As the 2025 NBA playoffs begin, let’s set the stage by looking at the best to grace the ultimate frontier, ranking the top 20 NBA playoff performers over the past decade.
Of course, this is a subjective list, trying to assess longevity as well as some legendary individual runs while also giving the nod to not just All-Star caliber players but valuable role players who raise their levels. Honorable mentions go to Paul George, Chris Paul, and James Harden, all of whom unfortunately get bumped off the list.
Ranking the Top 20 NBA Playoff Performers Since 2015
20) Al Horford
Al Horford won his deserved NBA championship in 2023 and has amassed an astounding 186 playoff games in his career. He has been a key contributor on both ends of the court in his impressive career, and though his stats won’t jump off the page, his IQ jumps off the screen.
A great defender too, Horford led the NBA in total rebounds in the 2022 playoffs. It’s important to have great role players on the list because titles can’t be won without team effort, and few embody their team like Horford.
19) Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson makes this list largely due to his remarkable playoff performances in 2024 for the New York Knicks, averaging a phenomenal 32.4 points per game and 7.5 assists in last year’s playoffs. He put himself in rarified company with four straight 40-point playoff games alongside Jerry West, Bernard King, and the one and only Michael Jordan.
In 2023, he scored 41 of the Knicks’ 92 points in their Game 6 semifinal loss to the Miami Heat, all the more remarkable considering his 14 field goals were more than the entire Knicks roster combined (13). A playoff star that not enough people talk about around the league, the next task for Brunson is to get over the hump and make the NBA Finals after helping the Knicks back into the NBA’s elite teams again.
18) Klay Thompson
The story of the Golden State Warriors’ championship dynasty cannot be written without the second Splash Brother, Klay Thompson. The four-time NBA champion has the all-time NBA record of six playoff games with eight or more made 3s in a game. Not to mention, he was a phenomenal defender in his prime, as well as one of the greatest shooters of all time.
17) Jrue Holiday
Jrue Holiday is a two-time NBA champion, multiple-time All-NBA defender, and was fundamental to two championship teams, winning a title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 and most recently with this most recent Boston Celtics juggernaut.
He’s a terrific on-ball defender and an elite, versatile role player offensively. Punctuated by averaging a phenomenal 50/40/95 stat line in last year’s playoffs (50.3 FG%, 40.2 3PT%, 95.5 FT%), he’ll be a key cog in Boston’s attempt at a repeat.
16) Jamal Murray
Denver’s point guard, Jamal Murray, goes from solid sidekick for Nikola Jokić in the regular season to an All-Star caliber guard in the playoffs. In 2020, versus Utah, he outdueled Donovan Mitchell in the seven-game series with two 50-point games and a 40-point game.
He has an impressive 37 games of 22 points or more in his playoff career and 18 of 30+ points. It’s quite remarkable how much he raises his game in the biggest moments. He now has a deserved championship ring from 2023.
15) Andre Iguodala
A four-time NBA champion with Golden State and a vital role player and defender through those title-winning teams, Andre Iguodala’s postseason peak was when he was named the MVP of the 2015 NBA Finals. His amazing achievements and clutch performances helped him get his number retired, and rightfully so.
14) Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis is an NBA Champion, was LeBron James’ sidekick in 2020, and is one of the great all-around bigs of the modern era in the playoffs. He led the 2020 playoffs with 582 points and a win share of 4.5. He’s averaged 26 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.2 steals in his playoff career spanning the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Lakers.
He’s also had an impressive 129 blocks in his playoff career to date — a force on both ends in the postseason when healthy.
13) Devin Booker
Devin Booker has averaged 28 points per playoff game and helped take the Phoenix Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals. His 2023 postseason numbers were wild — he averaged 33.7 points with a .649 effective field goal percentage. He’s already the franchise’s all-time points leader in the playoffs
12) Damian Lillard
Prime “Dame Time” was hard to beat. One of the most clutch playoff performers in the modern era, armed with so many unforgettable playoff moments for the Portland Trail Blazers, it will probably go down as one of the great NBA crimes that Portland’s front office were unable to supply Damian Lillard, their best ever player, with a championship-caliber team to match his loyalty.
His 2019 40-foot walkoff, series-clinching buzzer-beater over George’s Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the legendary moments in recent times..
11) Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell has had seven strong playoff seasons and counting. His Cleveland Cavaliers are among the favorites to win it all in 2025, so this ranking could change. He averages a sturdy 28 points per game over his playoff career, highlighted by a tremendous 36.3 points per game in 2019-20 for Utah. That playoff season was punctuated by a frankly insane 50/50/90 stat line: 52.9 FG%; 51.6 3PT%; 94.8 FT%.
Few love the bright lights quite as much as “Spida.” Expect more playoff heroics from this NBA superstar this year.
10) Kawhi Leonard
A two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP for the San Antonio Spurs and his legendary 2019 Toronto Raptors run — how fun was Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors run, you ask? How about the shot heard round the world?
Leonard’s dramatic buzzer-beater to walk off Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers that rolled around the rim while the entire basketball world held its breath before dropping in prompted mass celebrations and was one of the great playoff moments in history. Going on to beat the dynasty Warriors in the NBA Finals ain’t too shabby either.
He is one of the great clutch players of the modern era. Unfortunately, injuries have robbed him of building on his résumé, which is a real shame. Still, we’ll always have 2019.
9) Draymond Green
As the heart of the Warriors’ dynasty, Draymond Green is a four-time NBA champion. Intrinsic to how the Warriors play, he was tasked with defending the best player as well as facilitating the offense. He led the entire NBA playoffs in rebounds (223) and assists (187) in 2019. Between 2016 and 2019, he led the playoffs in total rebounds. Green has an impressive 107 playoff wins in his career, which speaks to his longevity.
8) Jayson Tatum
Five conference championships, a conference finals MVP in 2022, and an NBA championship and Finals MVP in 2024. Including over 2700 points in his playoff career. He’s only 27!
7) Luka Dončić
Luka Dončić has had a stellar and storied playoff career to date, averaging 30.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 8.0 assists with 1.7 steals for the Dallas Mavericks. Indeed, his 30.9 points are actually the most points per game in the playoffs since 2020.
The 2024 playoffs were the story of Dončić; he led the NBA playoffs across the board in points, rebounds, and assists. He is a truly astounding talent who deserves a championship and may well get one for the Lakers.
6) Giannis Antetokounmpo
The “Greek Freak” is an absolute titan, unstoppable in transition and at the rim. His 2021 NBA Finals performance was legendary, as he closed out the Suns with a 50-point, 14-rebound, five-block masterpiece to win MVP of that series. In fact, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s following year’s playoffs were also impressive, averaging 31.7 points, 14.2 boards, and 6.8 assists.
5) Nikola Jokić
Jokić’s numbers are absurd. In seven playoff years in his career, each one has been masterful. Beyond his 27.7-point, 12.3-rebound, and 7.5-assist career postseason numbers, few are as impactful in every way on the court like the “Joker.”
His 2023 postseason is one of the greatest of all time. Averaging almost a triple-double for the entire playoffs, he carried the load to the championship for the Denver Nuggets by leading the entire playoffs in points, rebounds, and assists.
4) Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant is a two-time NBA champ and Finals MVP for the Warriors. Lethal from the mid-range and one of the most efficient and ruthless scorers in playoff history, he is one of the great “What could have been?” stories in the past playoff decade, being the edge of his shoe rubber away from leading the Brooklyn Nets past the Bucks with a walk-off 3. Instead, it was a long 2 and an overtime defeat in the 2022 semifinals.
3) Jimmy Butler III
No one raises their game in the post-season quite like “Playoff Jimmy.” And yes, “playoff Jimmy” is a real phenomenon.
Jimmy Butler III is particularly credited for carrying two of the most unlikely NBA Finals runs in recent NBA history, doing it with just Bam Adebayo, an array of role players, and immense coaching from Erik Spoelstra. Most players need multiple stars to make the NBA Finals — not Playoff Jimmy. He simply raises his level to gargantuan proportions on both ends of the floor.
In 2023, he dropped 56 points in Game 4 to take the play-in Heat past the No. 1 Bucks. Can the Warriors get him his elusive championship this year? He deserves it.
2) Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry is the greatest big-game player of his era. He’s the only player on this list who has revolutionized the sport and is the greatest shooter of all time. He’s age-defying in terms of stamina, constantly moving and looking for space to harm defenses. He’s as close to unguardable as it gets since he’s a threat from literally any range in the gym.
His playoff numbers across the board all speak for themselves and place him among the greatest of all time, which helps place him in the top two of this list. Being a four-time NBA champ and an NBA Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP helps, too.
1) LeBron James
It’s a pretty obvious one in terms of longevity as a four-time champ for the Cavs, Heat, and Lakers. James has an impressive record of 153 career playoff games of at least 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Michael Jordan, for example, has less than half of that.
With James, you could pencil the Cavaliers into the NBA Finals nearly every year. He took some fairly miserable teams all the way to the NBA Finals by playing like Superman. He had an easier time after pairing with Dwyane Wade to form the Heat superteam, but he deserves immense credit for leaving and going back to his hometown to wrestle the NBA title away from the dynasty Warriors in 2016
James then went to the Lakers to win it again in 2019-20. All in all, he’s had 10 NBA Finals appearances and made seven straight NBA finals between 2010-11 and 2017-18. Pretty incredible, to say the least, and the clear No. 1 on the list.
