NBA playoff MVPs: Ranking the 10 best stars

André SnellingsJun 5, 2019, 08:37 AM ET
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The NBA Finals are now a best-of-five series between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors. But the path to the championship has been full of twists and turns, with many heroic efforts from several players who helped lead their teams to the heights.

As we prepare for the crowning of the next NBA champion, let's take a look at the players who did the most to help their teams advance throughout the entire course of the postseason.

Here is our ranking of the top 10 NBA playoff MVPs.

1. Kawhi Leonard | Toronto Raptors

Leonard has dominated this postseason on both sides of the ball, leading the playoffs in both total points and steals. His 30.9 PPG has paced the Raptors on the way to their first-ever Finals berth, and his consistent excellence has given his teammates the confidence to flourish as well.

The decision to put former two-time Defensive Player of the Year Leonard on Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals helped turn that series around, and his Game 7 buzzer-beater against the Philadelphia 76ers has been etched forever into the all-time playoff highlight reel. Leonard is in the midst of a playoff run for the ages.

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks

Antetokounmpo is the front-runner to win his first NBA MVP award this season, and he seemed poised to carry the Bucks to their first NBA Finals since 1974 with a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals before the Raptors turned things around.

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in postseason scoring (25.5 PPG), rebounding (12.3 RPG), assists (4.9 APG), blocks (2.0 BPG) and steals (1.1 SPG) as both the offensive focal point and defensive anchor. At only 24 years old, he seems poised for a LeBron James-like run in the East for the foreseeable future.

3. Draymond Green | Golden State Warriors

While the first two names on this list are on the very short list for best player in the league, Green has the distinction of being the most valuable player on the two-time defending champions. Green is the primary playmaker on the Warriors, leading the team with 8.3 APG in the postseason. He is the defensive anchor of the team, a former DPOY who leads his team in postseason blocks (1.6 BPG) and steals (1.4 SPG). Green leads the Warriors with 8.3 RPG, has turned in five triple-doubles in the postseason and is the vocal leader on the squad.

He is also the team's edge and stepped up in a huge way to keep the team winning when Kevin Durant went down with an injury. The little things that Green does add up, which is why the Warriors have been 19.6 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court than off this postseason, the best mark on the team.

4. Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors

Curry had settled in as the clear second scoring option on the Warriors during the first 10 games of the playoffs, averaging 23.3 points on 16.4 FGA in a supportive role next to Durant. Curry picked up the pace in a hurry when Durant went down, though, averaging 32.6 PPG on 21.8 FGA during the past eight games while helping to finish off the Houston Rockets and sweep the Portland Trail Blazers.

Curry has shown that he can still lead the Warriors to playing championship-level ball in the unique style that only he can produce.

5. Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets

Jokic made the most of his first career postseason appearance, leading the Nuggets to Game 7 of the second round with squad highs in points (25.1 PPG), rebounds (13.0 RPG), assists (8.4 APG) and steals (1.1 SPG).

The entire Nuggets offense ran through Jokic. His ability to both distribute and attack from the high post created mismatches and offensive advantages that thrust the Nuggets into contention as a young team with loads of upside moving forward.

6. James Harden | Houston Rockets

Harden posted the best scoring average since peak Michael Jordan during the regular season, and while he didn't quite match that prowess in the postseason, he still managed 31.6 PPG and was locked in an epic scorers' duel with Durant through four games before the latter's injury.

Harden's stepback 3s and heavy offensive creation carried the Rockets to the verge of title contention yet again, but they still haven't quite been able to get over the hump.

7. Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers

Embiid battled both injury and illness this postseason, which affected his availability and ceiling while on the court, yet he still managed to turn in some dominant two-way performances and had the 76ers within a four-bounce Kawhi Leonard buzzer-beater of potentially advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.

The 76ers were an almost cartoonish 20.4 points per 100 possessions better than their opponents when Embiid was on the court in the playoffs, by far the best on-court plus-minus of any postseason starter who played at least two rounds.

8. Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors

Durant was cruising along as the clear offensive focal point for a Warriors team that was widely favored to win a third straight championship when he suffered a calf injury that has kept him out of the past seven games. He was leading the playoffs with 34.2 PPG on only 21.6 FGA when he went down and seemed a good bet to win his third straight Finals MVP.

There is still a chance that he could return to play at some point during the Finals, and if so, he could still move back up in final versions of these rankings.

9. Damian Lillard | Portland Trail Blazers

Lillard entered the postseason with a chip on his shoulder, still smarting from criticisms about the way the team bowed out of last season's playoffs. He responded by exploding for 33.0 PPG in his first-round matchup against Russell Westbrook, ending the series with his famous 37-foot Dame-time walk-off 3-pointer and wave. Lillard followed that up by helping his squad edge the second-seeded Nuggets despite his injury-depleted frontcourt.

On the whole, Lillard scored at least 28 points in nine of 16 postseason games for a playoff run that thoroughly backed up his fourth All-NBA selection this season.

10. Jimmy Butler | Philadelphia 76ers

Butler edged CJ McCollum for the 10th spot on the strength of his dominant five-game run against the Raptors that kept the 76ers competitive even as Embiid battled injury and illness to stay on the court.

From Games 2-6 of that series, Butler averaged 25.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 6.6 APG and 1.2 SPG to lead the 76ers to their three wins in the series. Butler was their best perimeter offensive threat, their most aggressive wing defender, and lent an edge to the entire team with his fiery leadership.

Honorable mention