Who Is The Best In The NBA Right Now?

Obviously, there is no clear-cut answer to this question. However, we can take a look at a few of the top contenders and make a case for each one.

LeBron James

LeBron James 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. James has appeared in fifteen NBA All-Star Games, winning the All-Star MVP Award four times, and he has been voted onto the All-NBA First Team twelve times and the All-Defensive First Team five times. He has also been named NBA Rookie of the Year and NBA Finals MVP. In 2020, he was named the best player in the world by ESPN.

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Anthony Leonard (/kəˈwaɪ/ ke-wy; born June 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played two seasons of college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs, and was named a consensus second-team All-American as a sophomore. He was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, but was immediately traded to the San Antonio Spurs.

During his time with the Spurs, Leonard became one of the best two-way players in the NBA, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016. In 2017–18 he took home MVP honors as he led San Antonio to a franchise-record 63 wins and an appearance in NBA Finals. He was ranked 16th by ESPN’s Real Plus Minus (RPM) metric during that season. On July 18, 2018, Leonard was traded to Toronto in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 protected first round draft pick. The trade occurred days after it was revealed that Leonard had asked to be traded from San Antonio due to his strained relationship with head coach Gregg Popovich.

In his first season with Toronto, Leonard helped lead them to their first ever NBA Finals appearance while being named regular season MVP and Finals MVP en route to winning his second NBA championship. He is one of only seven players in NBA history to have won Finals MVP on multiple occasions. After one season with Toronto, Leonard signed with Los Angeles (his hometown team) via free agency on July 6, 2019.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo is an Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the Bucks’ leading scorer and rebounder, and also averages nearly 6 assists per game. Antetokounmpo was drafted 15th overall in the 2013 NBA draft by the Bucks, and he became the first member of his family to be drafted into the NBA.

Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid, nicknamed “The Process”, is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia
76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks,
he was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the 76ers. Multiple foot and knee injuries delayed
his debut until 2016, when he was 22 years old. He played 31 games in his rookie season and was named to the NBA All-Rookie
First Team. In his second season, Embiid was named an All-Star for the first time and was voted as a starter. He also earned
All-NBA Second Team honors. Injuries again limited him to 31 games in his third season, but he again earned both All-Star and
All-NBA Second Team honors.

Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry is the best player in the NBA right now. He is a two-time MVP and he led the Golden State Warriors to an NBA Championship in 2015. Curry is a great scorer and shooter, and he is one of the best point guards in the league.