{"id":3096,"date":"2016-12-24T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2016-12-24T14:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=3096"},"modified":"2017-01-08T20:53:45","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T01:53:45","slug":"nba-most-captivating-players-of-2016-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2016\/12\/24\/nba-most-captivating-players-of-2016-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Most Captivating Players of 2016: Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the 2016 calendar year comes to an end, the LWOS MC50 series captures the 50 most captivating athletes from 2016 in each sport. For LWOPB, we take a look at the 50 NBA players who drew headlines this past year, whether it be for on court accomplishments, off-season drama, or happenings off the court.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here, we analyze the fourth set of 10 players. A new MC50 article will be published every\u00a0Saturday<\/strong>\u00a0morning leading up to the new year.<\/p>\n

NBA Most Captivating Players of 2016: Part 4<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Chandler Parsons<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Chandler Parsons certainly didn’t make headlines in 2016 for his play on the basketball court, as he has struggled to stay healthy all year long. In the summer, however, Parsons agreed to a 4 year, $94 million contract with the\u00a0Memphis Grizzlies<\/strong>. His signing helped convince\u00a0Mike Conley<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to stay in Memphis, who ultimately made NBA history with the richest free agent contract ever (5 years, $153 million). Parsons’ departure from the\u00a0Dallas Mavericks<\/strong>\u00a0signified the end of a short, yet eventful, tenure in Dallas, highlighted by his significant role as a recruiter in the\u00a0DeAndre Jordan<\/a><\/strong> free agency saga a year ago. In 2016 Chandler Parsons signified the beginning of struggles for the Mavericks, while representing, along with new head coach\u00a0David Fizdale<\/strong>, a\u00a0transformed basketball culture in Memphis. Oh, and his relationship with\u00a0Mark Cuban<\/strong> was also a hot topic for the media and fans alike.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qR90vyOtgas<\/p>\n

Blake Griffin<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Blake Griffin was in the news for all the wrong reasons in 2016. While he continued to improve his skill set and work on his jumpshot, Griffin couldn’t get away from altercations, suspensions, and injuries. It was just announced earlier this week that the power forward would miss 4-6 weeks due to knee surgery, and earlier in the year Griffin missed 45 games due to a hand injury and a subsequent suspension. Let’s not forget when Griffin punched a\u00a0Clippers<\/strong> equipment manager, leaving damage to his hand and to his reputation, as the Clippers then suspended Griffin four games without pay as a result\u00a0of the altercation.<\/p>\n