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10 Best NBA Playoff Players of All Time

best nba playoff players

The best NBA playoff players of all time have all locked in their Hall of Fame inductions because of their postseason play. Their playoff performances have also placed some of them among the best players of all time. 

Best NBA Playoff Players

Some greats likes Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson are among the greatest players never to win an NBA championship and they failed to make the list. We took into consideration the scoring output of each player, number of titles and rosters of the teams they played on.

You’ll notice the great Boston Celtics dynasty of the 1960’s is missing. While they have more titles than anyone on the list, they had phenomenal teams and all-stars across the board. We’re looking for individual performances here.

Let’s take a look at the best NBA playoff players in history. 

10. Kevin Durant

Durant has been nearly impossible to guard one-on-one during his career, and particularly in the postseason. He’s been to the postseason 11 times, leading the league in playoff scoring five times, and he’s won two NBA titles and won Finals MVP both times. 

He’s averaged 29.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists over 155 career playoff games, and nearly 29 points per game in six playoff trips with the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Durant is worthy among the list of best NBA playoff players and is already one of the all-time leaders in 35-plus point games in NBA playoff history.

9. Jerry West

There are only two players in NBA history who averaged at least 40 points per game in a postseason. Michael Jordan was one, and Jerry West was the other. 

West accomplished this in 11 playoff games with the Lakers in 1965, racking up an average of 40.6 points per game. He also averaged at least 30 points per game in seven postseasons, and averaged 29.1 points in 153 playoff games. 

Although he won only one NBA title, he was Finals MVP on the losing team in 1969. Only Michael Jordan and LeBron James have more 40-point playoff games than West, who also averaged 5.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.

8. Larry Bird

Bird retired third on the all-time playoff scoring list behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West. Over 164 career playoff games, Bird averaged 23.8 points per game. He led the Celtics to five Eastern Conference championships and three NBA titles.

In addition, Bird won the Finals MVP twice. His best postseason performance was in 1984, racking up averages of 27 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists per game. He is currently 12th all-time in playoff points with 3,897.

7. Shaquille O’Neal

Shaq is fifth on the list of best NBA playoff players. Winner of four NBA Titles and three Finals MVP awards, O’Neal won a title with the Miami Heat, and three alongside Kobe Bryant with the Lakers.

In 133 playoff games during that period, Shaq averaged 28.3 points per game. Shaq led the league in playoff scoring in 1999-2000 and is fifth in career postseason points with 5,250. In addition, O’Neal averaged 11.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in the postseason. 

6. Stephen Curry

Curry led the Warriors to their fourth NBA title over the last eight years by single-handedly taking down the Celtics. He’s scored 3,520 points over 134 playoff games at an average of 26.6 points per game, eighth all time in the postseason. 

He has made the NBA Finals six times over the last eight years and is hitting over 40 percent of his three-point shots in the playoffs. Curry is a threat to score anytime he passes half court. His range and accuracy have transformed the game.

5. LeBron James

Not only has LeBron James established himself as one of the best NBA players of all time, he’s among the best NBA playoff players in history. He led the Cavaliers to the championship in 2016-17 with one of the weakest NBA Finals teams we’ve ever seen. The title was also clinched following the best blocked shot of all time.

He also made four-straight NBA Finals appearances with the Heat and Cavaliers. James has four NBA titles, winning the Finals MVP each time. He’s led the league in postseason scoring three times and has averaged 28.7 points, 9 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 266 playoff games. 

Although James is only 3-6 in the NBA Finals, it’s hardly due to his production as one of the very best playoff performers ever.

4. Kobe Bryant

Over an NBA career that spanned two decades, Bryant played in 220 postseason games, ranking in the top ten in NBA history. He won five NBA titles and was Finals MVP twice. Bryant is fourth all-time with 5,640 playoff points and averaging 25.6 points per game in the postseason. 

He led the league in postseason scoring three times and also averaged 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Only LeBron James and Michael Jordan have more postseasons with at least 450 points than Bryant’s seven.

3. Tim Duncan

A winner of five NBA titles and three NBA Finals MVP honors, Duncan was the main reason the Spurs became an NBA dynasty for nearly 20 seasons. Duncan was hardly flashy, but his consistency was unmatched. 

He is currently sixth all time in postseason points with 5,172 and averaged nearly 21 points and 11.4 rebounds in 251 postseason games. He averaged over 20 points and 10 rebounds per postseason in nine consecutive playoff runs.

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA titles and played in an incredible 237 playoff games, the equivalent of nearly three full NBA seasons. He averaged 24.3 points per game and if you exclude his last three playoff years when he was 39 to 41 years old, the numbers increased to 27.3 points per contest. 

Abdul-Jabbar’s trademark sky hook was devastating and he retired as the all-time leading playoff scorer with 5,762 points. In addition, he averaged 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots in postseason play.

1. Michael Jordan

Jordan simply dominated the postseason like no other player in NBA history. Not only is he the best NBA player of all time. Jordan won six titles with the Chicago Bulls, winning Finals MVP each time and is the best NBA playoff player of all time. 

With a habit of delivering when it mattered most, the best play in NBA history belongs to Michael Jordan. His final shot for the Chicago Bulls was a clutch game-winner to clinch the 1998 NBA Finals, after stealing the ball from Utah’s Karl Malone.

Jordan averaged at least 30 points per game in the playoffs 11 times, and retired with the NBA leader in playoff points scored with 5,987. LeBron James now holds that mark, but Jordan’s scoring average in the postseason of 33.4 points per game is second to none. A complete player, Jordan also averaged 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game in the playoffs.

2 thoughts on “10 Best NBA Playoff Players of All Time”

  1. Evan
    Reply

    Shaq did not win with Orlando but with the Miami heat good article but you can’t have bleeps like this for ppl to discredit you

    1. Matt Ieriko
      Reply

      Hi Evan, thanks for the call out mate. You’re 100% correct and I’ve since updated it. Thanks again

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