Every sport has its villains. Some teams are hated because they win too much. Others are despised because they play dirty, talk too much, or are just plain insufferable. Whether it’s due to relentless dominance, shady behavior, or the way their fans act, these teams have spent their fair share of time as public enemies.
Here’s a ranking of the 15 most hated teams in sports history—because let’s be honest, it’s fun to root against them.
15. 2011 Miami Heat
“The Decision.” That’s all you need to know. When LeBron James took his talents to South Beach and formed the Big Three with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the entire NBA world turned against them. The arrogance, the pre-championship celebration, the “not one, not two, not three” speech—people hated this team. Watching them lose in the Finals to Dirk and the Mavs? A national holiday.
14. 2004 New England Patriots
Look, the Patriots were already pretty annoying. But when Spygate broke, confirming that they had been caught illegally videotaping their opponents, their dynasty became tainted in the eyes of many. They still won (a lot), but for many, the Belichick-Brady era Patriots were the perfect mix of smugness, secrecy, and success that made them incredibly easy to hate.
13. 1990s Detroit Pistons (“Bad Boys”)
These guys didn’t care about finesse—they just wanted to punch you in the face. The Bad Boy Pistons built their identity on brute force, knocking Michael Jordan and the Bulls around before MJ finally got his revenge. Their style of play, plus their general lack of remorse for hurting people, made them public enemies. Even today, when people talk about “dirty” basketball, these guys set the standard.
12. 2023 Houston Astros
Let’s be real: the Astros were hated before, but their 2017 sign-stealing scandal cemented them as villains. Getting caught banging trash cans to cheat their way to a title was bad enough—refusing to apologize or show any real remorse made it even worse. Sure, they’ve won since then, but for many fans, they’ll always be cheaters.
11. 1980s-90s Dallas Cowboys (“America’s Team”)
It’s the self-proclaimed “America’s Team” title for me. The 90s Cowboys were dominant, brash, and full of superstars who loved the spotlight. Whether it was Michael Irvin’s ego, Jerry Jones’s antics, or the overwhelming number of Cowboys bandwagon fans, this team had a way of getting under people’s skin. And somehow, Cowboys fans still act like it’s the 90s even though they haven’t been relevant in decades.
10. 2017 Golden State Warriors
The 2015 Warriors were fun. The 2017 Warriors? Not so much. After blowing a 3-1 lead in the 2016 Finals, they somehow convinced Kevin Durant—the second-best player in the world—to join a 73-9 team. That was when the Warriors went from underdog darlings to basketball’s supervillains. Watching Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Durant run teams off the floor while acting like they were still the plucky underdogs? Infuriating.
9. 1970s Oakland Raiders
The Raiders took the “just win, baby” mentality and ran with it—straight into some of the dirtiest plays in NFL history. Late hits, cheap shots, and all-out brawls? That was just a normal Sunday for these guys. They embraced the villain role, and their fans leaned into it hard, making the Silver and Black one of the most hated (and feared) teams in football.
8. 2012-2013 Miami Heat
Yeah, we’re putting the Heat here again because they doubled down on being obnoxious. After failing spectacularly in 2011, LeBron, Wade, and Bosh came back with a vengeance, winning back-to-back titles while acting like they had silenced all the doubters. By the time Ray Allen saved them in the 2013 Finals, NBA fans were fully done with this superteam nonsense.
7. 2019 New England Patriots
The Patriots make their second appearance because, by this point, they were basically Thanos. Tom Brady was still terrorizing the league, and the team had already been caught in multiple scandals (Spygate, Deflategate, etc.). People were begging for the dynasty to end. When Brady finally left for Tampa, non-Patriots fans everywhere celebrated.
6. 1992 Duke Blue Devils
Christian Laettner. That’s the tweet. Duke basketball has always been easy to hate, but Laettner’s cockiness, the smugness of Coach K, and the general entitlement of Duke fans made this era especially loathsome. The 1992 team was peak Duke arrogance, and the infamous stomp on a Kentucky player cemented their place in sports villain history.
5. 2000s-2010s New York Yankees
Nothing screams sports hatred like unlimited money. The Yankees have been baseball’s evil empire for over a century, but their 2000s-2010s spending sprees (A-Rod, Teixeira, Sabathia, etc.) took things to another level. When they won, it felt like they just bought another trophy. When they lost, the rest of the world rejoiced.
4. 1986 New York Mets
Cocaine, chaos, and an attitude problem—the 1986 Mets were a lot. This team was talented, but their off-field antics, trash talk, and general disregard for the rules made them a love-or-hate squad (and most people chose hate). Even their championship was dramatic, thanks to Bill Buckner’s infamous error.
3. 1990s Chicago Bulls
Hear me out. Michael Jordan is beloved, but the Bulls? Oh, they were insufferable to anyone who wasn’t a Bulls fan. They dominated the entire decade, broke the hearts of countless teams, and talked endless amounts of trash while doing it. Plus, MJ was the ultimate grudge-holder—if you so much as looked at him the wrong way, he’d drop 50 on your team just to prove a point.
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2. 2017-2020 Houston Astros
Yes, the Astros deserve another spot. Their cheating scandal was bad enough, but the way they handled it—smug, defiant, and playing the victim—made them so much worse. Even after MLB handed out punishments, they acted like they had done nothing wrong. Add in some truly obnoxious fan behavior, and you have a team that will be hated for decades.
Read More: Ranking the 15 Most Disrespectful MLB Fanbases
1. 2007 New England Patriots
A perfect villainous storm: Spygate had just happened, Belichick was at peak smugness, and Tom Brady was shredding defenses like a video game character. They went 16-0, ran up the score on everyone, and looked unstoppable. Then, in the most satisfying moment in sports history, they lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl. Nothing was more delicious than seeing the Patriots’ dream season crumble.
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