We live in an age where sports aren’t just fun and games. At least, they’re not at the highest level where they are literally billion-dollar industries. Nowhere is this truer than in the USA, where the teams in the biggest sports leagues are all run as franchises. Money often makes people do bad things and can result in betrayals.
We all want to get rich and that’s okay. However, some people just don’t care about the consequences of their actions. So today, we’re going to take a look at 30 of the biggest betrayals in the history of the NBA. Money and honor just don’t go together. Not every player on this list was a traitor. Many were actually the victims of betrayal themselves after serving their team for years with distinction. Either way, they resulted in some players’ careers being altered forever. Check out these entertaining and ludicrous stories below via Fadeaway Sport.
30. Jusuf Nurkic
It’s safe to say that Denver Nuggets fans won’t welcome Nurkic back anytime soon. The Bosnian spent three seasons in Colorado before he left for pastures new in Portland. It was mainly because Nikola Jokic emerged as a starter and Nurkic didn’t take kindly to this. In fact, he reacted like an overgrown baby and demanded a trade multiple times. Meanwhile, Jokic even asked the management to bench him for the good of the team.
This gave Nurkic opportunities to prove himself, but he didn’t take them. Finally, in February 2017, the Trail Blazers agreed on a deal with the Nuggets to take Nurkic to Portland. The worst part was that he instantly began to play better. Denver fans saw this as one of the pettiest betrayals in their history because he simply stopped putting in any effort. Then, when they played each other for the first time, Nurkic put on a clinic. But he unfortunately suffered a leg break days later.