Your NBA GIF All-Stars

The NBA All-Star Game is a month away, and as such, each NBA outlet has released their NBA All-Stars article. (Including here at The Ticket.) These articles are great, and reading them gives fans a peak into different NBA writers’ perspectives on which players belong in the elite tier of “All-Star player.”

What these articles don’t do, however, is give you an excuse to watch Nick Young steal a pass from his teammate to hit a game-winner. This article will do that.

The invention of the GIF (regardless of how you pronounce it) was basically meant for the NBA, as every night across the league seems to be filled to the brim with some of the most entertaining young men in the world, who just happen to be basketball players. We get to see mascot dunking, fans dabbing, and players flying through the air, all condensed into a repeating three-second clips that will run on repeat for eternity.

So with the first half of the 2016–17 season in the books, let’s dig through the NBA GIF vault, and determine your 2016–17 NBA GIF All-Stars:

Guard: Zach LaVine

We’ll start with a man who is no stranger to the NBA All-Star Weekend. Zach LaVine has stolen the show each of the past two NBA All-Star Weekends by treating the Slam Dunk Contest court like his own personal backyard. Early indications are that LaVine and Aaron Gordon will both be joining the Slam Dunk Contest again this year, music to any true basketball fan’s ears.

The thing about LaVine, though, is he doesn’t just save up his dunks for All-Star Weekend, he’s out there posterizing folks on a near-nightly basis. Poor Alex Len had to say 500 Hail Mary’s, 200 Our Father’s and 275 Glory Be’s for penance after allowing LaVine to posterize him like this.

Guard: Russell Westbrook (MVP)

Russell Westbrook may well be the leader in what is turning out to be an intense and hectic first-half (actual basketball) MVP race, but the race isn’t even close for the NBA GIF MVP — it’s all Westbrook. The man has some of the best facial reactions in the world (see above), as well as some of the best dance moves ever (see below), dance moves he busts out at least once a night, to boot.

He’s also the owner of the #1 GIF of the season, when, after he received a hefty one-fingered salute from a portly fan in the first row, he had possibly the greatest reaction to this buffoon of a fan that could be humanly had:

Oh, and he can do things like this on the court:

Westbrook is da real MVP (of GIF-land).

Forward: Nick Young

The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

Nick Young will often pop up do amazing and swaggy things on a nightly basis in L.A., but the clip above is truly his magnum opus. Stealing the pass from an intended teammate only to hit a fadeaway, game-winning three-pointer. It doesn’t get better than that.

Forward: Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid has burst onto the NBA scene this season, but close NBA fans have been getting a kick out of Embiid (via his social media) for several years now. Embiid has done anything but disappoint in his rookie season, dream-shaking his way into a few jaw-dropping GIFs every night. But it’s Embiid’s fun-loving nature on the court that is the most fun to watch. Here he is drawing a smile from Boogie Cousins, which is like getting Fagin to channel his inner Burger King mascot and reverse-pick-pocket his victims. For those who don’t read Charles Dickens in their free time, that was just a pretentious way of saying it’s a mighty challenge.

Forward: Kristaps Porzingis

Similar to our MVP, Mr. Westbrook, Porzingis is on here both for his on-court pizzazz, as well as his goofy non-playing actions. On the court, Porzingis is a leading light among Generation Unicorn, a 7 foot 3 inch Mr. Stretch doll who can connect from wayyyy downtown. Like Battery Park downtown.

When he’s not on the court, Porzingis is still just an absolute delight, participating in some college-esque celebrations with the back-end of the Knicks bench and securing his spot as the young big man for this squad.

Honorable Mentions: Carmelo Anthony pissed off reactions;

Any and everything Greek Freak;

And whatever this is…

That’s a wrap, folks.