The Hottest NBA Players In The Game Today

Since we have published lists of the hottest active NFL and active MLB players, we thought it was only fair to our basketball fans that we craft a similar list for NBA players. It turns out that there are a plethora of hotties shooting hoops, and this list was just as difficult to make as our previous ones. We stuck to current players with sexy vibes and good looks, with an eye on highlighting some lesser-known hotties alongside the bigger names. In the end, we came up with 20 superbly hot candidates who all have different physical assets — except for that height thing, they all have that!

The thing about being a hot athlete is that a nice face and a good body can only take you so far when hundreds of other guys you play with have a nice face and a good body. The men on our list have that added special something that goes beyond just looks — not that they're not all gorgeous. Many of the players on our list are fashion icons (or icons to-be), and all of them have oodles of charisma, a hefty load of swagger, and a little of that je ne sais quoi that we can't quite name. These are the guys who pop off the screen, not just because of their skillful basketball but also because of their innate sex appeal. Here is our list of the hottest NBA players in the game today, in no particular order.

Let's start our list with Stephen Curry, one of the best players in the NBA — both ESPN and NBC Sports have him ranked in the top five – and one of the league's most visible faces. Even people who do not watch basketball are familiar with Curry's likeness, thanks to his status as a king of the league and one of the highest paid athletes across all sports. Curry also maintains a presence in the tabloids, partially because he and his wife Ayesha — who herself has nearly 8 million Instagram followers — court the attention. Ayesha has even been so kind as to share shirtless vacation photos of her hubby with the rest of the world, like the ones she shared in 2017 with an "all mine" label.

But Curry does not need his wife to get attention on social media, since he has a whopping 49.6 million Instagram followers of his own (and counting), making him one of the most followed athletes in the world. Curry has spent 13 seasons with the Golden State Warriors and amassed a huge following of fans devoted to him for his skills. And then, there are fans like us, who also like his cute face and fit body. Curry has been listed on many lists of the hottest NBA stars, including ones from Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Meaww, and Ranker. PopSugar also has a gallery devoted to his hotness, and his style — centering Black designers — has been featured in The New York Times.

Devin Booker is another NBA star who has emerged as one of the most visible faces of the league. He is also a top player, ranking on NBC Sports' top 20 list for 2022, and establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with over his eight seasons in the league (all of them with the Phoenix Suns). But Booker's personal life has also helped him amass his 5.4 million Instagram followers and 1.2 million Twitter followers. In particular, his profile got a huge boost when he started dating Kendall Jenner in May 2018. The duo kept their relationship as private as possible, at least relative to the other KarJenners, but even after their split, Booker was still being linked to Jenner in the news, such as when he unfollowed the model in February 2023.

Jenner may be a top model, but we think Booker could have been one as well had basketball not panned out. He has a fantastic smile, a great head of hair, and a lean but muscular frame — he is 6'5" and 206 pounds — that would look great on a catwalk. It is no shocker that many outlets have declared Booker as one of the NBA's hunkiest. Booker has also been called one of the NBA's most stylish players by both GQ US (in 2021) and GQ Australia (in 2022), and his fashion has been featured in WWD, among other places.

With a lot of the men on our list, you will notice that their fashion game has a huge impact on their hotness, since good style and grooming is often what makes an athlete pop out from the crowd. Kevin Love has great style, but he could wear a paper bag and still look good thanks to his delicious face. Love has stunning blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a warm smile — all of which came in handy when he modeled the collection he designed for Banana Republic back in 2018. Love is 6'8" and 251 pounds, but somehow manages to seem like the guy-next-door with his wholesome, catalog-ready good looks.

Love has been deemed one of the NBA's most attractive players by ESPN Southwest Florida, Ranker, SportyTell, Vogue, and more. In 2014, he was even named one of Rolling Stone magazine's "Hottest Sex Symbols" of the year, and his ESPN Body Issue the following year certainly made it clear why. Love started his NBA career in 2008, spending six seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and nine seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers before landing with his current team, the Miami Heat, in 2022. He has 3.3 million Instagram followers, and we are especially fond of the way he uses his platform to advocate for mental health awareness. He also has a foundation that tackles this cause, called the Kevin Love Fund, and has used his own mental health issues to bust stereotypes and create a dialogue. 

Kelly Oubre Jr. is only 27, but he has the necessary swag, charisma, and attractiveness to be titled a full-on zaddy. Oubre Jr. joined the NBA in 2015 and has moved around quite a bit, playing for the Washington Wizards, the Phoenix Suns, the Golden State Warriors, and the Charlotte Hornets. While his team affiliation may have not remained stable over the years, Oubre Jr. has stayed consistent in the looks department. He has been named one of the NBA's sexiest dudes by ESPN Southwest Florida, SportyTell, and BiglySports, and is currently sitting in the number one spot on Ranker's list as of this writing.

Oubre Jr. has a very handsome face — those eyes, in particular — and a great body, but much of what makes him so hot is his overall confidence and his unique sense of style. He has tons of tattoos and many piercings (including two nose piercings, one on each side), and loves to wear nail polish, excessive amounts of jewelry, and vibrant colors. In 2018, GQ declared that "Kelly Oubre is a New Breed of NBA Style Icon," and he has made best dressed lists from both the American (in 2021) and Australian (in 2022) versions of the magazine in subsequent years. Given that he has 1.6 million Instagram followers, fans are clearly responding to Oubre Jr.'s overall vibe. He has posted enough shirtless photos on his Instagram for us to know that it is not all in the clothes, either — the fashion choices simply add to an already-beautiful canvas.

How's this for being popular? Ben Simmons has 6.9 million Instagram followers despite having not one post on his profile (though he rarely posts on Twitter, he has been active there in the past and has a following of 1 million). Simmons began his NBA career in 2017, playing four seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining his current team, the Brooklyn Nets, in 2022. With virtually perfect facial features and a smoking hot body, there is a lot to love about the way Simmons looks. Just ask any of his famous ex-girlfriends, which includes everyone from singer Tinashe to model Kendall Jenner to TV presenter Maya Jama. Or take a peek at Global Grind's "Sexy Photos Of Ben Simmons To Make Your Monday Much, MUCH Better," which is sure to cheer you up, whether it's Monday or not.

Simmons is a staple on lists of the hottest NBAers, such as those from SportyTell, Meaww, Ranker, and ESPN Southwest Florida, and is also no stranger to best dressed lists. GQ Australia named him one of the best dressed NBA players of 2022, and their American counterpart highlighted his bench-sitting outfits over the course of that same season. And, sure, Simmons once went viral for a truly horrific outfit featuring orange pants and mismatched jacket, but even style icons make mistakes. Simmons signed a three-year contract with Nike in 2022, so we are looking forward to years of advertisements featuring the handsome point guard. Also, does Nike make underwear ads?

Danilo Gallinari joined the NBA in 2008, so he has been around a while — he has played for the New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks — but his social media following is not huge. Gallinari has 440,000 Instagram followers and just under 700,000 Twitter followers, which is not low but also not super high for a player who has been around for more than a decade. Gallinari has certainly gotten attention from the right people, however, including the folks at Armani and, at one point, Kim Kardashian. Kardashian was interested in dating Gallinari prior to her ill-fated relationship (and 72-day marriage) with Kris Humphries, but the power forward was not into the idea.

As for Armani, Gallinari was game for a collab. Though he was much younger when he did advertisements for the brand, we think the photos still hold up okay — though perhaps not as well as Gallinari himself, who is even more of a stud today than he was back then. The 6'10" stunner remains one of his sport's most attractive dudes, despite much competition, and Gallinari more than earned his spot on lists like Ranker's "The Hottest NBA Players Of 2023," SportyTell's "Top-21 Hottest NBA Players 2023," and BiglySports' "25 Hottest NBA Players Of 2023." These mentions are even more impressive considering Gallinari has been making hottest lists ever since at least 2012, when he appeared on Cosmopolitan's "The Hottest Guys of the NBA."

Klay Thompson has nearly 15 million Instagram followers and 1.8 million Twitter followers as of this writing. While we are sure that many of them are there because of his basketball skills, surely there are some who, like us, follow the shooting guard for the visual experience. And by visual experience, we mean the ability to look at Thompson's incredibly handsome face and, occasionally, his slim but muscular, toned body. Heck, we would even watch those annoying Cash App ads he does on repeat just to get more glimpses of Thompson's face, which has perfect bone structure and a killer beard. 

Thompson made his NBA debut in 2011, and he has spent his entire career playing for the Golden State Warriors (though he sat out two seasons due to injury). While he has great style, we can't really credit Thompson for that, since he once told Sports Illustrated that his mom and a teammate's wife choose his clothing. In 2021, Thompson partnered with Hugo Boss for their Hugo Boss x NBA collection, again proving that he looks great when others pick out his clothes. Still, it is Thompson who makes everything he wears look good — we guess his mom deserves some credit here too, for the good genes — and who has many fans smitten. He is unsurprisingly amongst the men listed on Ranker's "The Hottest NBA Players Of 2023" and E! Online's "Hottest Players in the 2022 NBA Finals."

Zach LaVine started in the NBA in 2014, first playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves for three seasons before transitioning to the Chicago Bulls, his current team, in 2017. LaVine has had a wonderful career thus far and, seeing as how he was an All-Star in both 2021 and 2022, there is no decline in sight. But forgive us for being distracted from LaVine's basketball playing because it is hard to look away from his sculpted face to see what the rest of him is doing. From his cheekbones to his jawline to his world-class smile, the man is basically perfection. He's fine from the neck down as well, if you're into slender dudes with good arms and great calf muscles (spoiler: we are).

LaVine — who has 2.5 million Instagram followers as of right now — is an in-demand player when it comes to endorsements. He signed a multi-year deal with New Balance in March 2022, after previous deals with Nike and Adidas. LaVine has also been the face of Hawthorne Fragrances, though we can't help but think his beauty is being wasted without some sort of deal with a high-fashion brand. We are not the only ones who think LaVine is swoonworthy either. The shooting guard has a place on hot lists from ESPN Southwest Florida, Ranker, SportyTell, Meaaww, and BiglySports. His fashions have also gotten a shout out from E! Online, though we prefer him when he is working out with minimal clothes on.

We hate to mention aging in relation to someone in their early 30s, but the fact of the matter is that Blake Griffin has been in the NBA for 12 seasons now — playing for the LA Clippers for eight seasons, as well as the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, and Boston Celtics — and he looks just as good as when he started. Actually, he may look even better now that his hair has gotten a bit darker (not that we are hating on the bright red hair he used to sport!) and his facial features have matured. Griffin is widely regarded as a sex symbol and has made just about every sexy list that exists, including those from Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Essence, ESPN Southwest Florida, and many others.

In fact, our favorite Griffin moment has nothing to do with basketball, and everything to do with his sexiness. In 2016, the actor appeared on the sitcom "Broad City," where he poked fun at his hotness and size in a (sadly censored) prolonged nude scene opposite Ilana Glazer, in which the twosome got incredibly ridiculous. The scene was meant to be funny, and it was, but we could not keep our eyes off of Griffin's incredible body either — even when he was crawling on the floor on all fours with Glazer on his back. There is a reason why sites like TMZ have galleries devoted to hot shots of the stud, who has an Instagram following of 3.8 million and counting, and that reason isn't basketball.

We won't go so far as to say that he is a style icon — because at 21, he has not been around very long — but Jalen Green certainly had the potential to become one. After all, he is already making best dressed NBAer lists, like GQ Australia's 2022 one, and his aesthetics even prompted Complex to publish a piece entitled, "Is Jalen Green the NBA's Next Big Style Star?" That his fashions have become a trending topic is especially cool given that Green loves to play with femininity and challenge the masculine stereotypes we have for athletes. For instance, he has been known to rock a purse — even ones that are hot pink or shaped like strawberries — without any sense of shame or hint of jokiness (and we love it).

Green also showcases his painted nails on social media, despite a host of ignorant comments that seemingly brush off his back. Green's confidence in himself and his style is a welcome change in a sport that is not known for its tolerance toward deviating from the masculine norm, but it is only one factor in his sex appeal. The shooting guard, who plays for the Houston Rockets, is as physically attractive as he is stylish. He's also incredibly popular — despite only joining the league in 2021, he already has 2.4 million Instagram followers. No wonder his name can be found on hot lists from Ranker, BiglySports, and Edge Media Network — and he has many, many years of hotness to come.

Gordon Hayward is a beautiful man with many great features, but one feature has garnered far more attention than the rest and that is his hair. In 2016, a mere haircut turned him into a heartthrob, causing Seventeen to write that "The Internet Is Freaking Out Over How Hot This Basketball Player Looks After A Simple Haircut" and GQ to state that "Gordon Hayward and His Perfect Hair Need a Nickname." In the years that followed, Hayward's hair was seemingly everywhere — from his appearance in a video for BluMaan hair products to Regal Gentleman's instructions on how to get Hayward's locks. Even a truly horrible haircut he got in 2022 made Hayward trend, because all paths lead back to his mane.

Though we like his hair as much as the rest of the internet, we have to give props to Hayward's other physical features, like his pretty blue eyes and adorable stick-out ears. He is rather lean — he is 6'7" and only 225 pounds — but also strong and fit. It probably won't shock you that Hayward, who joined the NBA in 2010 and is currently on the Charlotte Hornets, has been called hot by many publications beyond Seventeen. He is included on lists of the NBA's hottest from ESPN Southwest Florida, SportyTell, and Ranker, among others. Hayward has more than a million followers on Instagram, but you can expect more family photos than anything salacious or even mildly spicy (and lots of basketball, of course).

Jonas Valanciunas joined the NBA in 2012, playing seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors and three with the Memphis Grizzlies before landing on the New Orleans Pelicans in 2021. Over his decade in the league, Valanciunas has blossomed from fresh-faced boy to a studly man, and we are fans of the glow up. The clean-shaven babyface is long gone and in its place is a thick, luscious beard, which actually makes Valanciunas's gorgeous baby blues pop even more. The Lithuanian athlete has a lower profile than some of his peers — with his 264,000 Instagram followers and 175,000 Twitter followers trailing many other NBAers — but it is definitely not because he lacks physical appeal.

At a staggering 6'11", Valanciunas is the second tallest basketball player on our list, which has earned him a plethora of nicknames, including J-Zilla, Jonosaurus, and Rambo. Our favorite is probably "Euro Sr. Swag Daddy," which is one the Toronto Raptors used on Twitter in 2017. Like most basketball players, Valanciunas has a lean but muscular frame, and his deltoids are particularly nice. The athlete's hair has also been a topic of discussion, with Vice publishing an article on its ever-changing state back in 2016. But long hair or short, beard or no beard, we think Valanciunas is a stone-cold fox — which is why SportyTell named him one of the "Top-21 Hottest NBA Players of 2023" and BiglySports included him on their list of "25 Hottest NBA Players Of 2023."

NBC Sports has Jayson Tatum ranked as the sixth best player in the NBA as of 2022, and so it feels almost unfair that someone so talented is also so incredibly attractive. It is somewhat hard to put into words how hot Tatum is, but we owe it to the small forward to try. From his gorgeous smile to his defined biceps to his bubble butt (which gets much discussion online), there are so many things about Tatum that make us swoon. Thankfully, Tatum appears to know his appeal and has shared a number of shirtless photos with his 5.8 million Instagram followers. The best is probably his August 2022 gallery of half-clothed workout pics — but be warned, it's as hot as fire.

Tatum is so sexy that he looks good no matter where his face is plastered, be it the front page of Haute Time or on a bag of Ruffles potato chips. Not that he needs to enhance his natural looks at all, but Tatum is also somewhat of a fashionisto. As GQ Australia said when they named him one of the league's best dressed players of 2022, "Wearing cut-and-sew jackets, crochet shirts, and wild matching sets are all advanced maneuvers that Tatum pulls off as easily as a step-back jumper." E! Online included him on their list of hotties in the 2022 NBA finals, but if we had our way, Tatum would also be in People's next "Sexiest Man Alive" issue.

Lonzo Ball joined the NBA in 2017, spending two years with the Los Angeles Lakers before joining the New Orleans Pelicans for two seasons and then landing on his current team, the Chicago Bulls, in 2021. Though Ball's brother LaMelo is widely regarded to be the better player, Lonzo Ball wins out when it comes to social media presence and good old-fashioned hotness. There is a third Ball brother, LiAngelo, but since he plays for the NBA G league, we didn't even consider him for this list. Sorry, LiAngelo! But back to Lonzo Ball, who is as handsome as he is cool and talented. Those magical eyes alone are worthy of a fashion campaign.

Ball has a massive social media following — 16.2 million followers on Instagram alone — and has become somewhat of a household name despite missing the 2022-2023 season due to injury. He has done advertisements for Footlocker and Marvel, though his father's greed cost him a $10 million show deal back in 2017 (per Yahoo! Sports). But failed deals aside, you know you have made it when your haircut makes the pages of GQ, which happened to Ball in 2022 when he cut his luscious curls. And though his weight-lifting form has been ridiculed across the Internet, Ball's body is looking amazing these days. It is no surprise that he is included on Ranker's list of "The Hottest NBA Players Of 2023," as well as BiglySports's similar list.

Furkan Korkmaz is a Turkish NBA player who currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, the team he joined in 2017 at the start of his NBA career. But at 6'7" and 202 pounds, and with a face like he's got, we could just as easily see Korkmaz walking the runways in Paris. It would make sense too since he seems to enjoy fashion very much and treats every hallway and street like his own catwalk. We know this, because much of his Instagram is devoted to photos of his street style — mostly casual looks like sweatsuits and jeans, but featuring many interesting patterns and colors. And we have to say that the man looks great in short shorts, which he also seems to love to wear.

Korkmaz has a slew of non-fashion photos on his Instagram as well, and we can't imagine any of his 443,000 followers complaining when he posts sexy close-ups (quite the contrary, these sorts of posts tend to elicit positive response in 46ers discussion spaces). In April 2020, Korkmaz explained his photos in a cute video he did with NBC Sports. The biggest takeaways, for us, were that he is very charming and that his nicknames include the amazing "Furky from Turkey wit da Jerky" (and here we were, just calling him "dreamboat" and "sexypants"). Korkmaz is on BiglySports's list of the "25 Hottest NBA Players Of 2023," and with his fantastic head of hair and endearing smile, he should be on your own personal list as well.

We don't know what it is, but some of the NBA's most fashionable dressers are also some of the league's hottest players. And Kyle Kuzma is one such player who is both easy-on-the-eyes and in possession of excess amounts of style and flair. Kuzma started his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017, though he currently plays for the Washington Wizards. In a relatively short time, he has cultivated a large following — he has nearly 5 million Instagram followers as of this writing — thanks to his life on and off the court. The 6'9" stunner has reportedly dated everyone from Vanessa Hudgens to Kendall Jenner, and though he has been in a relationship with model Winnie Harlow since 2020, that has not kept him off of TMZ.

Harlow is no longer the only model in the relationship since Kuzma walked the runway for PUMA during 2022 Fashion Week. The gig aligned well with Kuzma's status as one of the NBA's most trendy and daring dressers — something that has been noticed by PopSugar, DMARGE, and GQ. GQ Australia named Kuzma one of 2022's best dressed NBAers, while other outlets noted the cultural impact of his giant pink sweater (if you haven't seen it, it's worth Googling). We have to agree with sites like Ranker, SportyTell, BiglySports, and Edge Media Network, all of whom have declared Kuzma one of the NBA's hottest players — and TMZ's gallery of shirtless shots proves it's not just the clothing, but also what's underneath.

Corey Kispert has only been in the NBA for two seasons, both of them with the Washington Wizards, and his fame has yet to skyrocket. He has only 73,000 Instagram followers and 12,000 Twitter followers, which is nothing for an NBA player. Clearly, people have not yet caught on to the fact that Kispert is beautiful and looks exactly like he stepped out of the pages of a J. Crew catalog. In fact, if J. Crew needs a 6'6", 224 pound model, we are officially making the pitch for Kispert. The guy has gorgeous wavy hair, a fantastic smile, and a great jawline — not to mention his awesome biceps or the rest of his perfect body.

Despite being relatively new to the league, Kispert was included on Ranker's list of "The Hottest NBA Players of 2023" and we also felt the need to advocate for the lesser-known but very sexy small forward. Though there are not as many photos of him out of uniform as we would like, the limited ones that exist have shown him to be model-hot in pretty much every type of clothing. He looked just as amazing walking the Spectrum Center halls in a knit polo (which he posted on his Instagram in November 2022) as he did in a pastel suit at a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in June 2022. Kispert told Twenty Montreal he aspires to one day design a shoe, but let's get real — nobody is looking at this boy's feet.

Wayne Ellington started his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves back in 2009 and though he has continued to play in the big leagues, he has had trouble finding a long-term home. To date, Ellington has played for nine teams in the league, including his latest stint on the Los Angeles Lakers. All of the moving around is also perhaps why Ellington has not accumulated a huge social media following for someone who has been in the public eye for nearly a decade and a half. He has just over 100,000 Instagram followers, for example, despite offering up a pretty decent grid.

Before we get to his physical hotness, let's talk about the work that Ellington has done for gun advocacy. After his father was murdered in 2014, Ellington made it his mission to call awareness to gun violence — something that earned him the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2016 (via USA Today). While we love a man who can turn tragedy into advocacy, we are here to talk about Ellington's attractiveness, which has earned him mention on hot lists from ESPN Southwest Florida, SportyTell, and BiglySports. The highlight, for us, is Ellington's bright, infectious smile, but we also love his cute dimples, sultry eyes, and perfectly manicured facial hair. He has awesome biceps and deltoids as well, which are on full display in many of his Instagram photos.

Cedi Osman was born in Macedonia, but his Turkish roots have led him to play on the Turkish National Team, representing the country in international tournaments. Osman is also a highly valued NBA player who made his debut in the league in 2017 and who has spent his entire NBA career thus far with the Cleveland Cavaliers. And on top of that, the small forward is also pretty darn handsome. His bone structure is stunning, especially his cheekbones, and he has a fantastic head of hair. In fact, Osman was even tapped to star in a Head & Shoulders commercial prior to starting in the NBA (the commercial came out in 2015 and while Osman was drafted that year, he did not sign with the Cavs until 2017).

At 6'7" and 230 pounds, Osman could look menacing, but it is kind of impossible with his lively and truly gorgeous smile. His Instagram — which is followed by 1.4 million people — is filled with pictures displaying those pearly whites, which could warm even the coldest of hearts. Osman has a spot on Ranker's list of 2023's hottest NBAers, as well as similar lists from SportyTell and BiglySports. And beyond his physical hotness, Osman has proven himself to be a man of depth. He is a UNICEF National Ambassador, focused specifically on youth engagement and sports, and according to the organization's website, has been involved — including making field visits and helping with COVID-19 pandemic response — since 2018.

Rudy Gobert is very tall, even by basketball player standards. Gobert is 7'1", which makes him the tallest guy on our list and also the tallest guy on his current team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. And though we are sure it is quite the hassle to dress for his frame, Gobert has somehow become somewhat of a fashion icon since joining the league in 2013 (he spent his first nine seasons with the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Timberwolves). His fashion choices have received notice from E! Online and GQ, and made waves on social media. Never afraid to make a bold choice, Gobert has gotten attention (some good, some bad) for outfits like a neon pink suit and another one in a shimmery blue. 

Gobert's Instagram, which is followed by 835,000 fans, is less focused on formal wear and more focused on casual outfits, workouts, and basketball. There is also the occasional shirtless photo, like the one he posted for Halloween 2022, or the series of shirtless posing and workout pics he posted in July 2022. Gobert's body is immaculate and we are a big fan of his carved abs, but none of it would work without the hot face to match. With his beautiful skin, high cheekbones, and adorable smile, Gobert is so sexy that he even made that blonde dye job look decent back in 2022. Both SportyTell and BiglySports have named Gobert one of the hottest players for 2023 — something we wholeheartedly endorse.