My Favorite and Least Favorite NBA Players

Favs:

Paul Millsap. Just love his all around game and adaptability to systems. Whenever he's on the team, the team is good.

Playoff Rajon Rondo. He's getting old and we see less and less of the old Rondo, but I just love his idiosyncratic skill set, his toughness, and his oddball nature.

Joel Embiid. As far as I can tell, the closest we have to Hakeem in the modern game. Great size, athleticism, and low post moves. Fun to watch an old school big man. I don't care for stretch fives.

Russell Westbrook. Incredibly frustrating at times, but man, does the guy demand attention. Any given night is boom or bust, but it's never what I would call boring. Love that he thinks he's the best player on the court when he is not.

Kyrie Irving. The handles, the shooting, the creative finishing. Artwork.

Damien Lillard. Leadership, grit, and a great sense of timing.

Joe Ingles. Love his slo-mo perimeter game and how he irritates better players on defense.

Chris Paul. Still like the guy for his competitive fire and intelligence.

De'Aaron Fox. Toughness. Cleverness.

Trae Young. His passing.

Kahwi Leonard. Because if he's locking down on D, it seems more likely he'll steal the ball than his guy will score.

Least Favs:

Draymond Green. The most annoying person in the NBA.

Jason Tatum. So talented, so soft.

James Harden. Too much dribbling and drawing fouls.

Lonzo Ball. I never feel his impact on the game. I forget he is playing.

Brandon Ingram. The reason LeBron to the Lakers isn't working is because the Lakers haven't identified ANY talent since the Kobe-Gasol teams.

Side Notes:

Steph Curry. Is the most underrated player in the league. People routinely tout Durant as the best Warriors player and rarely speak of Steph as a generational superstar. LeBron, Durant, Giannis, Harden, George, etc., are all spoken of with more awe than Steph. Maybe because we're bored by the Warriors. Or maybe because he doesn't have the physical stature. Absurd as it is that a two time MVP and three time champ could be considered underrated, but the guy is a game changing force and very often the best player on the court in games facing off against those other guys. He's also the heart and soul of arguably the greatest bball team of all time and creates little to no drama. The only knock may be his injury history. But he's played and showed up when it mattered. And consider this: even when he was injured, it took LeBron 7 games to defeat them. As a thought experiment, I'd love to see Durant and Draymond leave the Warriors and just see Steph and Klay win a championship with whatever else they could throw together.