Ranking the Top 10 Stars of the NBA Playoffs So Far
Now well into the 2023 NBA playoffs, the biggest stars of the game's biggest stage are starting to emerge.
To determine the 10 best, we'll use advanced stats as guideposts (though not as determinative of anything). Basic production, team success and wow moments have to be in the cocktail too.
And even with all that accounted for, because so many stars have been so good, it was tough to narrow the field down to 10.
But that's the task, and fresh off another weekend of postseason action, here are the top 10 stars of the playoffs so far.
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10. Jalen Brunson
His New York Knicks suddenly have their backs against the wall, but Jalen Brunson's 24.4 points, 5.1 assists and 94.4 free-throw percentage are a big part of why they cruised by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.
9. Jamal Murray
He hasn't been the most consistent guard in the postseason, but the highs from Jamal Murray are proving worth the wait for Denver Nuggets fans who missed him during his torn-ACL-induced absence. He's topped 30 points four times this postseason, including a 40-point outing in Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
8. LeBron James
You can almost see LeBron James handing the torch to Anthony Davis in real time, but he's still been one of the postseason's biggest stars. He's averaging a double-double (22.1 points and 10.3 rebounds), is second on the Los Angeles Lakers in postseason assists and is already on the verge of exceeding his 2020 total for blocks. L.A., of course, won the title that year.
7. Jayson Tatum
Two poor shooting nights against the Philadelphia 76ers have thoroughly chilled Jayson Tatum's playoff-long numbers, but he looked like someone ready to fight for the "best forward in the league" crown during his first seven postseason contests, when he averaged 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 3.6 threes and 1.1 blocks.
6. Kevin Durant
He's certainly been outshined by his younger teammate, but Kevin Durant is quietly dominating as a scorer and playmaker in his first playoff run with the Phoenix Suns. He's putting up 30.0 points and 5.4 assists, while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 93.8 percent from the free-throw line. And his net rating swing (the difference in a team's net points per 100 possessions when a given player is on or off the floor), is the biggest of any Suns rotation player.
5. Stephen Curry
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The Lakers lead the Golden State Warriors 2-1. FiveThirtyEight's projection system gives them a 66 percent chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Golden State's been at or near the brink of elimination at least twice already—including when it fell down 0-2 to the Sacramento Kings—but if this is it, Stephen Curry doesn't appear ready to go down without a fight.
He had 36 in the Warriors' first win against the Kings. And in the Game 7 that sent Sacramento home, he dropped 50.
It was the most points ever scored in an NBA Game 7.
Even at age 35, Curry is capable of reaching mind-bending statistical heights. And he gets there in ways no one else really can.
The off-ball movement is still unparalleled. The quick trigger on his catch-and-shoot opportunities, combined with the suspense between his release and the swish, is unlike anything else in the sport. And when coach Steve Kerr gets desperate, he allows Curry to show that he can be a menace in pick-and-roll actions too.
In their lone win against the Lakers so far, Curry had 12 dimes. And altogether, he's averaging 30.6 points, 5.2 assists and 4.7 threes, while shooting 56.8 percent on twos and 39.8 percent on threes.
4. Anthony Davis
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If there was a Defensive Player of the Playoffs award, it would almost certainly be headed to Lakers big man Anthony Davis.
Among players with at least 150 minutes, he leads in Defensive RAPTOR (FiveThirtyEight's catch-all metric that incorporates box-score stats, on-off data and tracking data). He also leads that sample in defensive rebounds (11.3) and blocks (4.1) per game.
But his impact obviously goes beyond those numbers. AD has looked more than comfortable dealing with bigs who might spend a little time on the perimeter, like Jaren Jackson Jr. and Draymond Green. He's deterred plenty of would-be attempts inside from ever happening. And his ability to check both of those boxes, often within the same possession, has allowed him to blow up several plays.
What he's done on that end of the floor alone would've been enough to secure him a spot on this list, but Davis has had some monster offensive nights too.
He's gotten to 30 points three times, but his best scoring may not have been one of those. In a Game 3 blowout win over the Warriors, AD dropped 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting, all while handing out three assists for good measure.
All told, he's averaging an eye-popping 21.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, 4.1 blocks, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals in the postseason.
3. Nikola Jokić
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As far as basic stats in this postseason go, they don't get much better than 30.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 1.9 threes.
That's the absurd line being put up by Nikola Jokić, who's already registered three triple-doubles and has had at least a double-double in all but one playoff appearance.
In Friday's seven-point loss to the Phoenix Suns, Jokić was a plus-five and had 30 points, 17 rebounds and 17 assists. Needless to say, no one in NBA history had reached all three of those thresholds in a single playoff game before Jokić did it.
Then, in Sunday's Game 4 loss, he was a plus-two and went off for 53 points and 11 assists.
Unfortunately, this level of production has become common enough from Jokić that we might be taking it for granted. Or perhaps he's now reached the tier of all-timer that almost requires a championship.
No one in the NBA elevates teammates like Jokić does, but we've known that for a couple of years. The only box really left to check is elevating them to a title.
So, why are there still two more players above him here? As ridiculous as Jokić's numbers are, he hasn't quite taken over the postseason to the same degree as the final two.
2. Jimmy Butler
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A sprained ankle cost Jimmy Butler a game against the New York Knicks, and it's certainly subdued his overall numbers a bit, but his first round against the Milwaukee Bucks was the stuff of legends.
Against the top seed in the East, a Milwaukee Bucks team that was forecast to win the NBA championship and had -1200 odds (bet $1200 to win $100) to beat the Miami Heat in that series, Butler almost singlehandedly engineered an upset.
He averaged 30.0 points over the first three games, and then he exploded for a series-defining 56 in Game 4.
Milwaukee led by 14 in that fourth quarter, but it simply had no answer for Butler, who surely sensed the weight of the moment.
In Game 5, the Bucks were up 14 in the fourth again. And again, that proved to be little more than scene setting for Butler. In that one, Butler finished with 42.
That kind of series against anyone would've been historic, but the fact that it came in an 8-1 upset added gravity.
And even with the ankle injury hampering him against New York, Butler's overall playoff numbers (34.4 points, 4.4 assists, 1.7 threes and 1.6 steals) leap off the screen.
1. Devin Booker
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You have to be pretty spectacular to top Jokić and Butler in this activity, and that's exactly what Devin Booker has been.
After dropping 83 points on 34-of-43 shooting in back-to-back home wins over the Nuggets, Booker is averaging 36.8 points, 7.4 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 threes and 2.0 steals, while shooting 65.2 percent from two, 51.0 percent from three and 87.0 percent from the line.
Prior to the start of the Denver series, The Ringer's Bill Simmons wondered if Booker might have a "best player in the world" argument at the end of this postseason. If he maintains production anywhere near that level, and the Suns win the title, he'll absolutely be discussed that way.
He has developed into a prototypical shooting guard. The kind of wing who can just pick a team apart from all over the floor. The form on his jumper is picture perfect. He's an underrated distributor. And over the years, he's become a passable perimeter defender.
His position and team may prevent him from having the kind of heliocentric role that helped boost prime James Harden's advanced numbers, but Booker is dominant in his own way.
And that way has made him the best player in the playoffs so far.
