Ballers Who Can Putt: Ranking the Top 5 Golfers in the NBA

A lot of us consider playing basketball as a leisure time activity, a hobby. However, for NBA players, playing basketball is their profession. Then what do they consider their hobby? Although it might be different for every individual, most of them are known to play golf for entertainment purposes. 

However, as sports entities, they always get competitive with each other. Even though they cannot become Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods overnight, they try to be the best among their gang, to be one of the top golfers in the NBA! 

 Notably, golf handicap is a scoring system that will indicate one’s ability to golf; the lower the number, the better the golfer is. And according to the NBA professionals’ handicap scores, let’s find out who all are the top 5 best golfers in the professional basketball world! 

5. Kent Bazemore

The shooting guard of the LA Lakers, Kent Bazemore, is the fifth on our list with a handicap of 10.2. Recently, he made headlines after tweeting about his stolen golf clubs. He had even offered a good reward for anyone who would find it for him.

After making his debut ten years ago, the 33-year-old is the less experienced NBA professional on our list! Notably, he is also the only one with a handicap score over 10. 

4. J. R. Smith

J. R. Smith had an impressive career and has played as a shooting guard in teams like New York Knicks, and the LA Lakers. However, after retiring from the sport after 17 years, he changed his direction altogether. 

The 36-year-old enrolled at North Carolina AT&T State University and joined its golf teams as a walk-on! He is on the fourth on our list as he has a handicap score of 8.0. Notably, many brands, including Lululemon and NIL, have already started providing him endorsements for his golfing career. 

3. Mike Conley 

After playing in team Memphis Grizzlies for 12 years, Mike Conley joined the Utah Jazz in 2019. Notably, the 34-year-old is known for being consistent, and SportsCasting expects him to be an inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame soon. 

Like many of the other NBA stars, Conley Jr. also loves to play golf and plays better than good. His golf handicap score is 7.0. According to golfeducate.com, the average handicap of a professional golfer ranges from 5 to 8, and considering that Conley is better than a golf professional!

2. Kyle Korver

The former guard forward of the Milwaukee Bucks from 2019 to 2020, Kyle Korver, ranks second in golfing, considering the handicap score. According to reports, the 41-year-old has a handicap score of 4.0. 

Read more: Top 5 Richest Female Golfers of All Time

Notably, the November 2019 edition of the Golf Magazine featured the 1-time NBA Sportsmanship honor winner. The prestigious magazine ranked the former basketball star the second best golfer in the NBA as well. 

Honorable mention

This is a list that contains NBA professionals who are good at golf. Thus, it would be unfair of us not to mention the NBA legend Michael Jordan in it. Notably, his handicap score ranges from 1.3 to 3.

The former Chicago Bulls star player loves golf as much as he is passionate about basketball. In fact, MJ even owns a golf club named the Grove XXIII in Florida.

1. Stephen Curry

Is there anything the Golden State Warriors star point guard can’t do? Apparently, no! As everyone would be aware, the 2-time NBA Most Valuable Player loves playing golf. And he is considered the best among the other NBA professionals. 

According to reports, his handicap score ranges from 0.0 to 2.2. However, it is more likely on the lower side, considering how he recently made the 97-yard eagle at the American Century Championship! 

Other than playing for fun and at the Pro-Am events, Stephen Curry had once played in a Korn Tour event, the 2018 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae, with other professionals. Notably, he couldn’t make the cut at the tournament after scoring 12-over par in the first two rounds. 

Many sports entities love to play golf. Did you find any of the names on the list surprising? Let us know in the comment section below!

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