Who has the most technical fouls in NBA history?
NBA referees call a technical foul on players, coaches and even the staff for a number of reasons. It's the players, though, who usually earn this from game officials.
Some can receive a technical foul for something as simple as delaying the game or a player hanging on the the rim. Others have gotten it for more impactful acts such as taunting, using profanity, physically contacting a referee and many more.
Regardless of the reason, here are the top three players with the most accumulated technical fouls.
Rasheed Wallace
One of the NBA's most talented big men also happens to be one of the most ill-tempered. He holds the record for the most technical fouls in a season with 41 during the 2000-01 season. Wallace previously held the record of 38 such fouls before he broke it in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The power forward argued with referee Mike Callahan, who gave him a technical foul. Referee Bob Delaney eventually tossed him out for cussing on his way to the bench.
Rasheed Wallace technical foul fun facts:
1) Had 41 in 77 games in '00-'01
2) Led the NBA in all but 3 years from '99-2010
3) Has 317 total https://t.co/p7f2B7LBw1
From 1999 to 2010 nobody in the NBA was more penalized for technical fouls than Rasheed Wallace. He earned 317 in his career.
Charles Barkley
The former NBA MVP and one of the league's greatest players was always in the thick of the action. Sometimes, his no-holds barred style of play and trash-talking have gotten him in trouble.
Barkley wasn't the prototype power forward. He barely stood above 6'5 but made up for it with elite athleticism, aggressiveness and physical play in the paint. "The Round Mound of Rebound" was one of the NBA's best rebounders, who relished all the jostling and grabbing to secure the ball.
Sometimes, those competitive battles led him to push the boundaries of a regular foul until a technical foul was handed out. It wasn't beyond Barkley to trash talk, taunt, fight opponents and even go after referees.
Before Rasheed Wallace came along, Charles Barkley had the most Ts in a season with 32. He shared that record with another colorful character named Dennis Rodman.
"Sir Chuck" had 329 technical fouls before he retired.
Karl Malone
Karl Malone was easily one of NBA history's most bruising players. Unlike Charles Barkley, Malone was built the way a power forward was supposed to look.
The two-time MVP played in an era where physicality was the norm. Not only did he succeed playing that style, he even thrived and enjoyed it.
One record that may never be broken? Karl Malone's 332 career technical fouls!
@Hornets | #LetsFly https://t.co/4Q9M9GPPvH
Malone's elbows were lethal weapons that hurt players on numerous occasions. On December 14, 1991, the Utah Jazz power forward hit Detroit Pistons superstar Isiah Thomas with an elbow that caused a huge cut. The wound reportedly needed 40+ stitches to close.
Years later, Karl Malone admitted that he wanted to hit the former NBA Finals MVP but did not intend to cut him. Decades later, Malone apologized to Thomas, who gladly accepted it.
Malone also shook the NBA in 1998 when he hit David Robinson with a supposedly "inadvertent" elbow. Replays showed that the Utah Jazz legend swung at Robinson knowing contact was going to happen.
April 8, 1998: David Robinson falls to the floor after taking a Karl Malone elbow to the head during a 98-88 Jazz win over the Spurs.
Robinson was hospitalized with a concussion. Malone, who later apologized to his friend, was suspended for one game. https://t.co/Ug781mfvKn
The "Mailman" tops this list with 332 technical fouls.