The NBA season is finally upon us. In just a few hours the Cleveland Cavaliers will be receiving their championship rings and raising a championship banner into the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena as the 2016-17 season tips off from Cleveland.
For approximately the next seven months there will be some form of NBA action on your tv each and every night and that's a beautiful thing, but sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes you want to know what your favorite player or your most hated rival is doing after the buzzer sounds, in between games, or after practice.
For those die hard fans who can't seem to get their NBA fix no matter how many games are on League Pass, there is Instagram. And if you're looking for the best NBA players to follow on the 'gram you've come to the right place because we've compiled a list of 10 guys who you need to be following this season.
Joel Embiid
IG: @JoelEmbiid
Followers: 322K
Why you should be following: Embiid is already one of the most entertaining players in the league and he's never even played in a real game yet. That's a testament to his social media prowess. If he's not propositioning Rihanna or Kim K for a date he's probably slugging pitchers of Shirley Temples, cracking Harambe jokes and #Processing.
Damian Lillard
IG: @DamianLillard
Followers: 2.8M
Why you should be following: #4BarFriday.
Russell Westbrook
IG: @RussWest44
Followers: 5.5M
Why you should be following: Because Russell Westbrook's revenge tour is about to go nuclear. And for the ridiculous wardrobes, of course.
Andre Drummond
IG: @AndreDrummondd
Followers: 618K
Why you should be following: Come for the behind the scenes footage and Air Jordan photos, stay for the hilarious videos.
Nick Young
IG: @SwaggyP1
Followers: 2.3M
Why you should be following: Because his IG is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.
JR Smith
IG: @TeamSwish
Followers: 2.5M
Why you should be following: 1) It's JR Smith 2) He just signed a new contract after winning an NBA title 3) It's JR MF Smith.
Brandon Jennings
IG: @BrandonJennings
Followers: 96K
Why you should be following: Brandon Jennings is a man on a mission this season with the Knicks and his IG is always good for some inspiration. Additionally, you'll want to see all the exclusive Nikes he laces up this year at MSG... or at the West 4th St. courts.
LeBron James
IG: @KingJames
Followers: 25.6M
Why you should be following: Love him or hate him he's the best player in the game and he has amassed over 25 million followers on Instagram so he must be doing something right. LBJ has also been teasing retros of his Nike LeBron line with a couple of IG posts, which makes him a must-follow for all the sneakerheads out there.
DeMarcus Cousins
IG: @BoogieCousins
Followers: 1.5M
Why you should be following: If his behind the scenes coverage of the U.S. Olympics team is any indication about what's in store for his Kings teammates this season then you need to hit that follow button ASAP.
DeAndre Jordan
IG: @DeAndreJordan6
Followers: 1.4M
Why you should be following: To see how he'll make fun of Austin Rivers next.
