Thousands of players have come and go in the NBA within its 74-year history. Through all that, fans have witnessed countless types of personalities that they’ve eventually grown to love or hate – or both… at the same time.

Whichever it is, one thing’s for sure, those players have a compelling aura about them, and you can’t help but be curious and keep your mind glued to that persona even after his career is over.

This list is filled with distinctive personalities, and it’s quite possibly the ultimate collection of the most interesting in league history.

10 – Gary Payton

The Glove’ ought to be called The Mouth – in fun way, of course. Gary Payton will not stop talking trash. He’s one of the best two-way point guards ever and he will not stop telling you that he is, regardless if he’s defending you, bringing up the ball, or setting up a play. He has a good resume to do so – he’s still the only PG to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Payton is one of the few who had the balls to bark at Michael Jordan’s face – and I mean the older, mid-‘90s, widely respected Jordan – so that should tell you a lot at how in-your-face he can be.

9 – Darryl Dawkins

The late great Darryl Dawkins, most notable for shattering not one, but two backboards through his vicious two-handed dunks – both coming within a three-weeks.

Chocolate Thunder was quite the performer on and off-the-court, thanks to his physical play and great skills on the mic. He might’ve been basketball’s pioneer of self-proclaiming dozens of nicknames on himself, something that was carried on in the generations that came after him.

8 – Magic Johnson

Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, arguably the greatest point guard of all-time, plays with an unmatched combination of joy, flashiness, and overflowing love for the game.

It was great to see him rack up assists, triple-doubles, and championships all those years, all while maintaining that trademark big, pearly white smile. His all-time court vision and insane passes left people in awe. The towering 6’9 frame, which is still a rarity for point guards to this day, also helped in his uniqueness and overall charisma.

7 – Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson is 6’0, 165 lbs soaking wet, but he is all heart and he wears it in his sleeve (see what I did right there). He’s not the shortest and lightest MVP in NBA history for nothing.

Iverson brought the hip-hop culture into the league more than any other player before him or since, and has always drawn admiration for his unapologetic street swagger. Being a relentless scorer with sick handles was a great bonus as well.

6 – Kawhi Leonard

The fun guy!

Kawhi Leonard is unique, and he might be the most unique guy in this list simply because of how stoic he is and how he doesn’t care about anything outside of playing tough, blue-collar basketball.

There’s just nothing that’s unlikeable about Kawhi. He’s an elite talent, plays hard on both ends, rarely changes his expression, and doesn’t talk much.

Let’s not even start with that strange laugh, which we can’t get enough of for some reason.

5 – Rasheed Wallace

“Ball don’t lie” and “Both teams played hard” – two of Rasheed Wallace’s all-time quotable quotes that are forever embedded in the minds of fans that saw him play.

 ‘Sheed exudes a tough guy persona that’s sprinkled with the classic traits of a jokester and talker with no filter, and you gotta love that mixture.

The league-record 41 technical fouls during the 2000-01 season still stands to this day, and I don’t see it getting surpassed any time soon. One time, he got a technical just by staring at a referee.

4 – Ron Artest (A.K.A Metta World Peace A.K.A Metta Sandiford-Artest)

When a guy has the brain cells to change his name to Metta World Peace, he has to be in such a list. He briefly used Panda Friend too.

Artest is one of the true enigmatic wildcards in all of NBA, and he’s pretty consistent about being one. You just don’t know when is he going to explode next and what antics does he have in store.

3 – Charles Barkley

Good ol’ Chuck. What’s not to like?

Whether as a player or as an analyst, where is both a certified legend, you just can’t help but love the man. From rants, to trash talks, to the everyday interviews, he’s simply hilarious doesn’t hold back for anyone.

Sir Charles also doesn’t give a you-know-what about what anyone thinks of his opinion at any given topic. Respect.

2 – Shaquille O’Neal

Shaq has always showcased an easy-going personality and it’s easy to see why he was charismatic to fans right from the get go. It’s a good reason why he was able to transition into becoming a rapper, actor, and broadcaster.

The guy is over seven feet tall, weighs over 300 lbs, and is as playful as anyone can get – even to this day.

He’s like an upgraded version of Dawkins, as he too broke rims and gathered loads of nicknames – The Big Aristotle, The Big Cactus, Shaq Diesel, Shaq Fu, etc. It’s a long list.

1 – Dennis Rodman

Was there any doubt who’s number one? There’s really no one quite like Dennis Rodman. The most ferocious rebounder ever with an impressive athletic ability. He had an engine that can go full throttle for weeks.

The colourful hair, tattoos, nightlife, and intense play on the court was in itself compelling, but along with that, is another set of craziness that’s on another level of awesome.

Here’s a tweet that best summarize that epic stretch: