The NBA is really fun to watch this year. I haven’t enjoyed watching the Association this much since the late great Kobe Bryant was in his prime.

There are plenty of established stars doing their thing plus a slew of youngsters showing out and promising a bright future.

Rather than make this a super long post about every little thing I’ve loved about the NBA so far this season, which is almost a quarter of the way through, I’ll give you some quick hits to consider.

The Toronto Raptors are good again. Like actually darn pretty good. And more than that, they’re just fun to watch. Their own Big 3 of Scottie Barnes, Canadian RJ Barrett, and Brandon Ingram are killing it, the supporting cast is doing their thing – love me the Jamal Shead energy – and coach Darko Rajakovic might be the most interesting guy in the league.

The reigning champs could actually be better than last year. Seriously, Oklahoma City looks nigh unbeatable at 17-1. Defending League and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) is averaging 32.2 points, 4.9 boards, and 6.6 dimes a game. Oh, and he’s Canadian if you haven’t heard. They’re also stacked at every position and possibly their second best player Jalen Williams (all due respect to Chet Holmgren) has been injured so far.

Five of the Top 10 players in the league, as it has been for a few years now, are from Canada or Europe. It warms my European-Canadian heart. This group is led by the aforementioned SGA, the Los Angeles Lakers Slovenian magician Luka Doncic, and the walking triple double known as the Denver Nuggets’ Serbian superstar Nikola Jokic. Before a calf injury sat him down for a few weeks, Frenchman Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) looked like the most dominant force in the NBA. Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) is a 30-10-6 machine, while Finland’s Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz) is easily a top 20 player in the NBA.

Denver looks ready to make another title run this year. Picking up Jonas valanciunas might be the best move of any team last offseason. The former Raptor is eating minutes, playing strong defense, grabbing boards, and providing just enough points to let Jokic rest more than he ever has before in regular season. The result is a rejuvenated Jokic being dominant, having fun, and looking fresh each and every game. With a great supporting cast led by Kitchener’s Jamal Murray, the Nuggets could very well be ready to take down the Thunder.

The kids are alright! This year’s NBA rookie class is ridiculously deep. There is a serious group of next level talents making waves already in their first year of professional basketball action. Kon Knueppel (Charlotte), VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia), Cooper Flagg (Dallas), Ace Bailey (Utah), Cedric Coward (Memphis), and Derik Queen (New Orleans) are worth the price of admission. There are plenty more young guns with three or less years of experience ready to carry the league for years as well.

The NBA Cup. Okay, it took a few years for me to get into it, but I’ve been watching a lot of the in-season tournament games and it’s got me hooked. The players are taking it seriously, there have been a good amount of must-see TV games go down to the wire, and the Raptors have won their Group Stage group. It would be fantastic to see the Dinos win their quarterfinal in a few weeks and be part of the final four in Las Vegas.

The old guys to cheer for. LeBron James is nearing the end of his storied career, as is Steph Curry, James Harden, Russel Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and many other soon-to-be legendary players. It’s a last chance to see them play live or even watch a few of their games against each other on TV. When the playoffs arrive in April, it’s going to be hard to figure out which one to cheer for to win a final or even very first title.

These are but a few of the reasons the NBA is so much fun to watch this season. If you haven’t been tuning in, it may be time to start.