The Most Confident Players in the NBA
Perhaps more than anyone else in the history of sports, Michael Jordan was the picture of confidence.
In a 2009 article Jordan co-wrote for Golf Digest, he talked about the parallels between his basketball career and a round of golf. On confidence, Jordan said, "If you have 100 percent confidence that you can pull off a shot, most of the time you will."
You get a sense of that attitude in today's NBA when you see Stephen Curry pull up for a three in transition, Damian Lillard launch a game-winner or Kobe Bryant put up his signature fadeaway.
Those three, along with the rest of the players on this list, are the most confident players in the league.
Damian Lillard
1 of 8
In just his fourth season in the NBA, Lillard has already established himself as one of the league's premier big shot makers.
After what was likely his most famous buzzer-beater (a series-winning three over the Houston Rockets in 2014), Hardwood Paroxysm's Jack Maloney wrote about Lillard's confidence:
"...what stuck with me was the way he came whipping around that screen, clapping and demanding the ball. And then after it went in, the stone cold mean mug he gave everyone like that was just another shot he knew he could make...
Lillard’s confidence shone through both before and after The Shot, and now that I’ve thought about it for a few minutes, that’s always what’s shone through with Lillard. He knows he’s capable of making big-time shots, and he’s proven it time and again... His confidence is more important than any of the numerous skills he has, because without that steadfast belief in himself, everything else is irrelevant. Damian Lillard is the embodiment of confidence, and that’s going to lead to a lot more moments like The Shot.
"
Indeed, that confidence has produced plenty more exciting moments and it's carrying him through his first season as the unquestioned lead dog of the Portland Trail Blazers.
After losing four starters in the offseason, the Blazers were supposed to have a one-way ticket to the lottery. But behind Lillard's career-high 25.7 points per game, Portland is firmly in the playoff picture.
Kevin Durant
2 of 8
This past September, Kevin Durant matter-of-factly stated, "Yes, I'm still the best player in the world." To believe that after the string of injuries Durant suffered takes Jordan-esque confidence. And having that level of confidence is paying off for KD this season.
Durant's scoring average of 27.8 ranks third and his Player Efficiency Rating of 28 ranks second. His True Shooting Percentage of .634 is the second-highest he's ever posted in his career.
And much like Lillard, Durant's confidence shines even brighter in the big moments. In the clutch (defined by NBA.com as the time when a game is within five points and in the last five minutes), Durant is averaging 39.7 points per 36 minutes and shooting 44.2 percent from the field.
James Harden
3 of 8
In a 2014 interview for ESPN, Scoop Jackson asked James Harden, "...who is the best basketball player alive right now?"
Harden's response? "Myself."
Whether you agree with him or not, it's tough to believe that Harden doesn't truly think he's the best in the world. The proof is in the numbers.
Harden is 17th in field-goal attempts per 100 possessions, second in free-throw attempts per 100 possessions and second in usage.
Regardless of who's in front of him, Harden attacks. And there are few, if any, who can slow him down. The best-case scenario for a defender might be sending Harden to the line, where he wants to be anyway.
LeBron James
4 of 8
LeBron James has been at the top of the NBA for over a decade, and he's showing few signs of slowing down. A big part of why he has maintained such a high standard of excellence: his confidence.
Jerry Barca of Forbes put it this way:
"One it factor for everyone to take away is LeBron’s confidence. There is nothing anyone can say that will shake him. There’s nothing he can do—missed shot, bad pass, getting beat on defense—that will break his belief in himself. He does not live in the negative. Not for [a] second, not for a millisecond. In the face of any possible negative, all that he responds with in his words and actions is belief, belief and more belief in himself.
"
That unwavering belief in himself was one of the driving factors behind his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014. Plenty of players would love to bring a title to their hometowns, but LeBron's among the only ones who actually has the talent and confidence to make it a real possibility.
Kawhi Leonard
5 of 8
Kawhi Leonard represents something of a departure from the kind of confidence possessed by the rest of the players on this list.
His is a quiet brand of belief described perfectly by his coach Gregg Popovich (via Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News):
"He stole it from Curry the other night, just took it from him and went down and dunked it, and his expression did not change. He didn't raise his fist or look cool to the crowd or do any of this stupid-a—s stuff. He didn't do a thing. He just goes the other direction, like he's bored to death. I love that about him.
"
Watch any San Antonio Spurs game this season, and you're likely to see Leonard dominating on both ends of the floor, while displaying that "bored to death" look on his face.
It's not necessarily that he really is bored (maybe he is), it's almost as though his level of dominance is something he expects of himself.
Kobe Bryant
6 of 8
In 2014, Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard relayed a story about Kobe Bryant that revealed everything you need to know about his confidence.
"Gotham Chopra, the director of 'Kobe Bryant’s Muse', an upcoming documentary on Bryant, told a story about being with Kobe and watching the Nets and the Heat play. Recounts Chopra, 'Deron Williams went like 0-for-9. I was like, ‘Can you believe Deron Williams went 0-9?’ Kobe was like, ‘I would go 0-30 before I would go 0-9. 0-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game, because Deron Williams can get more shots in the game. The only reason is because you've just now lost confidence in yourself.’
"
For better or worse (mostly worse this season), Bryant's taken that attitude into every game. Among players who've logged at least 10,000 career minutes, Bryant's average of 27.8 field-goal attempts per 100 possessions ranks third all time.
And despite an inability to actually hit his shots, Bryant hasn't slowed down this season. In fact, he's shooting more than usual, hoisting 28.6 attempts per 100 possessions.
In total, Bryant's taken 900 shots in 2015-16. Of the 2,214 individual seasons in the three-point era with at least that many attempts, Bryant's field-goal percentage of 35.6 ranks 2,214th.
As Wayne Gretzky (and later, Michael Scott) put it: "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take."
Russell Westbrook
7 of 8
In September of 2014, Russell Westbrook told ESPN's Royce Young that he believes he's the best point guard in the NBA. A year and a half's worth of improvement later, it's hard to believe Westbrook no longer feels that way.
This season, he's fifth in usage, ninth in free-throw attempts per 100 possessions and ninth in field-goal attempts per 100 possessions. All that, while splitting touches with Durant.
Beyond the numbers, the primary manifestation of Westbrook's confidence may be the way he plays. Forget the 110 percent cliche, Westbrook goes at least 150. The ferocity with which he attacks opposing defenses, especially in transition, is unrivaled.
Stephen Curry
8 of 8
Shot selection is perhaps the greatest tangible indicator of Curry's confidence. This season, he's 16-of-32 on shots from beyond 30 feet.
No one else in the league has made more than three shots from that range. Lillard is second in attempts from there with 15. And the total for every player in the NBA not named Stephen Curry is 63-of-841 (7.5 percent).
That's right, Stephen Curry's shooting 50 percent from a range where the rest of the league is shooting 7.5 percent. He has the confidence to not only take, but make, shots that no one else should even think about.
And after he hits them (or most other shots, for that matter), Curry's playful celebrations are a further manifestation of his bravado.
Certainly, the belief in himself is more than warranted. Curry was the MVP and took his team to an NBA title in 2015. He should be the league's first unanimous MVP in 2016, and his team is on pace to set the record for most wins in a single season.
Whether those results were the product of confidence or vice versa, there's no way Curry could have one without the other.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com, unless otherwise noted.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
.jpg?w=600 "New NBA Mock Draft 📝")