"As long as my wife and my kids and my mom think cool of me" - Rasheed Wallace explains why he ignored criticism towards his personality

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Rasheed Wallace was a fantastic player during his heyday, as he was a modern power forward who could do everything. He could be a pick-and-pop threat as a shooter, a reliable post-up scorer, and a superb defender. Sheed was the dream glue guy for any team due to his skill set and leadership.

Unfortunately, he had some suspect moments throughout his career, particularly his clashes with the referees. He had a reputation for being a hothead, which is not a positive trait for such a reliable player. It led to criticism by the media and the rest of the NBA community, which would discourage almost every other player, but Sheed had thick skin.

"Honestly man, it doesn't matter to me and what people think about me, as long as my wife and my kids and my mom think cool of me," Sheed told Slam Magazine in 2000. "As long as my inner circle thinks cool of me… They are the people I gotta face every day."

Not a fan of how the media treated the Blazers

While Sheed did not mind getting negative coverage for himself, he drew a line for his teammates. It happened during the early 2000s when Wallace was still playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. Since the players faced multiple controversies on and off the court, they became marginalized and got the moniker of "Jail Blazers."

It was challenging to be a player on the Blazers because their name stuck and made them look like thugs to the NBA community. It was a rough moment for the organization because they were competitive, but people were harsh with their judgments of the players' characters.

Sheed spoke about how the media treated the team and how livid he was when his teammates got some undeserved tags.

"First of all, the media gave us that because it rhymes with Trail Blazers. But think about it, ain't nobody go to jail on that team, so that's just some negative s**t they wanted to say about us," Wallace said on The Point Forward podcast. "Which surprised me because we're the only professional team in this little market, so why do you want to sit up here and say bullshit about the one professional team?"

Sheed has continued to be himself

Despite all the criticism, Sheed did not care what people said about him. He only protected his teammates when going against the media, but he always spoke his mind about many pressing issues.

"Rasheed's great because since he's on our team, we don't have a dress code," Bonzi Wells said in the same Slam Magazine issue. "Rasheed just has his own style. However, he feels when he wakes up in the morning, you can tell when he comes in. But after getting to know him, Rasheed's a great family man and a good guy off the court."

Nowadays, Sheed is a prominent personality in the NBA community, as he analyzes and discusses more about the game. His insights are superb and he is doing well as a media personality who does not judge beyond what he sees on the court.