The NBA season is over, and it ended with Milwaukee Bucks winning the championship. It was a long season, and for some teams quite dreading as it was plagued by injuries. Now that the dust of one of the most exciting NBA seasons settled, we can discuss the star players who made watching all that more exciting.
As it is usually the case now it’s the right time to talk about who played best, and who gave the most. Of course, this is a biased opinion of our reporters, so you are free to disagree. We would like to hear your opinion in the comment section.
LeBron James
We’ll start with the best. While the Lakers suffered an early playoff exit, King James is still the best one out there night in night out. At the ripe age of 36, he is still able to dominate the floor as rarely who did before him. Most players at his age contemplate retiring, while he’s playing at an All-Star level and was in the race for the MVP award for the better part of the season. Physically he’s not what he used to be, but everything else is still in place. We could say he’s one of the best floor generals out there. Just last year he won the championship, cementing his place as one of the best ever.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
What could we say about the Greek Freak after winning the Finals MVP? He’s one of the best to play the game in the NBA. His resume speaks for himself. The Bucks have been trying to reach the finals for a few years now, and something was always missing until now. After losing the first two games in the series against Phoenix Suns, the Greek God as we call him now, pushed his limits through the roof, and with a series of performances, the last one being 50 points led his team to a win. So far he managed to win DPOY, 2x MVP Award, MIP Award, a championship, and Finals MVP Award. Each year he got better and better, and we can only expect more of the same.
Kevin Durant
A controversial person of the court, especially on the social network platforms, but on it, one of the best. He had massive success with Golden State Warriors, before switching uniforms once again and joining Brooklyn Nets. Despite playing on another superteam, with Kyrie Irving and James Harden, he’s still the leader of his team. Only one year apart from his Achilles injury, he is still proving that he’s one of the best out there when it comes to getting the baskets. You could even argue that he came stronger after his injury, with an even smoother game. He was arguably the best player prior to his injury, and we can expect to dethrone LeBron in the future. Of course, the Greek Freak is going to be a problem too.
Kawhi Leonard
Leonard is a massive name in the NBA, and who knows how much better would he have been if it wasn’t for all those injuries. But, despite his fragile body, he’s still able to dominate on both sides of the ball. His games improve each year, and he is without a doubt a leader of this LA Clippers team. In the last two years, the second LA franchise had championship aspirations but fell short on both occasions. While they were unfortunate to lose to the Nuggets in the bubble, they were stripped of the services of their best player this year. Kawhi’s season ended prematurely this year, but before injury struck he was the team leader in most categories. We expect him to come back strong next year, and for the Clippers to reach at least conference finals.
Nikola Jokic
Yes, this might seem unfair considering he won the MVP award this year. But, he’ll need a bit of continuity in the league to challenge for top spots. Of course, he always seems to fell short in the playoffs as we’re already used to seeing from Denver. Of course, their season was also injury-plagued so we can blame him for the lack of team success. But, on a personal level, no one came close to the Joker this year. He almost averaged a triple-double through the season and single-handedly led his team all year. He is what’s the essence of the MVP Award. This year, Nikola did it all. He dunked, hit triples, assisted as crazy, and dominated the paint at will. We can only expect more out of him in the future as one of the best play-making centers of all time. If his team manages to remain healthy next year, playoffs will definitely go through Denver.
Nicola Holder