Courtesy of Tristi Rodriguez

GOAT discussions aren’t limited to just basketball.

Golden State Warriors star point guard Steph Curry, often deemed the greatest shooter/point guard of all time, recently came under scrutiny when his capital firm, Penny Jar Capital, was criticized for investing in Israeli cybersecurity starting January 2023.  

With a UN commission of inquiry stating in 2025 that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, this investment brought Curry something he rarely gets: negativity related to actions from his personal life. 

Curry’s controversy reflects the trend over the past few months. Numerous NBA superstars, each considered a Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) by their fans in the NBA, have had their activities outside of basketball put under the microscope, swamping them in a considerable amount of controversy and jokes from fans online. These scandals took the internet by storm and prompted many fans to say theseGOATs aren’t so great. 

It’s harder now than ever to be considered a generational NBA player: Many are evaluated through their activities off the court instead of their on-the-court excellence. 

Lakers star player LeBron James, often deemed the modern era GOAT of the entire NBA, has gone through a whirlwind of negative publicity because of his association with disgraced rap star Sean “Diddy” Combs. 

In 2021, James said, “Ain’t no party like a Diddy party.”

Similar to Curry, James has also ignored the genocide within Gaza and stated that he’s heard “nothing but great things” about Israel in an interview at a press conference ahead of the NBA All-Star Game, a clip that took the internet by storm. 

Then there is Houston Rockets star player Kevin Durant, who has recently been in a more humorous controversy compared to Curry and James. His burner account on X got exposed and leaked to the public. Durant has been known for constantly being on X, often responding to random fan tweets criticizing him. He even admitted to having burner accounts in the past. With how popular social media is now, though, Durant’s recent burner account leak in February spread all across multiple social media platforms. 

The leaks contained negative comments about numerous players in the NBA sent from one of Durant’s speculated burner accounts — from Warriors coach Steve Kerr to former player Ben Simmons. These derogatory comments have also been targeted at current teammates, such as Jabari Smith Jr. Snippets of text include “Jabari can’t make a f****** shot” and calling him an ableist slur. 

Smith Jr. has been a long time fan of Durant, looking up to him as an idol since his childhood. Many fans have expressed sympathy for Smith Jr. and personally, we think this situation is very disheartening to hear. There are still three more months in the season and Smith Jr. has to play knowing his childhood idol’s personal and negative thoughts towards him.

The negative light that  these popular NBA players have fallen into shows the dangers and downsides of this level of fame. The previous respect that many fans had for these players has transitioned into mockery, with countless online posts calling these faces of the NBA “cooked.” 

After cutting these GOATs down to size, many have tried to propose new players to take their spots at the top of the NBA.

One player we strongly believe should take one of these spots is Durant’s least favorite teammate, Jabari Smith. Even after the reveal of the “KD Files” — the common nickname of the burner account leaks — he has still shown strong respect and sportsmanship for his lifetime idol. 

Furthermore, on Feb. 23, he dropped 31 points against the Jazz, contributing significantly to Durant’s almost record-high of 12 assists. Perhaps KD felt a bit of sympathy for Jabari after the leaking of his “files,” and now wants to foster friendlier relations. Either way, we’re with Smith — he’s our vote for the new GOAT of the NBA.