this way.
"I already knew what I was going to do," Yang said with a smile, "and if I had the chance to do so, I would have taken advantage of it." I knew beforehand what I was going to do. ”
"It's fun, that's basketball, it's entertainment."
The King of Trash: Draymond Green and Kevin Durant
As for the garbage, Butler called it "joking", and Lillard's definition was "show to the opponent". Heat forward PJ Tucker disagreed with the trash talk, arguing that the behavior was "straight forward."
But no matter how players define it, Draymond Green is the best trash talker in the league. At least that's what he thought himself.
Apparently, the Golden State Warriors' All-Star forward has a talent for poisonous tongues. One of his most famous quips was addressed to Paul Pierce, who shouted "You're not Kobe Bryant, they don't love you that much on the Hall of Famer's retirement trip." ”
Whether it's communicating with teammates, lobbying referees or talking trash with opponents, Green is always chattering. Sometimes Green would also fire smoke bombs and deliberately say something to the referee or teammates that would be heard by the opponent.
Recently, when an audience member of his podcast The Draymond-Green Show asked who was the king of the league's trash talk, Green was in high spirits. "You have a chance to listen to the King of Trash show once a week," Green said, "and I don't think anyone in the league is more good at trash talking than I am, I promise you." ”
In addition to himself, Green also mentioned his former teammate Kevin Durant, praising the basketball star for being able to "talk all the time."
Some of Durant's grumbling happened during the game: After a crosswalker to shake down his opponent, he would blurt out: "He's drunk at the bar!". In addition, when attacking, Durant will ask, "Who is this?" , then pretended to look at the back of the defender's jersey.
Green likened Durant to Hall of Famer Larry Bird: a trash talk guru with a chance to become a legendary player.
"Kevin Durant speaks, how do you answer him?' Bro you can't dribble, you can't shoot' and things like that, how do you say it? "If you don't respond witty enough, you're done." ”
Sometimes Durant is provoked – and the quarrels turn into confrontations. A good example: Last season in the Eastern Conference semifinals, he played against then-Milwaukee Bucks forward PJ Tucker. When Durant taunts Tucker, Tucker confronts him.
"He said I fouled up." Tucker said at the start of the season. The two have been friends since Tucker played in Texas and Durant was a recruit on the University of Texas Longhorns.
"I said, 'I'm fouled, so what?'" Who cares about this? I'm going to foul you too!" Foul you again! I'll really foul you! You can watch the video, I'm not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere. ”
Another famous back-and-forth game was on Dec. 30, when the Nets lost to Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers. The two stars each received a technical foul after scolding each other. Embiid laughed to the end and made a farewell gesture to Durant after the game, the same move that Durant did two weeks ago after winning the 76ers game. Embiid, who once boasted that he was the NBA's most provocative man, laughed when asked after the game if he had said anything particularly inflammatory.
"No, he didn't say anything. I don't think I heard anything," Durant said, "and he didn't say anything out of bounds." We respect each other off the field. I respect all the players on their team and so do they. We just play differently. ”
The motivation behind the trash talk
In the NBA's garbage world, ulterior motives are everywhere. Players not only want to impact the psychology of their opponents, but also want to affect the scoreboard.
Ingles uses trash talk as a tactic, waiting for the most opportune time to cast skills on opponents who are easily distracted. He pointed out that he can talk nonsense while still focusing on his own plans, which not all players can do.
"I think you can mess with certain players," Ingles said. "They care too much about the people who speak to them than the coaches they're supposed to follow."
They would interrupt the offense and try to attack me, or try to attack the person who was defending them at the time instead of focusing on the game. Many people are prone to fall into this kind of one-on-one battle.
Others, such as Yang, see spam as personal propaganda. Young developed a habit of tongue-rattling when he was a child playing against adult men at the local YMCA because he "thought his opponents were not respecting me in the way I thought they should be". As the smallest but often most technically skilled man on the field, Young will tirelessly taunt his opponents.
"If I do something good, I want them to know," Yang said. "I think it's a competitive performance, just enjoy the game."
As Young struggled early in his rookie season, he realized he was too respectful of his opponents. He thinks relaxing his tone will help him get back to play.
"I have a different perspective on everyone, more like an NBA fan, a fan of someone I'm against," Young said, "and I think when I got out of that mindset and started being myself, became competitive and tried to say a little bit of crap, everything felt like it came back." ”
And then there's Westbrook, where some players say he's the most ruthless trash talker in the league. What was his motivation? Some players think it's self-motivating.
Tucker admits that when he feels listless, he occasionally says trash words to motivate himself. He laughed as he recalled how bad Westbrook would have made him before he became a teammate for the Houston Rockets.
"Later when we were playing together, I noticed that he would say something trash every night to get himself excited," Tucker said, "and it had nothing to do with who you were." You're just the one to vent to. No matter who you are or what you do, you're the one to vent to, and he'll talk nonsense at you. ”
"This is Russell."
Lillard is Westbrook's old rival on the pitch, but he has a different view of it. "I think," Lillard said, "he's just talking to himself. ”
(Original: Tim MacMahon)
(Compiler: Yongxin)