Who’s Who in the NBA Playoffs?

It’s that time of year again! The NBA playoffs are upon us and that means it’s time to find out who’s who in the basketball world. We’ve got all the information you need to know about the teams and players in this year’s playoffs.

The Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are a professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are the defending NBA champions, having won the title in 2015, 2017, and 2018. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division.

Stephen Curry

Born in Akron, Ohio, Stephen Curry is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and the older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry. He played college basketball for Davidson College before being drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. A six-time NBA All-Star, he has been voted the NBA Most Valuable Player twice and won three NBA championships with the Warriors.

He is widely considered to be one of the best shooters in NBA history, and has led the league in three-point shooting percentage four times. Curry is also a two-time member of the American Men’s Olympic Basketball Team, winning a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Klay Thompson

Klay Alexander Thompson (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson, he played college basketball for three seasons with the Washington State Cougars, where he was a two-time first-team all-conference selection in the Pac-10. He was selected in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft by Golden State with the 11th overall pick, and helped lead the Warriors to their first NBA championship in 40 years in his rookie season.

Draymond Green

Draymond Jamal Green Sr. (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Michigan State, where he helped lead the Spartans to two Final Fours and a National Championship Game appearance. He was drafted 35th overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors, and went on to win NBA championships with them in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

Green has been voted to four All-Star teams, has been named to five All-NBA teams, and won three NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards. He is one of only four players in NBA history to receive All-Star, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Valuable Player honors in the same season; he did so in 2016–17. Green is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist as a member of Team USA in 2012 and 2016.

Offensively, Green chiefly plays as a small-ball center but sometimes plays as a power forward; he has also been used as a point forward. At 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m), he plays primarily at center but can also play at power forward when necessary. In 2014–15 and 2015–16, when Andrew Bogut missed significant time due to injury or was rested during back-to-backs/away games against inferior opponents, Green served as de facto starting center for most games while still coming off the bench behind Bogut; this allowed Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr to develop what has been dubbed as “Death Lineup 2.0”, which combined all of the team’s best players minus one traditional big man on court together at once – most notably towards en route to winning an NBA record 73 regular season wins.

In Golden State’s 2015 Finals victory over Cleveland, Green switched onto LeBron James for significant portions of multiple games; James would later call him “arguably [the] best defensive player in our league”.

The Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the most dominant teams in the NBA. They have been to the NBA Finals for the past three years, and they are looking to make it four in a row. They have a core group of players that have been together for a while, and they know how to win. LeBron James is the leader of this team, and he is one of the best players in the world. The Cavaliers also have a great coach in Tyronn Lue, and they have a deep bench. They are the team to beat in the East.

LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James Sr. (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. Discussions ranking him as the greatest basketball player of all time have often included fellow NBA stars Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. His accomplishments include four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVP Awards, and two Olympic gold medals. James has appeared in fifteen NBA All-Star Games, was voted onto the All-NBA First Team twelve times, and onto the All-Defensive First Team five times. He won his first NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2012. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018. In 2016, he led a Cleveland Cavaliers team that came back from a 3–1 deficit to win the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, giving Cleveland its first major sports championship in 52 years.

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Andrew Irving (/ˈkaɪri/; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Cavaliers with the first overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft. A six-time NBA All-Star, he won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016.

He has also played for the United States national team, winning gold medals at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Kevin Love

Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning United States national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The Cavaliers selected Love with the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves after six seasons with the Cavaliers. In his fourth season for Minnesota, Love was named an All-Star and led the league in rebounding. He was traded back to Cleveland in 2014. Since returning to Cleveland, Love has been named an All-Star three more times and won his first NBA championship in 2016. Love has set numerous franchise and league records, and he is currently fourth in NBA history in three-point field goals made.

The Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are one of the top teams in the NBA. They have a lot of star power, and they are led by MVP candidate James Harden. The Rockets have been to the playoffs in recent years, but they have never won a championship. Can they finally get over the hump this year?

James Harden

James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Arizona State, where he was named a consensus All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2009. Harden was selected with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In 2012, he was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the Thunder and helped lead them to the NBA Finals that same year. He was traded to Houston prior to the 2012–13 NBA season. During his first season with Houston, Harden improved greatly and was named runner-up for Most Improved Player of the Year behind Paul George. He continued his improvement in his second season with Houston and was voted into his first All-Star Game, where he won MVP honors.

In 2014–15, he helped lead Houston to their first playoffs appearance since 2009, but they were eventually eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by eventual finalistsGolden State Warriors. The following season, he became one of only three players in NBA history to average at least 29 points per game while also shooting better than 46 percent from three-point range, joining Stephen Curry and Larry Bird as the only players to ever accomplish that feat.

In 2016–17, Harden led the league in scoring and helped Houston achieve a 55–27 record, good enough for third seed in a crowded Western Conference playoff race. They went on to lose in seven games to eventual champions San Antonio Spursin the Conference Semifinals despite holding a 3–2 series lead after five games.

Chris Paul

Chris Paul is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been an eight-time NBA All-Star and nine-time All-NBA team member. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2006, and has earned ten consecutive selections to the NBA All-Defensive Team.

Clint Capela

Clint Capela (born May 18, 1994) is a Swiss professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played basketball for a few years in his native Switzerland before joining the professional ranks in France. He was drafted by the Rockets in the 2014 NBA draft with the 25th overall pick.

Capela was born in Geneva, Switzerland to parents of Angolan descent. He began playing basketball at age 13. After playing for a few years in Switzerland, he moved to France to join the junior team of Élan Chalon of the LNB Pro A. In 2012–13, he played his first professional season with Élan Chalon’s senior team, averaging 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 8.2 minutes per game over 36 games.

In 2013–14, Capela’s second season with Élan Chalon, he increased his playing time to 15.1 minutes per game and averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game over 37 games. He was subsequently selected by the Houston Rockets with the 25th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

The Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history. They have won a record 17 NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959 to 1966. The Celtics have a rich history and have been led by some of the greatest players of all time, such as Bill Russell, Larry Bird, and Paul Pierce. The Celtics are currently the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and are looking to add another championship to their already impressive resume.

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Andrew Irving is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named NBA Rookie of the Year after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Irving played college basketball for Duke before joining the Cavaliers in 2011.

In his first season, Irving was awarded the NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 18.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game. He was selected to the 2012 All-Rookie First Team, and has since been a five-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. He has also been named to the All-NBA Third Team twice and has won two gold medals with Team USA at the FIBA World Cup (2014) and the Olympics (2016).

Jayson Tatum

Jayson Christopher Tatum (born March 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for Duke University before being drafted with the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Celtics. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2018.

Born and raised in Saint Louis, Tatum attended Chaminade College Preparatory School, where he was a five-star recruit and consensus top 10 player in his class. As a freshman at Duke, he averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, leading the team in scoring, and was named ACC Rookie of the Year. After one year at Duke, he declared for the NBA draft and was selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick. In his rookie season, he averaged 13.9 points per game and led all rookies in three-point field goal percentage (.442).

Al Horford

One of the most experienced players on the team, Al Horford has been with the Celtics since 2016. He is a four-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2011. Horford is a versatile player who can shoot from outside, drive to the basket, and rebound. He is also a good defender and an excellent team leader.