With the 2024 NBA Finals wrapping up, the league has now completed 77 playoff runs (when you count the days of the Basketball Association of America).
That means there’s a heck of a sample to draw from when determining the best playoff performers of all time.
And that’s exactly what Bleacher Report’s done for you below.
But before we dive into the final order, a word on how we got here.
Numbers were certainly consulted, both basic and advanced. Unfortunately, the most consistently accurate and readily available catch-all, box plus/minus, only tracks back to 1973-74, so that wasn’t initially in the mix for an “all-time” list (though you’ll certainly see mention of it for individual players below).
Instead, we used win shares, win shares per 48 minutes, player efficiency rating, a simple combination of points, rebounds and assists per game and minutes played to get a baseline. All 1,758 players with at least 100 career playoff minutes were sorted by the average of their ranks in those five categories.
Using both rate and cumulative numbers gave everyone credit for peaks and longevity. And that second part is important. On little more than box plus/minus or points per game, a player like Anthony Edwards would absolutely belong in the top 50, but making an all-time list like this requires staying power.
From there, subjectivity, trophies and championships took over for the final tweaks of the order.
That led to some pretty painful omissions, including James Worthy, Patrick Ewing and Paul Pierce.
And that doesn’t even begin to cover all the potential misses here. You certainly have a few in mind, and you’re free to electronically (or otherwise) argue for them.
But Bleacher Report’s definitive top 50 won’t wait for those arguments to resolve. The entire list can be found below.
Two-Time NBA Champion, 1977 Finals MVP
Doesn’t Qualify for the Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus Leaderboard
Let’s start with a hint of controversy.
Throughout the rest of this list, you’ll see where the player in question ranks on the league’s career playoff box plus/minus (or win shares per 48 minutes) leaderboard. And, as you can read, Bill Walton didn’t have enough playoff action to qualify.
Injuries completely derailed what might’ve been one of the greatest careers in NBA history, but we’re making an exception because of how dominant Walton was when healthy.
In 1977, he led the Portland Trail Blazers to an unlikely title with averages of 18.2 points, 15.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 3.4 blocks and 1.1 steals
But between then and 1986, injuries limited him to just two playoff games and an average of 13.5 points. The story wasn’t over, though. Walton was the Sixth Man of the Year for the 1985-86 season, and he played a real role on the way to his second championship that summer.
23rd in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Like Walton, Anfernee Hardaway’s playoff career was severely limited by injuries, but he had a bit more of a runway first.
Over his first six postseason runs (which actually included a stint with the Phoenix Suns), Hardaway averaged 21.5 points, 6.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.6 threes and 0.8 blocks, while shooting 38.3 percent from deep.
In 1995, he was one half of one of the game’s most dynamic young duos. Alongside Shaquille O’Neal, he made the playoffs as a 23-year-old with the Orlando Magic.
Had his body not betrayed him, Hardaway may well have gone down as one of the greatest jumbo point guards ever.
42nd in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
There’s plenty of focus on the overconfidence that often led to recklessness in the playoffs.
Being sixth in career playoff usage percentage and 318th in career playoff true shooting percentage isn’t the best recipe for success. And that could certainly be part of why he hasn’t won a title.
But Westbrook is also one of the absolute best force-of-will producers in NBA history.
For his career, he’s averaged 23.6 points, 7.5 assists and 7.0 rebounds in the playoffs. And even if he’s had some shocking late-game moments and some contests he shot his teams out of, they were generally better when he played.
In 13 postseasons, Westbrook’s teams are plus-0.9 points per 100 possessions with Russ on the floor and minus-5.8 when he’s off (though that net rating swing is negative in seven of the 13 runs).
1995 NBA Champion
25th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Decades after both retired, it feels terribly unfair that Clyde Drexler was so often compared to Michael Jordan. On his own merits, Drexler was one of the greatest players and playoff performers in NBA history.
From 1985 through 1994, Drexler led the Blazers to two Finals and had postseason averages of 22.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.9 blocks. He lost to a pair of all-time teams in the 1990 Detroit Pistons and 1992 Chicago Bulls, but Portland never would’ve gotten that far without Drexler.
In 1995, he finally won a championship, though detractors probably don’t give it as much weight, since he was Hakeem Olajuwon’s No. 2, but 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in that postseason is nothing to sneeze at.
37th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Scoring efficiency was always be among the talking points when discussing Allen Iverson and his legacy. In his playoff career, he shot just 42.0 percent from two-point range and 32.7 percent from deep. He took 26.5 shots per game.
And while that volume generally lifted his teams in the regular season, in the playoffs, they were minus-2.9 points per 100 possessions with Iverson on the floor and plus-4.7 when he was off.
But 29.7 points is 29.7 points, and that’s what AI averaged in the postseason. That mark is good for third all time, behind only Michael Jordan and Luka Dončić.
And it was the product of several absurd playoff scoring stretches. In 2001 alone, Iverson led a Philadelphia 76ers team devoid of star power after him to the Finals with averages of 32.9 points, 6.1 assists and 2.4 steals.
33rd in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Like Iverson, Reggie Miller never broke through for a title, but he did lead his team to one Finals appearance, where his championship dreams were snuffed out by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
The similarities don’t go much further than that, though.
AI was a high-volume, low-efficiency scorer who was also his team’s primary playmaker. Miller was a hyper-efficient scorer who was also one of the most dynamic off-ball players the game has ever seen.
Miller was seemingly in constant motion throughout possessions, whether he was handling or not. And when he got himself open, opponents generally paid.
From 1990 through 2002, Miller averaged 23.5 points and 2.5 threes, while shooting 40.8 percent from deep.
During that stretch, there were only 15 players who averaged at least that many points in the playoffs, and Miller led that group in true shooting percentage.
2022 Eastern Conference Finals MVP
46th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
This may feel a little premature to some, but it’s hard to argue Jayson Tatum won’t be even higher on lists like this by the time he’s done.
No player in NBA history scored more playoff points before his 27th birthday. In seven total seasons, he’s made five conference finals and two NBA Finals. And of course, in 2024, he won the title.
Tatum has already emerged as one of the game’s steadiest playoff performers, and he still has several prime years left to add to the resume.
2024 Western Conference Finals MVP
4th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Luka Dončić is only 25 years old. He’s been to the playoffs just four times. But no, it’s not too early to have him on this list.
The basic numbers that lead to that box plus/minus rank almost don’t seem real. Through 47 playoff games, he’s putting up 31.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.6 steals, while shooting 35.8 percent from deep.
And in those contests, his teams are plus-1.4 points per 100 possessions when he plays, compared to minus-8.0 when he doesn’t.
There are no guarantees in the NBA, but that’s the kind of resume that almost screams eventual champion.
1958 NBA Champion
50th in Career Playoff Win Shares per 48 Minutes
We’ll get more into this later, but analysis has to be done on a bit of a curve with the players who peaked prior to the 1970s. It was almost an entirely different sport back then. The league was also younger (or in the case of the period when Bob Pettit played, in its infancy). The talent pool was nowhere near as deep.
But even with those caveats in place, it’s impossible to ignore Pettit’s production. Over the course of nine playoff runs for the St. Louis Hawks, Pettit put up 25.5 points, 14.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
When he retired in 1965, Pettit was first all time in total career playoff points. And even after the nearly 60 years of history that have been layered on since, he’s still in 52nd place on that leaderboard.
2004 NBA Champion, 2004 Finals MVP
44th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Chauncey Billups earned the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” by repeatedly coming up clutch in the highest-leverage moments, including a run of nine straight postseasons in which he made seven conference finals and two NBA Finals.
During those years, he put up 18.2 points, 6.0 assists, 1.9 threes and 1.1 steals in the playoffs.
His teams were far better when he was on the floor for those runs, and in the five 2004 Finals games, he was plus-45 against a heavily favored Lakers team that included Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
Four-Time NBA Champion
36th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Few players better represent the gulf between basic production and actual impact than Manu Ginóbili (though another candidate for that honor is in the next slide).
For his postseason career, he averaged 14.0 points, 3.8 assists and 1.5 threes, while shooting 35.8 percent from deep.
But he played a very specific role for a team that dominated through structure. There weren’t many opportunities for anyone to get too creative for those dynastic San Antonio Spurs teams, but creativity may have been Manu’s greatest attribute.
The element of chaos he introduced to games off the bench (or during his occasional starts) made the Spurs less predictable. He took pressure off Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. And he could completely take over when necessary.
That happened more often earlier in his career. From 2005 through 2011, he averaged 18.8 points, 4.1 assists and 1.8 threes in just 32.8 minutes per game in the playoffs.
1972 NBA Champion (kind of)
115th in Career Playoff Win Shares per 48 Minutes
Elgin Baylor played just nine regular-season games in 1971-72 before retiring. And then, the Lakers went on to win the 1972 title. He’s not in the history books as an official champion, but those nine games were enough to eventually get him a ring for that year.
But of course, that’s not why he’s here. He didn’t even play in a playoff game in 1972.
But before then, he averaged 27.0 points, 12.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists in his playoff career. In his first five postseasons, he put up 33.6 points and 14.6 rebounds.
One of basketball’s legitimate game-changing talents, Baylor’s athleticism and vertical explosiveness altered the landscape of the NBA. And if his career hadn’t overlapped almost perfectly with Bill Russell and his superteam Boston Celtics, he almost certainly would’ve had more rings.
Three-Time NBA Champion
68th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
It took a few years for him to grow into the role most remember him for, but Kevin McHale eventually became a critical component of one of the best and most notable teams in NBA history.
From 1984 through 1993, the master of the up-and-under won two of his three titles and had postseason averages of 20.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, while making 56.4 percent of his two-point attempts.
During that span, Charles Barkley was the only player in the league who had at least 1,000 two-point attempts and exceeded that two-point percentage.
48th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Karl Malone’s playoff failures are discussed an awful lot more than his successes. And to an extent, that’s probably fair. He and Steve Nash are the only two-time MVPs in NBA history without a championship.
But he also made it two NBA Finals. And he appeared in a whopping 19 different postseasons. He’s fourth all time in career playoff wins over replacement player, behind only LeBron James, Michael Jordan and teammate John Stockton. He’s third all time in playoff points, seventh in rebounds and 62nd in assists.
It probably makes sense to put a little more weight on peak over longevity when discussing playoff resumes, but Malone’s longevity is just absurd.
Over those 19 playoff runs, he averaged 24.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists. In 13 of them, he got to at least 100 points, 50 rebounds and 10 assists. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (16), LeBron James and Tim Duncan (15 each) had more such postseasons.
19th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Speaking of longevity.
John Stockton was the offensive architect behind most of those Malone postseasons. And over 20 years after his retirement, he’s still third all time in career playoff assists and fifth in career playoff steals.
From 1998 through 2002, he averaged a seemingly impossible 14.1 points, 10.9 assists and 1.9 steals in the playoffs. If you narrow that sample to 1988 through 1995, those numbers swell to 16.6 points, 12.6 assists and 2.2 steals.
And though he never won a championship, Stockton led plenty of deep playoff runs for the Utah Jazz. He’s 21st all time in career minutes played in the conference finals.
2022-23 Eastern Conference Finals MVP
24th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Jimmy Butler is still an active player, and he’s yet to win an NBA title. Having him tip off the list may ruffle some feathers, but that’s how good he’s been in the playoffs throughout his career.
Butler spent his first three playoff runs in a pretty limited role, but since then, he has postseason averages of 23.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals.
In the five years he’s been with the Miami Heat, he’s led two improbable runs to the NBA Finals without a single superstar teammate (depending on how you classify Bam Adebayo).
And though he’s done plenty to earn acclaim during the regular season, he’s long been known for finding an entirely different level when the playoffs start.
Butler’s competitiveness, on-ball defense, playmaking and scoring often look borderline maniacal on the game’s biggest stage.
Nikola Jokić and Jayson Tatum are the only players in the NBA with more playoff wins over replacement player than Butler since he joined the Heat.
14th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
This is another selection that may surprise some people. Over the years, Chris Paul’s playoff failures have received far more coverage than his successes. And that’s fine. He’s been on some stacked rosters, and he hadn’t made the conference finals till his 13th season.
Of course, he still hasn’t won a title either.
But when you comb through the annals of NBA history, you won’t find many point guards, let alone undersized ones, who’ve led their teams to championships. You also won’t find many who were as productive in their postseason minutes as CP3’s been.
In his first six playoff runs, he averaged 20.6 points, 9.7 assists and 2.4 steals, while shooting 50.6 percent on twos and 38.0 percent from deep.
His role downsized a bit after that, but he’s still put up 19.7 points and 7.5 assists, while making two conference finals and one NBA Finals since then.
At this point, if he does sneak in a championship before he retires, it’ll certainly be as a supporting player, but he was unbelievably productive during his prime.
Four-Time NBA Champion
45th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
During their nine postseasons together, the Golden State Warriors are plus-9.6 points per 100 possessions when Draymond Green and Stephen Curry are both on the floor. When Curry plays without Green, that number plummets to plus-1.7 (and it’s plus-7.6 when Green played without Curry).
In layman’s terms, it’s almost impossible to imagine the Warriors winning those four championships without Green.
He’s never been anywhere near a high-volume scorer, but he’s arguably the best and most versatile defender of his generation. He’s a ferocious rebounder for his size. And his playmaking unlocks the Splash Brothers and allows Curry to dominate as an off-ball mover and catch-and-shoot threat.
In 157 career playoff games, Green has averaged 11.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists. Larry Bird, Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Nikola Jokić are the only players in NBA history who match or exceed all three marks.
Six-Time NBA Champion
34th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Michael Jordan rightly and understandably gets the bulk of the credit for the Chicago Bulls’ two threepeats in the 1990s, but he didn’t win any championships before Scottie Pippen arrived.
Just three seasons after Pippen was drafted, the rings started piling up. And Pippen’s playmaking, slashing and defensive versatility were huge reasons why.
From 1991 through 1999 (a stretch that included one run with the Houston Rockets), Pippen averaged 19.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.9 blocks in the playoffs.
1975 NBA Champion, 1975 Finals MVP
35th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Rick Barry’s most dominant playoff runs came when he was in the ABA. From 1970 through 1972, he averaged 33.5 points in the postseason, but we’re focusing strictly on the NBA here.
But even if a detour through the other league limited the volume, Barry’s NBA playoff numbers are pretty ridiculous.
In five postseasons with the Golden State (and San Francisco) Warriors, Barry averaged 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
And in 1975, he won a title and Finals MVP. In the last series, a sweep of the Washington Bullets, he put up 29.5 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game.
Five-Time BAA/NBA Champion
2nd in Career Playoff Win Shares per 48 Minutes
Another one of the game’s early pioneers, George Mikan completely dominated the league in the 1950s.
In the six playoff runs he had prior to his first retirement, Mikan won five titles and averaged 24.5 points, 14.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the playoffs.
And his legacy goes far beyond the numbers and the fact that he got the tally started on the Lakers’ title count. To this day, developing players all over the world still do the Mikan Drill in an effort to improve their touch around the rim.
1983 NBA Champion
30th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Julius Erving had his most impressive playoff runs in the ABA. From 1972 to 1976, he put up 31.1 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.6 steals.
But even if he wasn’t quite at that level after the jump to the NBA, Erving still had some monster postseasons and won a championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983.
That title capped a stretch of seven playoffs in which he put up 23.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.7 steals.
And as if that championship wasn’t enough on its own, Philadelphia had to beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson near the peak of their collective powers to get it.
15th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
One more player who never won a title, and Charles Barkley may be at the very top of that list of names.
He certainly had his share of close calls, including the 1993 NBA Finals against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, but Barkley obviously never came through. And that’s often the first line in discussions about his legacy.
But it probably doesn’t need to be.
Basketball is a team sport, and Barkley did his part in just about every playoff run during his peak. From 1986 to 1996, Barkley played for the 76ers and Suns and averaged 25.8 points, 13.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks in the playoffs.
And that stretch included the 1994 postseason, when he led the league in box plus/minus.
2020 NBA Champion
11th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Anthony Davis wasn’t able to break through and win it all until he joined LeBron James, but it really wouldn’t be accurate to call him the second option on that team.
At least in terms of scoring options, this is more of a 1A-1B situation. During the 2020 playoffs, which ended with a Los Angeles Lakers title, AD led the team in points per game at 27.7. He also added 9.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals.
And for his entire postseason career, he’s put up 26.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.3 steals.
He was never able to take his New Orleans Pelicans on a deep playoff run, but few players across NBA history have been able to do that as a lone superstar.
Almost immediately after joining another big name, he won a championship with his elite rim protection, rebounding and finishing around the rim.
1971 NBA Champion
29th in Career Playoff Win Shares Per 48 Minutes
Long regarded as one of the most productive guards to ever play in the NBA, Oscar Robertson’s monster numbers dipped a bit in the playoffs, but he was still dominant.
From 1962 to 1967, he averaged 29.7 points, 9.4 assists and 9.3 rebounds in the playoffs, but those runs happened while the Boston Celtics were winning titles almost annually with Bill Russell.
Robertson didn’t get his lone championship until he moved from the Cincinnati Royals to the Milwaukee Bucks and picked up a teammate by the name of Lew Alcindor (who’d change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the following fall).
By that time, Robertson was no longer his team’s alpha, but he did lead it in assists per game, and his playmaking freed up Abdul-Jabbar to dominate as a scorer.
Two-Time NBA Champion
12th in Career Playoff Win Shares Per 48 Minutes
Walt Frazier’s raw numbers don’t leap off the screen quite like Robertson’s, but he won two titles. And for the second one, he was almost certainly the New York Knicks’ best player over the course of the postseason.
Willis Reed won Finals MVP in 1973, but his playoff-long averages of 12.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists fell well shy of Frazier’s 21.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
The big man in this duo may have gotten more accolades, but Frazier was the offensive engine. And even on a loaded team that included fellow Hall of Famers Dick Barnett, Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley, he was capable of taking over a playoff game like few across history ever have.
In Game 7 of the 1970 Finals, Frazier had 36 points, 19 assists and seven rebounds. He was 12-of-17 from the field and 12-of-12 from the line.
“[Knicks coach Red Holzman] told me to start to look to do more offensively,” Frazier later recalled. “Most of the time, I was the guy who was trying to hit the open, but this particular night, I was the open man. I was taking my shots, I was coming up with steals, there’s no question that was my greatest performance ever.”
Eight-Time NBA Champion, 1974 Finals MVP
111th in Career Playoff Win Shares Per 48 Minutes
As you can see, the advanced numbers don’t love John Havlicek’s playoff numbers, but those aren’t everything.
From 1963 through 1976, Havlicek won eight titles and was second among Boston Celtics in playoff points per game at 22.2 and fourth in assists per game at 4.7.
And you can’t simply chalk up all his rings to playing with Russell, because his career lasted beyond Russell’s retirement, and he may have had his best individual postseason run alongside Dave Cowens.
In the 1974 playoffs, Havlicek led the Celtics to a championship with a team-high 27.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and a team-high 6.0 assists. And he capped that run by winning Finals MVP in a series that included Cowens, Jo Jo White, Abdul-Jabbar and Robertson.
2008 NBA Champion
32nd in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Kevin Garnett spent his physical peak with a Minnesota Timberwolves squad that was never really built to make deep playoff runs.
In eight postseasons there, he appeared in 47 playoff games and averaged 22.3 points, 13.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals.
He was a true basketball revolutionary who deserves more credit than he’s gotten for helping to usher in today’s more positionless game.
At the time, Garnett’s ability to anchor a defense, dominate the boards, run the break on offense and score like a No. 1 option was a unique combination.
But again, those wide-ranging skills weren’t enough to turn Minnesota into a perennial contender.
Once he was traded to the star-studded Celtics, his individual numbers tailed off a bit (though 17.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks is nothing to sneeze at), but increased focus on defense helped him win a title in 2008.
Two-Time NBA Champion
17th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
David Robinson didn’t change teams, but like Garnett, he wasn’t able to win a ring until after a pretty dramatic change in situation.
Prior to Tim Duncan’s arrival, Robinson’s numbers were huge—23.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals—but he only had one conference finals appearance. And Hakeem Olajuwon dominated him in that series.
Once he got that star-level help from Duncan, his numbers dipped, but he was still a defensive force and solid passer for a big.
And finishing his career with two titles and a top-20 playoff box plus/minus makes him a pretty obvious inclusion on this list.
1983 NBA Champion
86th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Moses Malone is another player whose advanced numbers suggest he shouldn’t make the cut, but basketball is obviously about more than those.
At 26.0 points per game, Malone was the leading scorer of one of the most dominant playoff teams in NBA history. And as if that wasn’t enough, he also averaged 15.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.5 steals for that squad that went 12-1 in the postseason.
And those marks weren’t far from his averages over the course of a decade-plus stretch from 1977 to 1989, when he put up 23.1 points, 14.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.
His scoring efficiency may leave a bit to be desired, but he made up for that with volume and dominance of the offensive glass.
Three-Time NBA Champion, 2006 Finals MVP
29th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Dwyane Wade won two of his three titles as a super second option, but he was truly dominant throughout his six playoff runs prior to LeBron James’ arrival with the Miami Heat.
From 2004 to 2010, Wade averaged 26.3 points, 6.0 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks. And in the 2006 Finals, which ended with him hoisting a Finals MVP trophy, he put up 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.0 blocks as a 24-year-old.
Throughout his peak, Wade’s slashing, playmaking and finishing made him one of the game’s most dynamic and dangerous offensive players. And though he was only 6’4″, he had the ability to guard multiple positions and even protect the rim a bit.
Two-Time NBA Champion, 1990 Finals MVP
20th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
As noted on the CP3 slide, traditional point guards don’t typically dominate in the NBA, particularly in the playoffs. But Isiah Thomas undoubtedly bucked that trend for the Detroit Pistons.
From 1984 to 1980, Thomas played in 88 playoff games and averaged 21.7 points, 9.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals. He ended that run with back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990 and a Finals MVP 1990.
Thomas had a lightning-quick first step and a knack for getting where he wanted to go on just about every offensive possession. And when we talk about “playoff risers,” there might not be a better example than Thomas.
During the regular season, he had a career box plus/minus of 2.6, which is roughly around the range of a “good starter.” In that run from ’84 to ’90, he was at 6.9, which is somewhere between All-NBA and MVP level.
2021 NBA Champion, 2021 Finals MVP
5th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
If we were only dealing with peaks here, Giannis Antetokounmpo would probably have to be higher. Beyond that top-five box plus/minus, he’s averaged a whopping 26.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals per game in his playoff career.
And what he did in the 2021 NBA Finals was one of the greatest single-series performances in NBA history. He closed out the Phoenix Suns with a 50-point performance and averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals over those six games.
Giannis is an absolute freight train, particularly in transition. And his combination of strength and explosiveness makes him one of the most dangerous finishers around the rim we’ve ever seen.
But again, peaks aren’t the only consideration in this exercise, and Giannis hasn’t been too efficient in his last two postseason runs (he had a below-average effective field-goal percentage over the course of the 2022 and 2023 postseasons, and then missed 2024 with an injury).
The six runs prior to that lull suggest he’ll keep adding to the resume, though. And a few years from now, top-10 placement could be very much in play.
Two-Time NBA Champion, Two-Time Finals MVP
6th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Kawhi Leonard is mere hundredths of a point behind Giannis on the all-time playoff box plus/minus leaderboard. He too could be a lot higher if we were just talking about peaks.
His was in 2019, and it was genuinely spectacular.
Perhaps more so than anyone since Michael Jordan, Kawhi brought a sense of inevitability along with him as he played in that postseason, averaging 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.3 threes and 1.7 steals on the way to a Finals MVP.
And that was the second time he’d raised that trophy.
Five years earlier, Leonard dominated in a much different role, as a 22-year-old defensive specialist. He’s secured Finals MVPs as both a Scottie Pippen-type and a Michael Jordan-type.
The only thing holding him back now is recent history. Leonard was on track for a top 10(ish) playoff resume before injuries derailed him. They’ve knocked him out of each of the Los Angeles Clippers’ last three playoff runs before the team was done playing.
2011 NBA Champion, 2011 Finals MVP
21st in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
For 12 straight postseasons from 2001 to 2012, Dirk Nowitzki was an absolute terror.
During that stretch, he played in 128 games and averaged 25.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.1 threes and 0.9 blocks, while shooting 38.0 percent from deep.
He made two Finals and authored a truly legendary title run in 2011 that ended with his Dallas Mavericks upsetting LeBron’s newly formed Heatles in their first year together.
With his ability to dominate opponents outside the paint, particularly as a jump shooter, Nowitzki revolutionized NBA basketball and what it means to be a big man in the league. But his skill was only part of the equation.
In that 2011 run, Dirk’s competitiveness was the driving factor behind his team’s ultimate success.
Two-Time NBA Champion, Two-Time Finals MVP
13th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Much was made of the division of labor (and credit) between Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry when they were teammates. But even the most staunch members of the pro-Curry camp can’t possibly deny the impact Durant had on the 2017 and 2018 Finals.
In those two series, KD put up 32.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 3.0 threes, 1.9 blocks and 0.9 steals, while shooting 58.9 percent on twos and 45.0 percent from deep. His box plus/minus on those nine games topped LeBron’s.
KD’s jump shooting, playmaking and defensive range and instincts were as dialed in as they’ve ever been in those two Finals, but it’s not like that’s the only time he’s dominated the playoffs.
He’s had a whopping 10 postseasons with 100-plus minutes and an average of at least 28 points. Only Michael Jordan (13) has more.
2023 NBA Champion, 2023 Finals MVP
2nd in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Nikola Jokić has only made six trips to the playoffs, but he’s yet to have an even mediocre showing there.
Basketball Reference gives a “sense of the scale” for box plus/minus, identifying a mark around 8.0 as an MVP-caliber number and anything around 10.0 as all-time level. Jokić’s career low for the playoffs is 7.4. He’s been over 10 four times. He’s been over 12 in each of the last two years.
And in 2023, specifically, he had perhaps the greatest individual push for a title in league history.
Beyond averaging 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks, Jokić had 10 triple-doubles (in just 20 games) and led the entire postseason in total points, rebounds and assists.
And three of his opponents included All-Defense-caliber big men in Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo.
Like Giannis and Kawhi, there’s probably an argument to have Jokić even higher, but he too needs a little more longevity layered on top of the already absurd peak.
Two-Time NBA Champion, Two-Time Finals MVP
10th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Like Butler, Thomas and Leonard, Hakeem Olajuwon is one of NBA history’s greatest playoff risers. For his career, he had a 4.6 box plus/minus in the regular season, and that number leapt to 6.9 in the postseason.
There, on the game’s biggest and brightest stage, Olajuwon was absolutely dominant. And that includes both ends of the floor.
Like Malone and Jokić, Olajuwon could annihilate his playoff competitors as a scorer, but he could also completely take over games as defender.
From 1986 through 1995, when Olajuwon secured his second championship and second Finals MVP, Hakeem posted ludicrous playoff averages of 28.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals.
1972 NBA Champion, 1969 Finals MVP
8th in Career Playoff Win Shares per 48 Minutes
There’s a valid discussion to be had about the differences between today’s NBA and the one that featured Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West in the 1960s.
The NBA had about a third as many teams back then as it does now. The league was pulling from a far more localized talent pool. Coaching staffs were smaller. Teams had less resources. Skill development wasn’t as dialed in as it is now.
But it’s also fair to wonder how players like West would fare with all those additional resources. And you can still analyze how a player performed relative to his own era. West truly dominated his.
To this day, he’s the only player in league history to win Finals MVP after losing the Finals. In that series, he averaged 37.9 points and 7.4 assists. He averaged over 30 in seven different postseasons (only Jordan had more such seasons). He averaged over 40 in the 1965 playoffs.
And as if that wasn’t enough, West also had eight postseason with five-plus assists per game and four with at least 7.5.
He was one of the absolute best scorers, playmakers and competitors of his era. And had he played at some other point in history, when Russell and his superteam wasn’t around, he’d likely have more than one title.
Two-Time NBA Champion, 1972 Finals MVP
9th in Career Playoff Win Shares per 48 Minutes
The same caveats about modern and ’60s production apply here, but Wilt Chamberlain’s playoff numbers are genuinely hilarious.
He averaged at least 20 rebounds in each of his 13 postseasons. From 1960 to 1968, he put up 29.3 points, 26.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
In 1966 alone, he averaged 30.2 rebounds and 28.0 points. The next year, he won his first title. And in 1972, alongside West, Wilt won his first Finals MVP.
To this day, Chamberlain is in the conversation to be considered the most physically dominant player of all time.
Five-Time NBA Champion, Two-Time Finals MVP
27th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Kobe Bryant was the Robin to Shaquille O’Neal’s Batman for his first three titles, but he wasn’t your average No. 2. He was one half of perhaps the greatest duo in NBA history.
During the Los Angeles Lakers’ threepeat, Kobe put up 25.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, a team-leading 4.9 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 threes.
Just a couple of years after Jordan’s retirement, it looked like the league might have another one. The efficiency and volume wasn’t quite on par with MJ’s, but the aesthetics were right on.
And even if Kobe had stopped winning titles in 2002, he would’ve made this list. But he didn’t. The Lakers were eventually turned over to him, and after an adjustment period, Kobe made it to the mountaintop two more times.
In the nine postseason runs Kobe had after the 2002 title, he averaged 28.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists, won championships in 2009 and 2010 and earned Finals MVP in both of those years.
No, advanced numbers like box plus/minus and win shares aren’t as high on him as others, but there really was something to Kobe that box score-based stats could never fully capture.
He was a maniacal competitor who put winning above all else. And that led him to five rings.
Four-Time NBA Champion, 2022 Finals MVP, 2022 Western Conference Finals MVP
9th in Career Playoff Box Plus-Minus
Speaking of the box score’s shortcomings, no number can truly measure the amount of attention Stephen Curry commanded from opposing defenses at his peak, the fear he struck in opponents’ hearts and the extra feet of space his teammates had whenever Curry was on the floor.
He is one of those exceptionally rare players who legitimately changed the way basketball is played. And that wasn’t just at the NBA level. Go to any high school or college game in the country now. Curry was the George Washington of the three-point revolution, and the fruits of that revolution can be seen in just about any gym.
The way Curry has played in the regular season throughout his career certainly could’ve had a similar effect, but the playoffs are where he truly left that imprint.
In nine postseason appearances, he’s averaged 27.0 points, 6.2 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 threes and 1.5 steals while shooting 39.7 percent from deep.
Needless to say, among players with at least 1,000 playoff minutes, no one in NBA history matches or exceeds all five of those averages. But even when you drop the qualifier for made threes, Luka Dončić and LeBron James are the only names added to the list.
11-Time NBA Champion
30th in Career Playoff Win Shares per 48 Minutes
Had the NBA handed out Finals MVP awards prior to 1969, it’s safe to say Bill Russell would’ve collected more than a few.
He was rarely their leading scorer, but Russell was undoubtedly the leader of a Celtics team that won more than a decade’s worth of championships.
And while there were far fewer teams to get through in the 1960s, Russell remains the all-time leader in rings won to this day. His teammates make up spots two through six on that list.
Russell was the best defender of his generation, a rim protector before blocks were recorded, a dominant rebounder, an underrated passer and willing scorer (when needed).
From 1957 to 1969, he won his 11 championships and averaged 24.9 rebounds, 16.2 points and 4.7 assists in the playoffs.
Five-Time NBA Champion, Three-Time Finals MVP
22nd in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
For nearly two decades, Tim Duncan was perhaps the NBA’s steadiest force on both ends of the floor.
Early in his career, he was a truly dominant scorer. As he aged, the San Antonio Spurs found a way to reduce his workload, but he remained a metronome of postseason production.
By the time he retired, he had a whopping 72 postseason games with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Only Shaquille O’Neal had more such games.
He averaged at least 20 points in the playoffs 10 times. He averaged at least 16 on 16 different occasions. He cleared four blocks per game once and two blocks per game 11 times. He averaged at least 14 rebounds four times and 10 rebounds 12 times.
Through several different iterations of the Spurs, Duncan was the backbone. He won titles with David Robinson and Avery Johnson. Later, it was him, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. His last championship came alongside Kawhi Leonard. Duncan was the constant throughout.
Though his career postseason averages of 20.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 blocks may not leap off the screen quite as dramatically as some others on this list, almost no one was as good for as long as Duncan.
He finished his career with 15 playoff runs of at least 100 points, 50 rebounds and 10 blocks. No one in NBA history has more.
Six-Time NBA Champion, Two-Time Finals MVP
14th in Career Playoff Win Shares per 48 Minutes
We’re about to get into a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation here. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are both top-five-10 players and playoff performers of all time. Together, they won five championships. So, who gets the bulk of the credit?
As a Laker, Abdul-Jabbar had career postseason averages of 22.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.4 blocks.
His sky hook was legitimately unstoppable. And the impact he had on the defensive end was immense.
Of course, L.A. wasn’t his only stop either. With the Milwaukee Bucks, he had even more impressive playoff averages: 29.7 points, 16.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 blocks (though that last number was only tracked in his final season there).
So, how did he just miss out on the top five?
Creation becomes even more important in the playoffs. That’s been true for decades. And while Kareem was a truly dominant big man who did plenty for himself out of the post, he also played with two of the greatest playmakers in league history in Robertson and Magic.
Both deserve at least a little bit of credit for the big man’s playoff successes, and that’s reflected in the four Finals he won without securing Finals MVP.
Three-Time NBA Champion, Two-Time Finals MVP
12th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Four decades after they were at their peaks, the rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson remains one of the defining stories of the NBA. And Bird’s side of it is a doozy.
From 1980 to 1990, he won his three championships and averaged 24.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks in the postseason.
He was the league’s Jokić before there was a Jokić. His touch inside the three-point line was just about unparalleled for his time. His vision and creativity as a passer elevated multiple Hall of Famers around him. And his competitive drive was right up there with the likes of Jordan and Kobe.
In 1986 alone, Bird put the complete package to use as the undisputed leader of one of the greatest teams in NBA history. In those playoffs, he put up 25.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 threes on the way to his final championship.
Five-Time NBA Champion, Three-Time Finals MVP
7th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
We’ve seen a lot of truly preposterous statlines throughout this piece. None are quite like Magic’s.
For his first three playoff runs, before he was truly elevated to his eventual role as the team’s alpha, he averaged 17.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 2.9 steals. Wide-ranging though perhaps not mind-blowing. At least not yet.
From 1983 to 1991, he was at 20.0 points, 13.2 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals.
Now, there’s the crazy stuff. Even in an era without the three-point volume or heliocentrism of today’s game, Magic was accounting for around 50 points per game with his scoring and passing alone.
And he was doing it with a flair that was unmatched at the time. Magic was the face of Showtime, a team and brand of basketball that helped usher the NBA into its modern era.
He could score nearly as well or as often as just about any peer, but his willingness to pass first is what made him and the brand of basketball his Lakers played truly special.
Four-Time NBA Champion, Three-Time Finals MVP
26th in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
I wouldn’t worry too much about that box plus/minus. Shaq played several years beyond his peak and dragged that number down quite a bit after he left the Lakers.
Focus instead on his years in Orlando and L.A., where he may well have been the single most dominant force the NBA has ever seen.
From 1994 to 2004, Shaq averaged 27.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.4 blocks.
During those years, defenders looked genuinely helpless when he had the ball inside. He could overwhelm anyone with his size and strength, but he had underrated agility, too. A man that size should not be allowed to be as nimble as Shaq was. His touch in the floater zone was another cheat code for a player who really didn’t need any.
And he could dominate most opponents on the defensive end, too, whether as a shot-blocker or rebounder.
But even all of the above doesn’t truly capture just how dominant a playoff performer Shaq could be at the absolute peak of his powers. That demonstration came in 2000, when O’Neal played in his first Finals as a Laker.
In that series, Shaq put up 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals.
Four-Time NBA Champion, Four-Time Finals MVP
3rd in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Let’s talk about longevity for a moment. LeBron is still active, and he already has a stranglehold on some cumulative records that are hard to imagine ever being broken.
Wins over replacement player (value over replacement player times 2.7) is the cumulative version of box plus/minus. LeBron has 97.5, which is over 30 clear of second-place Michael Jordan. He’s over 2,000 clear of second-place Jordan in playoff points. He’s over 2,000 minutes clear of second-place Duncan.
He has 153 career playoff games with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. Second-place Jordan (73) and third-place Bird (53) combined for 126.
And it’s not like he’s slowing down in some dramatic fashion. Just this year, LeBron’s age-39 campaign, he averaged 27.8 points, 8.8 assists, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.0 blocks in the playoffs.
It’s not like LeBron’s argument to top this list is entirely based on longevity, either. His 17.5 box plus/minus in 2008-09 is the highest on record for a postseason with at least 100 minutes.
He also has 10 postseasons with at least 100 minutes and a 10-plus box plus/minus, which is two more than second-place Jordan.
And even with almost a decade of post-prime basketball behind him, LeBron has career playoff averages of 28.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks.
Having him second on this list is far from definitive. If you want to bump him up one spot, I won’t fight you too hard on it. His resume has become genuinely absurd, but Jordan still has the edge.
Six-Time NBA Champion, Six-Time Finals MVP
1st in Career Playoff Box Plus/Minus
Beyond being first all-time in career playoff box plus/minus, Jordan is also first in Finals MVPs (two clear of LeBron), first in 40-point playoff games and first in 50-point playoff games.
He led the NBA in playoff scoring average a whopping 10 times. He put up 43.7 in the 1986 postseason. He has a whopping 12 playoffs in which he had 100-plus minutes and a scoring average of at least 30. Jerry West’s second on that list with seven such postseasons.
But nothing truly captures just how dominant a postseason performer Jordan was quite like his Finals numbers.
In those six series, all of which were won by him, MJ put up a whopping 33.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 threes against the best the West could throw at him.
That sense of inevitability that followed Kawhi in 2019? Just imagine that to the nth degree in six out of eight consecutive seasons in the ’90s. Jordan’s will to win can’t be measured, but it was pretty easily seen in just about every playoff game he played.
Plenty have come and gone since Michael Jordan stepped away for good, but we still haven’t had anyone get quite to his level.