Twenty-two teams will resume the 2019-2020 NBA season in Orlando, Florida this summer, meaning the league’s eight worst teams will remain at home. The Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves are the only Western Conference teams that won’t compete for a playoff spot. The Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls are also done for the year.

Most of the league’s superstars are going to be back on the court, but a few perennial All-Stars play for the teams that didn’t receive the invite to the NBA’s “bubble” at Disney World. Here’s a look at the 10 best players that are done for the season.

1) Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

A broken hand forced Curry to miss four months after the first four games of the season. The two-time MVP had 23 points, six rebounds and seven assists in his one game back before the season was suspended.

2) Blake Griffin, Detroit Pistons

A knee injury already ended Griffin’s season before the coronavirus pandemic halted play. Limited to just 18 games this season, Griffin was a 2019 All-NBA Third-Team selection.

3) Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

Having not played since tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson might end up going a year and a half between games. The five-time All-Star scored 30 points on 12 field-goal attempts the last time he played.

4) Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

It’s time for Towns to show that his numbers translate to wins. Towns averaged 26.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while making 41.2% of his threes this season, but Minnesota went 10-25 when he played.

5) Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

At the very least, Young should be among the NBA’s most exciting players for years to come. He’s tied for third with 29.6 points per game and second only to LeBron James with 9.3 assists per contest.

6) Zach Lavine, Chicago Bulls

Lavine was considered to be an All-Star snub by some. He averaged 25.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

7) Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers

It was well-documented how unhappy Love was in Cleveland this season, and his massive contract makes him very difficult to trade. He still put up decent stats with 17.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

8) D’Angelo Russell, Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota hopes that Russell is the missing piece that will help them get back to the playoffs. After leading the Brooklyn Nets to the 2019 postseason, the point guard averaged a career-high 23.1 points per game before the season was suspended.

9) Clint Capela, Atlanta Hawks

Capela finished the season without ever playing after being traded by the Houston Rockets. Injuries limited him to 39 games, though he was an automatic double-double with averages of 13.9 points and 13.8 rebounds.

10) Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

Green rounds out the list, despite an awful season. Expect the three-time champion to have a bounce-back year and be a significant contributor to winning when the Warriors are healthy in 2021.

Klay Thompson Steph Curry Warriors
Stephen Curry Curry #30 and Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors watch a shot go in taken by Thompson against the Dallas Mavericks at ORACLE Arena on Dec. 30, 2016 in Oakland, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus