13 Reasons You Should Become A British NBA Fan This Year

With the 2015-16 season right around the corner, it's the perfect time to fall in love with basketball.

1. LeBron James

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LeBron is the best basketball player in the world, bar none. He recently returned to his hometown of Cleveland to play for the Cavaliers after a successful stint and two championships with the Miami Heat. We should all appreciate being able to watch someone this great play night in and night out.

2. Better UK television coverage than ever before.

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Remember the good old days of being able to watch the NBA on Channel 4? Me too, but times have changed and now we get better live coverage then ever before in the UK. BT Sport carries 7 live games per week, including all of the coverage from NBA Christmas, Martin Luther King Day, All Star Weekend, the NBA Playoffs and Finals. There's even daily catchup and discussion shows such as NBA Tonight and NBA Inside Stuff shown across BT Sport and ESPN.

If you want even more coverage, you also have the option of NBA's League Pass, which allows you to watch every single game live or on-demand in HD. It's available on your computer, mobile, tablet, games console, Apple TV and just about every other device you can think of.

3. Dunks, dunks and more dunks.

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I'll just leave this here.

4. New fan? Choosing a team to support is fun!

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Deciding which team you're going to support is one of the best parts about becoming a fan of any sport. There's even a handy guide online to help you make up your mind.

The NBA has a great community of fans in the UK. Keep up with the banter throughout the season on Twitter using #NBAintheUK.

5. Kevin Durant

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KD missed most of last season with a foot injury, but the man who is widely regarded as the second best player on the planet is back and his game has gotten even scarier!

6. Buzzer beaters and crazy game finishes.

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There's nothing more exciting than an incredibly tense final few minutes of a basketball game - especially when everything can change in the final second.

7. Unpredictability

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Right now, the NBA Championship is anyone's for the taking. The reigning champions, the Golden State Warriors, are an incredible force but this upcoming season they are going to have their work cut out for them if they want to win back-to-back titles. The Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets are all threats to the Warriors' throne - not to mention LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

8. All Star Weekend

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One of the best events on the NBA calendar, All Star Weekend is three days of pure heaven for hoops fans. Over the weekend, we get to watch the league's best shooters battle it out in the three point contest, enjoy the highlight reel-worthy slam dunk contest and watch the league's best from the Eastern and Western conferences battle it out in the All Star game.

9. Steph Curry

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Curry led the Golden State Warriors to an NBA championship last season and could very well do it again. Check out his handles!

10. NBA Christmas Day

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The NFL may take over televisions at Thanksgiving, but Christmas belongs to the NBA. On Christmas Day, the NBA presents five back-to-back games featuring the league's biggest stars. What's even better is that the action gets underway at 5pm UK time, making it the perfect way to sit back, relax and digest your Christmas dinner. This year, the highlight on Christmas Day is a highly anticipated NBA Finals rematch from last season as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors.

11. You get to watch some fun, cheesy basketball movies...

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12. ...and some classic ones too.

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13. The unforgettable moments.

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The NBA season is full of moments that capture the attention of the sports world, such as Klay Thompson's CRAZY, record-breaking 37 point quarter last season.