Stephen A. Smith has a bold and expressive pick for the best player left in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. With the Conference Finals underway, only four teams remain in the hunt for the Larry O’Brien Trophy: the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, and Indiana Pacers — all vying for the NBA championship.
Each team has a clear star leading the charge: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder, Anthony Edwards for the Timberwolves, Jalen Brunson for the Knicks, and Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers.
Ahead of these matchups, a debate emerged about the best player remaining in the playoffs. Smith shared his selection… and fans roasted him.
Fans Call Out Stephen A. Smith’s Jalen Brunson Take
After the Knicks’ series-clinching win against the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the semifinals, Smith relayed his interactions with Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
“Jalen Brunson came up to me and said, ‘I have nothing to say to you,'” he said. “Karl-Anthony Towns said, ‘You picked the wrong team,’ because I picked Boston before the series began. I, like everybody else in America, changed my mind when they won Games 1 and 2 in Boston.”
During an episode of “First Take,” Smith named Brunson the clear best player of the postseason, even saying that Gilgeous-Alexander has been terrific too, but the Clutch Player of the Year has the edge.
“Jalen Brunson is clearly the best player in the playoffs,” Smith said. While he admitted that Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player overall, he praised Brunson for elevating his game and becoming the best player in the playoffs, pointing out that he has the highest scoring average of any player over the last three postseasons.
Maybe Smith is learning from his past mistakes and siding with his hometown team and the Knicks’ captain, rather than other stars.
Maybe if Shai and Ant didn’t exist
— 𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒂𝒉 (@isaiiahx)
Fans took to social media to challenge Smith’s opinion, with many making strong cases for the other three players.
“Maybe if Shai and Ant didn’t exist,” one fan said. Another user took to X saying, “He’s not even the best player on his team.”
While that is a stretch, there’s certainly a strong case for SGA and Edwards as the top two players remaining, with Brunson and Haliburton rounding out the list.
“The MVP is still in the playoffs btw,” another fan pointed out.
The MVP is still in the playoffs btw
— KlawedUP🦇 (@KlawedUP)
Another chimed in with a post saying, “Does Tyrese Haliburton not exist??”
Edwards is having a miraculous postseason, taking out Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Stephen Curry (though he was injured for four of the five games), and Jimmy Butler III. Now, he has a chance to eliminate the Thunder’s star and possible MVP.
Speaking of Gilgeous-Alexander, the three-time All-Star has much of the basketball world believing he will win the MVP this season. With Edwards’ impressive postseason résumé and SGA likely to be named MVP, it’s hard to choose Brunson over either of them.
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By the end of the Conference Finals, we’ll have a clearer picture of who truly stands out, as two of these four stars will be heading home while the other two battle it out in the NBA Finals this June.