NBA Playoffs: The Standout Players

We all know that the NBA is littered with talented players but some step up more than others when the crunch time really comes.

The post-season is most definitely the crunch and, in honor of those who have starred, we’ve opted to look at the standout players of the NBA playoffs.

5. Jayson Tatum

Right, kicking off our list of the standout players of the NBA playoffs is Jayson Tatum. In truth, the Boston Celtics have two players that could make a case for slotting into this number five spot. One, which we’ll call an honorable mention, would be Jaylen Brown. The other, who gets the nod in our eyes, is Jayson Tatum.

Tatum has been stepping up defensively along with his averages of 28.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. He also averages 1.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game to show what an all-around talent he is. Sure, you can point to his shooting from the field as a negative; it is a little below average at 43.8% but his 38.6% shooting from behind the arc evens things out.

The forward has helped carry Boston through tough offensive stretches and it’s why they are still alive in the Eastern Conference Finals. According to Bovada’s NBA odds, the Celtics are not the second favorites to win the NBA ring, so who knows if they will go all the way?

4. Jimmy Butler

Next up we have Jimmy Butler. Make no secret about it, Butler does not want to walk away from this postseason with anything less than a Championship in his hands. The Miami Heat forward has been excellent throughout the playoffs having averaged 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

If that isn’t impressive enough, he only turns the ball over 1.7 times a game; that is a fair bit lower than a lot of other stars left in the NBA playoffs. The Heat are now awaiting game one of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics; in no small part that is due to Butler’s incredible play.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo

You can’t write anything about “stars of the present” and not mention this man. Sadly, Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks side were knocked out of contention by the Boston Celtics in game seven.

That loss doesn’t take away from what Antetokounmpo has been able to do though and he’s done it without Khris Middleton on the floor to help him out. The Greek Freak is walking away from the playoffs with averages of 31.7 points, 14.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. His three-point shooting is down to 22.0% but his from the field it was still a pretty darn good 49.1%. It would be a safe assumption that he’ll be back here again next year.

2. Ja Morant

Coming in second is Ja Morant. Unfortunately, Morant suffered an injury, which kept him out of the final two games of the Grizzlies’ playoff series loss against the Golden State Warriors. Even so, you cannot ignore the ridiculous numbers he was putting up before that – and at just 22 years of age. Morant led the playoffs in assists per game at 9.8 and was sinking a very healthy 27.1 points per game as well.

His performances were enough to warrant a Western Conference semifinal showing for the Memphis Grizzlies, which is the first time that’s happened since 2015. On top of that, Morant was just the third player in NBA playoff history to have three straight games of 30 plus points and three-plus steals. The only other two players to do that are Michael Jordan and Russell Westbrook; that’s some good company Morant is in and, for us, he is deserving of his silver medal ranking.

Number 1. Luka Doncic

Last but not least we come to our number one pick for the player who has been the standout name from the NBA playoffs and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s Dallas Mavericks man Luca Doncic; he has been, without doubt, the best player of the playoffs. For one thing, Doncic has taken the Dallas Mavericks further than most people – including them – thought possible by knocking out the Phoenix Suns in the second round.

Don’t just take our word for it though; in ten games this postseason, Doncic is averaging 31.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. He’s shooting the ball at a 48.6% clip from the field and 37.2% from behind the arc.

It doesn’t seem to matter who ends up defending him individually either because, no matter the approach, Doncic ends up getting strong numbers regardless. Phoenix is a good example of that; they threw everybody they possibly could at him but it didn’t matter. For us, carrying your team to victory over the top-seeded Suns deserves the top spot on the list.

There you have it, a look at the standout players from the NBA playoffs. Do you agree with our picks? Let us know below.