Ranking Victor Wembanyama and the Top 10 NBA Stars of the Playoffs So Far
The NBA playoffs are always defined by stars.
OK, so maybe that's true of just about any portion of the basketball calendar, but it feels truest on the game's biggest stage. Perform under these bright lights, and that's how legacies are made.
The lights aren't quite bright enough yet to throw anyone into any all-time categories, but some could be on their way to having a postseason for the ages.
The biggest and brightest performers are heading under the spotlight here to find the top performers to date. While ultimately a subjective exercise, the aim is to objectively reward players for everything from individual brilliance (volume and efficiency) and eye-test acing to team success and on-court impact.
10. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
1 of 10
Nothing about Banchero's numbers looks particularly pretty, but if Orlando completes an upset of the top-seeded Detroit Pistons, hoops historians won't remember (or care) whether the games were aesthetically pleasing or not. The Magic are mucking things up in the best way possible, and Banchero is at the heart of this brute-force beatdown.
His shot has gone haywire (37.3 percent overall, 26.7 percent from three), and he's had a bit of turnover trouble, but he keeps finding ways to make this work. Usually, that means just putting his head down, lowering his shoulders and barreling his way to the basket—or often the foul line, where he's one of two players averaging double-digit trips (along with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander).
Would this be enough against an offense that's less dysfunctional than Detroit's? Maybe not, but that's not the Magic's concern. They're on the brink of authoring the rare 8-over-1 upset and Banchero's quantity-over-quality contributions are a big reason why.
9. Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota Timberwolves
2 of 10
At some point this postseason—possibly even during this round—the Wolves will probably be doomed by Donte DiVincenzo's Achilles tear and Anthony Edwards' knee injury. But they're still clinging to a 3-2 advantage on the Denver Nuggets, and they can thank Dosunmu for that.
While primed to play his simple, subtle support role entering the playoffs, things changed when Minnesota needed a lift, and he's been giving that boost ever since. Over his last three outings, he's averaging 28.7 points on 65.2/61.5/94.7 shooting and 4.7 assists against 1.7 turnovers.
This is, to be clear, way out of the career norm for Dosunmu—"I didn't know he was that damn good," Julius Randle told reporters recently—and he could morph back into a role-playing pumpkin at any moment. But this is a measurement of the brightest stars in the playoffs so far, and he's been shining with the best of them.
8. Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks
3 of 10
This might elicit an eyeroll from New Yorkers who've spent more than a small portion of this postseason waiting for something more from Towns. His involvement and engagement aren't always where his production and pay rate say they should be, though the bigger frustration stems from knowing he's capable of greatness.
And, while this early playoff path hasn't been perfect, he has flashed enough of that greatness to get on this list. In fact, he hasn't finished with fewer than 18 points or eight rebounds yet, and he's had three games with at least four assists, three games with multiple blocks and three games with six-plus free throws.
He has double-doubled in three straight outings—a spurt that included a 20-point, 10-board, 10-assist triple-double—and totaled 20 assists, six steals and four blocks over this stretch. For the postseason, he's posting an absurd 59.3/47.1/90.3 shooting slash
His last two times out, he's had a 21-point, 17-rebound double-double followed by a 20-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double. His playoff shooting slash sits at an absurd 57.4/50/92, and his net differential sits at a whopping plus-16.5 points per 100 possessions. He's been objectively awesome.
7. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
4 of 10
James isn't actually a magician. He can't turn back the clock or reverse his odometer readings. He can't wave his hand and grant Luka Dončić or Austin Reaves a clean bill of health. James is mortal—and 41 years old. And sometimes, he just looks like both of those things, like in Game 4, when he managed only 10 points and nearly matched his nine assists with eight turnovers.
So, how does he still slot in at No. 7? Because prior to that flop, he appeared to be smack dab in the middle of multiple magic acts. Like maybe making the 52-win, fifth-seeded Houston Rockets disappear. Or granting knockout-powered scoring punch to Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart.
James has quarterbacked the heck out of this postseason. He should be running himself ragged, but instead he's just doing any and everything asked of him, like totaling the team's most points, assists, rebounds and free throws or being one of only three players to average at least 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
6. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
5 of 10
Remember that MVP-caliber climb Brown embarked on all season? Well, even though Jayson Tatum is back for some heavy-lifting help now, Brown really hasn't backed off of that effort.
His volume is down a bit, but this is the most involved he's ever been—and probably the most efficient and effective, too. His 25.8 points would easily surpass his career playoff-high, and his 44.4 three-point percentage would obliterate his previous best. His 2.2 combined blocks and steals comprise yet another personal-best.
He and the Celtics will lament their missed opportunity to dispatch the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night—an outcome greatly impacted by Joel Embiid, a candidate for this list had he made more than two appearances so far—but Brown still stands as one of this postseason's top performers, averaging the seventh-most points (25.8) and having the third-highest plus/minus among the top 10 scorers (plus-3.4 points per game).
5. Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
6 of 10
The Cleveland Cavaliers were supposed to be a tough matchup for the Raptors. Of the 16 ESPN experts to pick this series, all 16 sided with the Cavs—and only two had it going the distance. Cleveland held seemingly insurmountable advantages in shot-making and star power, plus it had the kind of length that seemed perfect to disrupt this inside-the-arc attack.
Yet, these teams are even after four games, even though concerns about Toronto's shooting shortage have proven well-founded. How is this happening? Because Barnes, a tone-setting Swiss Army knife, has been the biggest star in the series. He is pacing both teams in points (25.8, tied for seventh overall) and assists (7.3, tied for seventh), and he has attempted more free throws (37) than James Harden and Donovan Mitchell combined (36).
"He's strong, fast and plays with force," RJ Barrett told reporters. "He's just a winning player, man. He scores, he moves the ball, he rebounds, he defends, he does everything out there. He has a killer mentality, but I think the biggest thing right now is he is playing with force, he's really making the defense have to guard him."
4. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
7 of 10
Jokić has rarely looked like himself of late—and still looked like the league's fourth-brightest star. That's the type of all-encompassing talent we're talking about. His Nuggets might be in a hole (down 3-2 to the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves), and his shooting rates might be unrecognizable (42.2 percent overall, 19.4 percent from three), but he's still on the short list of this postseason's most impactful players.
"Jok is Jok," Nuggets coach David Adelman said. "These [small] sample size games and the freakouts when he doesn't play well. You know he's going to play well."
Jokić has played well. Maybe not as efficient as normal, maybe not always as impactful as expected, but the statistical silliness is the same: 10th overall in scoring (25.4), first in rebounds (14.0) and first in assists (9.4). He has two of this postseason's three triple-doubles, and his next outing with fewer than 24 points or a dozen rebounds would be his first.
3. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
8 of 10
Tatum still isn't a full calendar year removed from rupturing his Achilles tendon, but this ranking isn't reflective of any narrative boost or on-a-curve grading. The Celtics swingman just earned this spot with consistent excellence.
Here's the kind of groove he's in: He probably played his worst game on Tuesday night and still finished it with 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three steals. That was his second-lowest point total of the playoffs, and the first time he's tallied fewer than seven assists. He also had a negative plus/minus for the first time, although his minus-9 over 40 minutes was still best among Boston's starters.
By and large, he's been almost unstoppable and invaluable in the Shamrocks' success. He's pumping in 24.6 points per game, posting a 47.7/37/81.5 shooting slash and nearly tripling his 2.8 turnovers with 7.6 assists.
2. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
9 of 10
If not for the concussion that forced Wembanyama to leave one game early and miss another, he might be pushing for the No. 1 spot. Instead, he'll have to settle for silver, a distinction he feels destined to rise above sooner than later.
During his three games that weren't impacted by injury, he totaled 79 points on 60 percent shooting, 31 rebounds, 15 blocks, seven assists and four steals. The Spurs won all three of those games by at least 13 points, and they won his 101 minutes by 52 points. This has felt less like a coming of age than an outright coronation.
This is real cheat-code domination, and it has everyone wondering just how long Wemby's first playoff run might last. He just helped author San Antonio's first series win since 2017, and when he was upright, he made the whole thing seem effortless and, frankly, inevitable. It's no minor miracle that he's sitting anywhere other than the No. 1 spot, but he has been outshined by one elite.
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
10 of 10
This should surprise absolutely no one. Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP and Finals MVP, and he's favored to recapture both pieces of hardware this season. He piloted the first round's only sweep and stood as the most obvious source of that success.
"He's the MVP of the league," Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker told reporters, "and he's playing the best basketball in the league for the past two years."
If the start of this postseason is any indication, the gap between SGA and the rest might be widening. His league-leading (by a mile) 33.8 points are fully supported by a 55.1 field-goal percentage, his 8.0 assists (fourth-most) nearly quadruple his 2.3 turnovers and his playoff-high 11 free throws, which he converts at an 89.8 percent clip, are at least three more than anyone else has averaged.
He is generating a this-can't-possibly-be-real 0.409 win shares per 48 minutes so far. Among the 101 players to log at least 75 minutes this postseason, no one else is sitting above 0.335 and only 13 other players are even clearing 0.200. Much like the Thunder team he leads, he's just on a different level right now.
*Statistics used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference and are current through Tuesday's games.
