LeBron James, Kevin Durant and the 25 Most Explosive NBA Players

This is a word you hear announcers say a lot in the NBA: "Explosiveness."

What is it, who has it, and what part of basketball does it entail?

Normally, when you hear about explosiveness, it's relating to a player's ability to put caution to the wind, get up and dunk on people's heads, but it's much more than that. One can be explosive in his ability to score, as we see all the time when a player gets hot and just demoralizes his opposition, or on defense, when raising up to block shots and just erase points in general.

You know when an explosive play has happened, and really I think we need a new play for them. These are the plays when the home crowd gets up off their feet and the opposition has to call a time out before the roof caves in, or when you can hear a pin drop and the crowd is glued to their seats. This can happen with a monster dunk, a streak of shots, each more ridiculous than the last, or a player with a streak of monstrous defensive plays.

Obviously, there are quite a few explosive young players in the league these days, but there are also some explosive older dudes out there who can change the pace of the game single-handedly.

Here I present to you the top 25 most explosive players in the league.

25. Thaddeus Young

One of the better young athletes in the game, Thaddeus Young can be absolutely devastating if you don't have a big dude step in front of him.

Young can get around his defender with a quick step and then take off toward the rim, where he will do anything and everything to get the ball in the basket.

24. Paul George

One of the most explosive young players in the NBA, Paul George can turn it up with his athleticism or his shooting ability, totally running the crowd up to another octave with his basketball skill.

George can barrel through the lane, get to the rim and throw it down with ferocity, but he can shoot the crowd into a frenzy as well.

He had a game already this season where he shot the lights out, leaving the crowd in New Jersey sitting on their hands after making eight of his 10 shots, five of them three-pointers.

23. Serge Ibaka

Obviously, Serge isn't one of those guys that's going to shoot the crowd into a frenzy, but he can get them up and screaming just as well as the other star players on his team.

Ibaka is primarily a great athlete, which he translates into dominating play from time to time, and more often than not recently.

Serge can get up and dunk on anyone who chooses to get in his way and not hit him hard, or he can block shots with reckless abandon on the other end of the floor.

22. DeAndre Jordan

Here's something that I didn't know a few weeks ago; DeAndre Jordan was third in the NBA in dunks last season, right behind Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin.

It seems fitting that this year, with a much more competent point guard, that he should end up getting much more looks right at the basket.

Besides that, Jordan is capable of absolutely going off on defense, as we saw when he had something like 36 blocks on Christmas Day against the Warriors.

21. Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford is one of the most interesting players in the NBA. He's one of just four guys to score 50 points on three different teams, but he's also primarily a bench player.

That's where Crawford thrives. He can come off the bench and gauge how his shot is falling that day. If he's stroking it well, then he'll play the majority of the game. If it's just not splashing, then they'll give him reserve minutes.

When he is on a hot streak, he's easily able to put up 50, which makes him one of the more explosive shooters in the league, even if he is incredibly streaky.

20. Andrew Bynum

One thing I've noticed about Andrew Bynum this season is that he has developed incredibly soft hands at some point over the past handful of locked-out months, which to me is one of the most underrated abilities that a big man can have.

Hakeem Olajuwon had some of the softest hands down low that I've ever witnessed, and he was able to dismantle his man when he got the ball on the low block and unleashed something like this.

Now, Bynum doesn't have the fadeaway or the jumper that Hakeem had, but he certainly knows how to go through players to get what he wants. When he does, he explodes through them.

19. Andre Iguodala

Once upon a time, Andre Iguodala would have been a lot closer to the top of this list, but these days he's taken on a more reserved role in the Sixers offense, which has been for the better.

Iggy is still able, however, to get up off the ground and soar through the air like he once did on a nightly basis, and you'll see him on SportsCenter nearly as often as you used to.

Plus, while he's not a great shooter overall, he's got the ability to go on long streaks where he just can't miss.

18. DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan is the rising star that everyone who is a Toronto Raptors fan will gush about for hours if you let them, and for good reason. DeRozan is a really talented young fellow.

Part of that talent comes from his intense athleticism, which allows him to take the ball from anywhere on the floor, dribble into the lane and get up and throw it down with power over anyone that would like to challenge him.

17. LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Aldridge is an interesting combination of size, power, finesse and footwork that makes him the overlooked star that he is today.

There is a time in almost every game that I've seen him play when he'll just get low on his man, give him a little bump, dribble into the lane and just explode down on him like he'd done something wrong.

Plus, for a big man he's got a good jumper that allows him to stretch the defense out and put together a string of shots.

16. Josh Smith

One of the keys to finding an explosive player is finding a guy that just seems mad every time he goes up for a dunk and has that look on his face that makes you think the rim deserved the abuse that it just got.

Josh Smith is that guy.

The constantly-scowling Smith has an innate ability to get up and put the biscuit in the basket with more power than any guy his size other than LeBron James.

15. Rajon Rondo

I think I would go as far as to say that Rajon Rondo is the craftiest point guard in the game today.

He doesn't have a great jumper to fall back on like most of the best point guards in the game, so he's forced to get creative.

Rondo has a crazy-quick first step which allows him to find his way past his man to traverse the paint and get to the rim with relative consistency.

Plus, when he does string together two jumpers in a row, the crowd absolutely freaks out.

14. J.R. Smith

Although he isn't technically in the league at the moment, JR Smith is still a guy that I feel I had to include on this one.

Smith is obviously a great dunker, as he's been a part of the dunk contest twice and is constantly filling the highlight reels breaking down a defender or grabbing a pass and streaking to the hoop.

Beyond that, Smith is an irrational confidence shooter, which allows him to ignore his misses and keep shooting, eventually leading to him finding his stroke.

13. Rudy Gay

Even though Rudy Gay had shoulder surgery last season, he hasn't seemed to have slowed down in the least bit.

Gay is still as good at getting to and abusing the rim as he's always been, which is a huge part of his game.

Beyond that, Gay is a fair shooter and is able to string together a few shots and excite the crowd when he's really feeling it.

12. Monta Ellis

A more confident shooter in the NBA there is not, and sometimes that's what you need to be a great shooter in the league.

Ellis is able to keep shooting, whether he's been making shots or not, and eventually when they start falling, they keep falling.

Beyond that, Ellis is a pretty fair dunker and can get up and put it down, so long as there isn't a guy a foot taller than him around the bucket. 

11. Amar'e Stoudemire

Amar'e isn't the dunker that he once was (dunk contest participant back in 2005), but he can still throw it down with the best of them in the league.

Stoudemire doesn't hang out around the paint as much as he should, but it's for good reason with his ability to shoot from a long distance and absolutely send the Garden into a frenzy when he does it.

10. John Wall

John Wall hasn't been great so far this year, but then again, nobody on the Wizards has been. 

However, as he displayed quite often last season, Wall is capable of getting that first step past his man and getting at the rim, using his athleticism and height (he is 6'4") to get to the rim and throw it down. Plus he's a very streaky shooter with the ability to get on a hot streak at any given time.

9. Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony may be a bit of a dough boy, but don't let that fool you, he's got out-of-shape athleticism. 

He's not a great dunker or that much of an explosive player at the rim, but he does have a bit of hop left in those sneakers.

No, where he really gets the crowd into a frenzy is when he gets on one of his shooting streaks when he can hit shot after shot.

8. Russell Westbrook

When it comes to this new breed of ultra-athletic point guards, Russell Westbrook is probably the prime example of how the athleticism can overtake actual basketball skill at times.

Westbrook is probably the best dunking point guard in the game at this point, and he's able to do so with a quick first step into the lane and a leaping ability that seems more appropriate for a guy four inches taller than him.

Beyond that, Westbrook is the ultimate streak shooter. When he's hot, boy is he hot.

7. Kobe Bryant

Kobe is obviously not the player that he was six years ago, but he's still Kobe freaking Bryant.

There isn't a player in the league as skilled as him at breaking down his man and figuring out how to get the shot he wants; he's been doing it for years.

He can't really get that first step past his defender as well these days to rise up and throw it down, but he's able to get on shooting streaks as well as anyone else in the NBA.

6. Derrick Rose

For a little guy, Derrick Rose is certainly able to explode into the lane and create chaos at any given point in time.

Rose is gifted with an uncanny mix of speed, ball control and athleticism, which allows him to get past his defender and get to the rim like a firecracker.

Plus he's a pretty good shooter, which allows for him to get hot from time-to-time and really bring down the house with a string of jumpers.

5. Dwight Howard

It seems obvious to me that the guy who perennially leads the league in dunks is one of the most explosive players in the league.

He's one of the best at lowering his shoulder, bumping his opponent back just a few inches and then taking off at the rim, sending the arena into an uproar. The only problem is that he can do this a bit to ferociously at times, getting him into foul trouble and complaining about it.

Beyond that, he's one of the best shot blockers in the league, and every time he gets out his fly swatter he sends the ball halfway out of the arena. This may not get his team the ball, but it creates a statement and gets the crowd into a frenzy more than an ordinary block would.

4. Blake Griffin

It's pretty easy at this point to call Blake Griffin the best dunker in the NBA.

Blake is able to jump higher than any man his size should realistically be able to, and is real-life proof that flubber may not be a fictional creation.

Griffin's main offensive tool is his ability to explode at the rim, whether it be to go up to grab an alley-oop or just throw it down or lay it up himself.

If he were able to throw in a consistent jumper, he would be one of the most dangerous players in the league.

3. Dwyane Wade

Take away a few injuries that have hampered Dwyane Wade thus far in his career and he could very well be at the top of this list with the explosive mix of speed, athleticism and skill that he's shown off all too often.

However, after a few surgeries and stints wearing a suit instead of a jersey, he's a bit slower (by, like an eighth of a step) and a tad less athletic.

Still, Wade can glide across the floor, take off as well as almost anyone in the NBA and throw the ball down with power. Plus, he has the ability to get hot from the floor at any given moment in time, making him that much more dangerous and explosive.

2. Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant has made huge strides ever since being drafted to become the player that he is today, and he just seems to be getting better.

Durant is moderately explosive when it comes to him getting into the lane and getting into the rim, but the real explosiveness that he displays comes from him putting up shots.

He showed just how devastating he can be during that Summer League game in Rucker Park when he just kept hitting three after three after three.

1. LeBron James

Is this that much of a surprise to you people out there in the world?

Sure, you can argue that Blake Griffin has more explosive dunks or that guys like Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant can get on hotter hot streaks when shooting, but nobody has the combination of the two like LeBron James.

People knock on LeBron when talking about his offensive game, complaining that his go-to move is his god-given ability to muscle into the lane and get to the hoop. I don't see that being his go-to move being a negative, because he's the best in the league at that.

Beyond that, he's not as bad a shooter as people gripe about him being, and when he gets hot he can make shots from 30 feet out.

This man can single-handedly turn a game around, now if he could only single-handedly close one out.