Richard Jefferson Labels Former Chicago Bulls Guard as His Favorite NBA "Villain"

One of the NBA's best villains of the 21st century played for the Chicago Bulls – at least that's what Richard Jefferson thinks.

During a recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show, the long-time NBA forward turned media personality shared who he considers his favorite NBA villain of all time. It wasn't Joakim Noah. It wasn't a young Jimmy Butler. It wasn't a physical Carlos Boozer. Instead, Jefferson tagged former international standout Andres Nocioni as his top NBA foe!

"Andres, I hope you see this ... because I don't like you, but you were funny to me because I was crazy, too. He was such a little dirtball," Jefferson told Lowe last week. "He would do all the things. All these crazy things just to get under your skin. Very good player. Obviously, he was with Argentina and part of that golden era with them. Very good NBA player."

Jefferson proceeded to tell a story that highlighted why the former Bulls forward has remained on his mind. Before a matchup against Chicago in the 2000s, he said Nocioni was stationed on him for the jumpball. The moment the ref put the ball in the air, and everyone's eyes went up, Nocioni used that as a moment to check him on the side with an elbow.

When playing for the Spurs later in his career, Manu Ginobili told Jefferson that he was aware of the incident because Nocioni called him after to tell his Argentinian friend to watch it back. In other words, he was proud to get one by the referees.

To be clear, Jefferson gives Nocioni his flowers multiple times, clearly showing that this is all water under the bridge. However, it's clear that the Gold Medalist left a strong impression on Jefferson for his antics, which he compared slightly to Draymond Green.

There is no question that it was a surprising name to hear come out of the mouth of the former NBA wing. At the same time, it does make sense when you think back to watching Nocioni take the floor. He became a prototypical 3-and-D player, bringing consistent physicality and hustle to the court. Seemingly used to a more aggressive brand of basketball from overseas, Nocioni was never above a hard foul and actually fouled out a total of 19 times over his eight-year NBA career.

Nocioni spent four full seasons with the Bulls before he was traded to the Sacramento Kings during the 2008-09 season. He would spend one more full season with the Kings before joining the Philadelphia 76ers for the final two years of his NBA career. Nocioni would go on to play overseas following the 2011-12 season, where he eventually earned himself a EuroLeague title and Final Four MVP award.

For what it's worth, if you want to take a trip down memory lane, the Chicago Bulls actually posted an extended interview with Nocioni a handful of months ago. The hour-long discussion makes for an excellent look back on his time in the Windy City.