Who are the most fun NBA players to watch? We take a look at the players that entertain us the most on the court.
To celebrate its diamond anniversary, the NBA unveiled the league’s 75th Anniversary Team prior to the start of the 2020-21 season. Due to a tie in voting, the roster featured 76 players instead of 75, which consisted of 158 championships, 730 All-Star selections, 110 Most Valuable Player awards won and more than 1.5 million points scored. It boasted all the brand names of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell, while pundits were quick to highlight the 75th Anniversary Team snubs.
At the top of the gripe list was the omission of one Vince “Half Man, Half Amazing” Carter. Despite playing for more than two decades, Carter’s basketball betting fans never cashed in on a NBA Championship.
However, from a “fun to watch” perspective, few players rose to the occasion like Carter. In fact, his infamous “Dunk of Death” during the 2000 Summer Olympics is worth watching again and again and again.
It’s in the spirit of “Vinsanity” that we place the spotlight on the most fun NBA players to watch during the 2021-22 NBA season.
The 15 Most Fun NBA Players to Watch
1) LeBron James
Listen, we can spend the next 50 years and infinite digital column inches debating if LeBron James is the great NBA player of all-time. He’ll turn 37 years old this December and will have spent more than half of his life in the NBA. LeBron was deemed “The Chosen One” back in eighth grade, has lived up to all the hype, superseded expectations and is one of the richest NBA players of all-time. Even in the twilight of his career, he’s managed to remain one of the most exciting and fun players to watch and well worth the price of admission. Trading card company Panini captured one of those highlight reel moments when James entertained the crowd by throwing down a dunk made famous by the late Kobe Bryant.
2) Steph Curry
The Warriors sharp-shooting point guard missed most of the 2019-20 season due to a broken hand and sat out 9 games during the pandemic-abridged 2020-21 campaign. Curry still managed to average 32 point per game as Golden State’s one-man-band. Four games into the 2021-22 season, the Warriors are 4-0, Curry has already posted a 45-point performance as the team awaits Klay Thompson’s return after missing the past two seasons. At their best, “The Splash Brothers” of Curry and Thompson are must-see-TV.
3) Luka Doncic
One of the most entertaining international players of the past 20 years, Luka Doncic set his bar extremely high by averaging 21 points and 8 rebounds per game during his first season in which he earned Rookie of the Year honors. He may look like he’s moving in slow motion at times, but has one of the best step-back jumpers in the game. The Mavericks hope his aesthetically pleasing skill set leads to a Western Conference Finals banner and trip to the finals.
4) Zach LaVine
Drafted by the Timberwolves in 2014, Lavine wow’d All-Star weekend crowds by winning back to back Slam Dunk Contests.
Now the lead dog of the Chicago Bulls, LaVine dropped 34 points on opening night and is among the favorites to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. He just passed Michael Jordan for fourth in most 3-pointers made in Bulls history. It was learned in late-October that he’s going to play through a small ligament tear in his non-shooting hand. So, we just need to make sure he continues to dunk with his right hand.
5) Kevin Durant
He’s been referred to as a “snake” by his critics and admits to using Twitter burner accounts to challenge his detractors, but at the end of the day, Kevin Durant makes the game look so easy at times. His slender frame earned him the nickname “The Slim Reaper” and he won’t hesitate to rip your favorite team’s heart out. Just ask the 2017 Cleveland Cavs during the NBA Finals. Be it inside or outside and all locations on the court in between, Durant is – at times – unguardable with a silky smooth shot.
6) Anthony Edwards
The 2020 rookie’s talent might be overlooked due to the fact he made his debut during the pandemic, but the proof is in the pudding in the form of this specific highlight:
SENT THAT MAN TO THE NETHERREALM. pic.twitter.com/gswBcrCUKw
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 20, 2021
Ant Edwards also gave an epic interview to GQ, in which he told the reporter he had never watched any MLB highlights of (then hopeful Timberwolves owner) Alex Rodriguez, but was aware that the former Yankees third baseman was dating/dated Jennifer Lopez.
7) Ja Morant
Another young phenom, another highlight reel dunk attempt, only this time, Ja Morant missed ending Kevin Love’s life by mere inches.
Due to Zion Williamson’s injury issues, Morant has emerged as the most consistent and readily available stars of the 2019 NBA Draft. Through the first three games of the 2021-22 seasons, he’s averaging 35 points per game. Not too shabby for the 22-year-old out of Murray State.
8) Jaylen Brown
Jayson Tatum gets the headlines, but don’t sleep on Jaylen Brown. In his sixth NBA season out of Louisville, he’s on pace to increase his points per game average four seasons in a row.
9) Devin Booker
Also known as Kendall Jenner’s better half, Devin Booker was a star as soon as the Suns drafted the deep-range sniper out of Kentucky back in 2015. He’s averaged 25-or-more points per game four consecutive seasons and holds the Phoenix record for most points scored in a single game when he dropped 70 on the Celtics back in 2017.
10) Julius Randle
Last season’s Most Improved Player, Randle bided his time during stints with the underachieving Lakers and work-in-progress Pelicans, but it’s evident that he’s found a home with the New York Knicks. He averaged a double-double last season and has picked up right where he left off as the spark that lights the Knicks’ fuse. With two 30-point games in New York’s first four games, Randle isn’t slowing down.
11) Zion Williamson
All you have to do is watch the highlights. Zion has been putting on a show since his high school days down in South Carolina. However, the one thing that is holding him back from becoming the next LeBron, Shaq or any other powerful force are injuries. He’s missed the start of this season due to foot surgery and there’s constant critique of how much weight he’s carrying. If he can stay on the floor, he’s a human highlight reel.
12) LaMelo Ball
At what point do we tip our cap to LaVar Ball? He called his shot as son Lonzo is a key piece of the Chicago Bulls and LaMelo is your 2020-21 NBA Rookie of the Year. The youngest of the brothers Ball, LaMelo skipped college and elected to play overseas before the Hornets drafted him during the summer of 2020. He posted strong numbers of nearly 16-6-6 during his first season, but is expected to emerge as one of the more entertaining NBA players of the next decade.
13) Nikola Jokic
The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player is a 6-foot-11-inch center who can handle the basketball, shoot three points and average 26+ points and 10+ rebounds every single night. If he wants to remain one of the league’s enigma’s and not just another stat stuffer, he’ll need to get the Denver Nuggets to the NBA Finals here in short order.
14) Jalen Green
The second overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft and Rockets’ shiny new toy out of the box, Green has already set a Houston franchise record. In just the third game of his career, he connected on 8 three-pointers and dropped 30 points against the Celtics. One of the favorites to win Rookie of the Year honors, Green is an interesting case study in that he skipped college and went straight from high school to the NBA developmental G-League.
15) Richaun Holmes
This is a bias, homer pick, but as an alum of Bowling Green State University, the Mid-American Conference does deserve its moment in the spotlight. After the 76ers drafted Holmes out of BGSU back in 2015, he was dealt to the Suns before finding a new home with the Sacramento Kings. A double-double machine, he’s also one of the more underrated shot blockers and dunkers in the league. His energy is unrivaled when he takes the court. Just ask Mason Plumlee…
Which NBA Team is the Most Fun to Watch?
The easy answer would be the loaded rosters of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers – both of which are better than 10-to-1 favorites to win the 2022 NBA championship at most sports betting sites. However, if you dig into the rosters a little more, three teams are on the verge of a breakout with a strong nucleus of talent:
- Chicago Bulls: Off to their best start since Michael Jordan laced ’em up for the Windy City. Zach Lavine is a favorite to win Most Improved Player as Lonzo Ball, DeMar Derozan, and Nikola Vucevic highlight a new-look Bulls roster ready to make a run at an Eastern Conference Title.
- Charlotte Hornets: Led by reigning Rookie of the Year, LaMelo Ball, Michael Jordan’s franchise is seeking its first playoff berth since 2016. In his fourth season, Miles Bridges is poised to become a household name this year.
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Life, death, taxes and “this is the year Minnesota makes a run” is pretty much par for the course. However, unlike last season, Karl-Anthony Towns is healthy as is D’Angelo Russell, while second-year phenom Anthony Edwards might be the best athlete on the T-Wolves roster. Again, this isn’t about the BEST team, but the most fun team to watch – the Timberwolves should earn some eyeballs.
Which NBA Season was the Most Fun and Exciting to Watch?
Perhaps its recency bias and/or the fact I grew up in Cleveland, but the 2015-16 NBA season was thrilling from start to finish. Golden State’s Stephen Curry set the single-season record for three pointers made with 402 in 79 games. The Warriors 73-9 regular season broke the league’s single-season wins record of 72-10, set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Golden State met Cleveland in the NBA Finals for a second-consecutive year and the Warriors jumped out to a 3-1 series lead as it looked as if they’d win back-to-back titles.
However, as we all know now, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving helped bring the Cavs back from the brink of elimination. Irving’s “Shot” and LeBron’s “Block” in Game 7 of the Finals will go down as two of the most clutch moments in NBA history. Cleveland’s 93-89 win in Game 7 was not only the first time an NBA team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a series, but also marked the city’s first professional championship in 52 years.
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