After ranking the best NBA Twitter team accounts of 2017, it’s time to zero in on the individual players who rule the Twittersphere.
Twitter gives fans a chance to gauge the personality of some of their favorite NBA players, and, if they're lucky, have an interaction with them. It also gives the players an avenue to speak their mind freely to an extent (whatever doesn’t get you fined) in the form of subtweets, clapbacks, or their unfiltered opinions on the events happening around the league.
Here are the 10 NBA players who will make your Twitter feed even better.
Honorable mention: Isaiah Thomas, Jamal Crawford, Andre Iguodala
NBA fans were introduced to Hassan Whiteside two years ago when he dropped a triple double with 12 blocks and said in his postgame interview that he was just trying to get his NBA 2K rating up. The Miami Heat center has one of the most humorous personalities in the association, although he’s deemed immature at times by many around the league.
After establishing himself as one of the top centers in the league, Whiteside still has his 2K rating on his mind.
Nick Young is 32 years old and about to enter his 12th year in the NBA. Feel old yet? Swaggy P is pretty much the same Swaggy P who entered the league after two seasons at USC. He’s a carefree spirit who refuses to hold back his opinions, like many on this list.
Unfortunately, one of Young’s hot takes backfired the day he signed with the Golden State Warriors.
There’s really no need for explanation here. Javale McGee is one of the most entertaining players in the league, most of which is not derived from his skillset. From his on-court antics to his Twitter beef with Shaq, McGee has been coined the class clown of the NBA.
But say what you want about him, the Golden State center is in line to be a two-time NBA champion by the end of next season. Not many players can say that.
Enes Kanter ranks up there with LeBron as the NBA's king of subs and shade. The Turkish big man was clearly hurt by Kevin Durant’s departure from OKC, and it seems he uses tweeting as a way to soothe his pain.
One year later, Kanter was still taking shots at KD after Russell Westbrook won MVP.
Not to mention, Kanter and Durant got into an argument during the first meeting between the Warriors and Thunder after KD left. It’s hard to throw this much shade when you average less than 10 minutes per game in the playoffs, but his lack of production doesn’t restrain Kanter’s Twitter fingers.
The new face of the Utah Jazz is worth your follow. Gobert gives life to a somewhat boring Jazz team. He’s a constant presence on Twitter whether he’s tweeting in French or English, and his clapbacks tend to be a little bit more personal—so watch out when taking a shot because he has absolutely no chill.
Let’s not forget he started a chain of emoji-filled tweets from NBA players during the free agency recruitment of Gordon Hayward.
Dwyane Wade is just enjoying life, and it’s showing in his tweets. He’s playing at home in Chicago and happily married to Gabrielle Union. There’s not much left to do when you’ve won three rings and asserted yourself as the third best shooting guard ever to play the game. But even at 35 years old, don’t tell D. Wade he’s too old to put up numbers.
With that being said, Wade has conceded the thought that he’s still an elite player and instead embraced the current stars by giving up strategies to slow them down.
While his Trail Blazers backcourt mate CJ McCollum is often taking shots at fellow NBA players, Damian Lillard shows his displeasure with NBA media.
Like his demeanor on the court, Lillard isn’t backing down from anyone and he’s going to say what he wants without a filter. Chris Broussard can attest to that; he’s been the victim of several tweets from Lillard. If there’s one thing we know about Dame D.O.L.L.A., it’s that he always keeps it real.
Speaking of clapbacks, Kevin Durant is not one to mess with on Twitter either. If you throw a shot, you better be ready for the consequences because he reads his mentions often and he throws a heavy punch.
Although he stays off Twitter for much of the NBA season, Durant’s offseason is full of smack talk and jokes. Instead of taking the common route of welcoming a player to a new team publicly with a warm tweet, Durant used a simple photo to welcome Nick Young to the Warriors:
Let’s not forget, Durant is a Twitter veteran. He’s been wreaking havoc on Twitter before Twitter was cool. In honor of his eight years on Twitter, we have to look back at this classic tweet to Amber Rose:
Don’t be fooled by the babyface; CJ McCollum is a complete savage and he will not hold back from clapbacks on Twitter. This doesn’t just apply to fans. McCollum buried Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons when Parsons got in feelings and took a shot at the Trail Blazers’ Twitter account when they tweeted a GIF of his airball.
When he’s not playing, McCollum is just like any other basketball fan on Twitter. He gives his opinions on live games or transactions around the NBA. He even jokingly predicted the historic season from Russell Westbrook.
McCollum is an underrated guard who may not get the attention he deserves playing next to Damian Lillard for a small market team in the Trail Blazers, but he has no problem letting you know that he’s a straight-up baller.
Is there a better athlete to follow on Twitter? While he spent his first few seasons sidelined due to injury, Joel Embiid used a lot of his time dominating the Twittersphere. Fans often joked that he should spend less time on Twitter and work on getting on the court. Embiid embraced it.
When he finally took the court, it wasn’t long before many NBA fans began “trusting the process.” Barring more injuries, Embiid has flashed the ability to become a superstar in the near future. How can you hate the man? He just has fun. With his rapid success on the court, Embiid upped his Twitter game as well. He jokingly took shots at the NBA All-Star voting process when he wasn’t selected as a starter:
...reacted to Paul George’s departure to Oklahoma City:
...and voiced his opinion of Lavar Ball... often:
Trust me, it’ll be great for the NBA and Twitter if “The Process” stays healthy next season.
