WHICH NBA TEAM SHOULD YOU ROOT FOR IN THE PLAYOFFS?

Is your team in the NBA playoffs? If so, congratulations. You know what to do. You root for it to win it all. However, what if your team missed out on the postseason? Or what if you aren’t a fan of any specific NBA team? What are you to do? Well, you need a team to root for, and we’re here to help. Here is a ranking of all 16 playoff teams in order of how they tickle our rooting fancy.

16. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Come on. Who, other than a long-standing fan, wants to root for the Warriors? They’ve won three of the last four titles. They are the ultimate bandwagon team. It’s boring to root for the Warriors. Don’t be that person.

15. SAN ANTONIO SPURS

On the one hand, it’s impressive the Spurs are in the playoffs yet again. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker are all gone. That being said, they have a lot of titles, so there’s nothing terribly exciting about rooting for San Antonio. This team is a bland offering, which is probably how Gregg Popovich likes it.

14. BOSTON CELTICS

For starters, the Celtics have a ton of titles. Sure, most of them are from decades ago, but nevertheless. Gordon Hayward’s return to action is a nice story, but on the other hand Kyrie Irving can be a little obnoxious. They were a team of turmoil, so it will be interesting to see if they can put it all together. It won’t be fun to root for them to do it.

13. DETROIT PISTONS

It’s great for the Pistons that they finally have returned to the playoffs. They also have Blake Griffin, who is having maybe the best season of his career. Oh, and they are going to get swept by the Bucks, so if you root for them it’s going to be a brief experience.

12. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

The Clippers are a more fun team than the Pistons to root for. They managed to make the playoffs despite having zero stars and trading their best player, Tobias Harris, away at the deadline. It would be great to follow this team through the postseason. Alas, they are facing the Warriors in the first round. Their stay, too, will be short.

11. HOUSTON ROCKETS

The Rockets have been the “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” team of recent vintage. They’ve been great, but they just haven’t been able to get over the hump. The problem is that not everybody loves their brand of basketball, and James Harden is a divisive player. As such, rooting for Houston won’t be for everybody.

10. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Russell Westbrook is as divisive as Harden in his own way, although his particular style is certainly more dynamic. It’s also cool that Paul George decided to stick around, and Steven Adams is a delight. Of course, if you were a Seattle Supersonics fan, rooting for the Thunder will be a no go.

9. ORLANDO MAGIC

Few people thought the Magic would make the playoffs this season. Heck, during the season they looked out of it, until they had an incredible turnaround. Orlando’s a fun underdog but doesn't have any stars, with all due respect to Nikola Vucevic. The NBA is a star-driven league, so rooting for a team of anonymous players may not be everybody’s fancy.

8. INDIANA PACERS

The Pacers were cruising along when their best player, Victor Oladipo, went down with a season-ending injury. It sucked, but Indiana didn’t throw in the towel. The team still finished with the fifth seed. Who doesn’t want to pull for the Pacers to do it for Oladipo? The basketball just may not be that thrilling.

7. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

The 76ers have a crazy collection of stars. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are both unique players. They also went all in by adding Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris during the season. Butler has his detractors, which knocks the Sixers down the rankings a bit, but they are still going to be fascinating.

6. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

Is Damian Lillard ready to be a one-man team? Jusuf Nurkic suffered an awful leg injury that will keep him out the rest of the year, and CJ McCollum, who had a down season as is, is coming back from an injury of his own. Still, Portland has only one team in the four major American sports leagues and hasn't won a title in forever. If Dame can pull the Trail Blazers to a title, it will be awesome to see.

5. BROOKLYN NETS

Now this is how you rebuild a team. Sean Marks had to completely revamp Brooklyn after the previous regime made some terrible trades, and it has paid off. The Nets finished sixth in the East, and they are a fun team too! Their brand of basketball is great to watch, and they have some real talent. The redemption of D’Angelo Russell has been particularly noteworthy.

4. UTAH JAZZ

The Jazz of the John Stockton and Karl Malone era never got over the hump, so they are still looking for their first title. That always increases the fun of hopping on a bandwagon. If you love defense, Utah is also a great choice. Rudy Gobert will probably be the Defensive Player of the Year again. Joe Ingles is also a delightful personality.

3. MILWAUKEE BUCKS

This team is great and is led by the potential MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Brook Lopez has remade himself as a three-point shooter. The only minor quibble is that you are throwing your weight behind the team with the best record in the league. Don’t worry about that, though. These are the Bucks. It’s not like they are a former juggernaut. It’s awesome to see Milwaukee turn itself into a team like this. Warriors rules don’t apply for rooting for the Bucks.

2. DENVER NUGGETS

We all want to see a team overtake the Warriors and finally vanquish them. It would be great if Denver is the one to do it. The Nuggets didn’t even make the playoffs last season. This year they finished second in the Western Conference. Nobody expected this, and yet Nikola Jokic, the sweetest passing big man on the planet, and Co. are here. If they upend Golden State and win the title, it would cap a magical year in Denver.

1. TORONTO RAPTORS

For years the Raptors were stuck dealing with LeBron James eliminating them. They never got complacent, though, including in this off-season. Toronto went for it all by trading for Kawhi Leonard, even though there was no guarantee he’d stick around for another season after this one. This is a great team that’s fun to watch. The Raptors have never been to an NBA Finals, much less won one. It’s been a long time coming for Canada’s only NBA team. A whole country will be behind it. You should be too.