NBA Players Who Have Been Accused of Crimes

Whenever a famous person gets arrested or accused of a crime, it makes headline news and sits in the public consciousness for a while. That news feels bigger if its someone whose jersey people love to wear.

Even if celebrities don’t necessarily mess up more often than others, the actions of the rich and famous are under a microscope. The NBA has had its fair share of athletes get in trouble with the law, forever ruining their reputation and forcing the league to make decisions about punishments. These 22 disgraced players have been accused of encounters with minors to domestic assault.

1. Miles Bridges

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The current forward for the Charlotte Hornets, Miles Bridges, was arrested for domestically abusing his girlfriend in 2022. The story became high profile, especially as NBA commissioner Adam Silver gave Bridges a mere 30-game suspension. This disciplinary action was only five games more than the current 25-game hit Memphis Grizzlies’ star Ja Morant is serving for showing a firearm on Instagram.

2. Kevin Porter Jr.

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The most recent addition to the disgraced list, Kevin Porter Jr., was arrested in September 2023 for domestically abusing his girlfriend. Porter Jr. had been a young and upcoming player for the Houston Rockets, but the team got rid of him in the aftermath of the incident. Porter Jr. is currently out of the league.

3. Matt Barnes

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Matt Barnes has been arrested several times throughout the last decade. He was arrested in 2010 for domestically abusing his girlfriend. He was arrested again in 2016 for choking a woman and assaulting the woman’s boyfriend at a bar. Barnes won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2017, but he’s more known for his off-court charges.

4. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

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KCP is an integral part of every team he’s on, helping both the Lakers and the Nuggets to NBA championships. Caldwell-Pope was arrested for driving while intoxicated in 2017 and was sentenced to 25 days in prison. The guard got to play games in Los Angeles during the month he was in jail, one of the more interesting stories that social media and fans around the league had fun with.

5. Ty Lawson

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Ty Lawson had a successful stint with the Denver Nuggets early in his career, but arrest warrants and drunk driving charges started to pile up and ruin his reputation. Lawson has been arrested six times throughout his life for DUIs and domestic violence. Lawson played overseas after leaving the NBA in 2018.

6. Marcus and Markieff Morris

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The Morris brothers seem to do everything together, from going to the same college to playing for the same NBA teams. They even decided to commit domestic assault together in 2015 when they were both charged after hitting a man in Phoenix. The brothers were supposedly upset that the man was flirting with their mother.

7. Jason Kidd

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Jason Kidd is one of the biggest star point guards in NBA history, but that doesn’t mean he has a clean personal record. Kidd has obtained several black marks on his resume, from abusing his wife to driving under the influence. He seems to have matured after retirement, but the Hall-of-Famer still has a dark past.

8. Greg Oden

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Greg Oden is considered one of the biggest draft busts in league history after being taken over Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft. The center’s public perception took another blow after he was accused of hitting his girlfriend in the face in 2014. He never went to jail but did break up with his girlfriend. 

9. Gilbert Arenas

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Gilbert Arena now spews a lot of opinions about the NBA on his podcast, but he was known for getting buckets and having a quick trigger on and off the court. Arenas once brought a gun into the Wizards’ locker room and was charged with a felony for the incident.

10. Javaris Crittenton

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Javaris Crittenton was the other player involved with Gilbert Arenas’ in the Washington Wizards’ gun incident in 2009. He had a lot more legal trouble in the aftermath of those events, being charged with killing an innocent woman he didn’t even know in 2011. Crittenton’s gun afflictions certainly ruined his personal and professional life.

11. Keith Appling

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Keith Appling is more known for his violent record than his basketball skills. After playing just one season with the Orlando Magic, Appling has been charged with crimes such as possession of heroin and murder. He was sentenced to up to 40 years in prison for the latter charge.

12. Karl Malone

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Karl Malone’s status as a deviant has actually grown more in the social media age. Malone fathered a child with a 13-year-old girl while in college and was never brought to justice for the act. Adam Silver even invited Malone to the NBA All-Star Game in Utah in 2023. Malone remains the third-highest scorer in league history.

13. Josh Giddey

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Josh Giddey is currently being accused of dating a minor he met in a nightclub two years ago. The Thunder star supposedly didn’t know about the woman’s age, but the authorities are still looking into the situation, and it remains unclear whether he’ll be charged with any crimes.

14. Allen Iverson

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Allen Iverson garnered millions of fans for his scoring abilities during a decorated career with the Philadelphia 76ers. He almost never got the chance to play in the NBA after serving a prison sentence in high school. Iverson was accused of hitting a woman with a chair during an altercation at a bowling alley, but his reputation has since improved after it was proven that he may have been framed due to his fame and race.

15. Kermit Washington

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Although Kermit Washington is best known for punching Rudy Tomjanovich during a fight in the 1970s, this NBA star actually went to prison for embezzling money in 2016. Washington’s guilt and resolve to apologize to Tomjanovich after the punch made him an inspiring figure for many years in NBA circles.

16. Richard Jefferson

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Richard Jefferson has found success on ESPN as an analyst and commentator after winning a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. Jefferson was charged with assault in 2008 after choking a man while he was playing for the New Jersey Nets.

17. Robert Swift

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Robert Swift was one of the big draft busts for the Seattle SuperSonics right before they moved to Oklahoma City. Swift had many run-ins with the law, including being arrested for breaking into someone’s house. He was charged with drunk driving and illegal possession of a gun before the home invasion mess.

18. Ron Artest

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Ron Artest is one of the few athletes to be charged with a crime for something he did on the court. Artest infamously brawled with Detroit Pistons fans in 2004 in an event dubbed “The Malice at the Palace.” Artest received an assault charge and the most prolonged suspension in NBA history.

19. DeShawn Stevenson

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DeShawn Stevenson was a solid role player who helped the Dallas Mavericks win their only NBA title in 2011. Stevenson was once accused of having relations with a 14-year-old girl. Stevenson said the encounter was consensual, but the act of sleeping with a minor is still illegal.

20. Kobe Bryant

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Kobe Bryant’s assault case was eventually settled out of court, but the Lakers’ legend required years of public rehab for his image to return to a positive light. Bryant was accused of forcing himself on a woman in Colorado in 2004 and even kept playing in Laker games while the trial was ongoing.

21. Derrick Rose

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Derrick Rose had a pristine image after winning NBA MVP in 2011, but that changed after a woman accused him and several of his friends of assaulting her in 2016. Rose came off as nonchalant during the trial and aftermath, but he was cleared of wrongdoing.

22. Olden Polynice

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Olden Polynice had a long but uneventful NBA career for Seattle and several other teams. Polynice was arrested twice for one of the oddest crimes you’ll ever hear about: impersonating a police officer. It sounds like the athlete should have waited until a Halloween party to pull out his false badge!