NBA Playoffs 2025: Ranking The 10 Best Players Of The First Round

We’re just over two weeks into the postseason and some players have faded while others have risen. What better way to cap off the first round of the NBA Playoffs than to see which players have been the best through the first round.

It’s a new dawn in the NBA. Players like Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton are leading the line for teams which haven’t made this type of noise in a long time. Some of the older horses are still doing their best to hang around, though, like Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.

The second round is just now underway but before it goes any further, here’s a look back on the players who made this first round one of the best in recent memory.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo

All Antetokounmpo did was average playoff-leading 33.0 points while snaring 15.4 rebounds and dishing out 6.6 assists. The Milwaukee Bucks’ offense was 11.8 points worse per 100 possessions when he was off the court, which was a huge factor in the series outcome.

There just wasn’t enough for Antetokounmpo, despite easily being the best player in the series. And thus, Milwaukee went home early for a third year in a row.

2. Jayson Tatum

Going up against the NBA’s second-best regular season defense, Tatum was dominant. He missed one game with a wrist injury but finished averaging 31.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals.

Despite the physicality Orlando presents, Tatum said bring it on. He averaged 10.3 free-throw attempts per game and made 90.2 percent of them.

3. Nikola Jokic

It says something about Jokic’s level he was a notch below his best in the first round and still averaged 24.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 2.3 steals and just under a block. He also shot 50 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three.

Ivica Zubac has proven himself one of the best defenders against Jokic in the league and certainly made the reigning MVP work extremely hard. Jokic’s reward for getting past him? The league’s best defense in the Oklahoma City Thunder.

4. Anthony Edwards

Does this man have an eye for the bright lights or what? Edwards used all the talk of the Los Angeles Lakers being clear favorites as motivation and took it out on them.

From making big plays to being physical with LeBron James, this was a statement series by both Edwards and his Minnesota Timberwolves. He finished the first round averaging 26.8 points, 8.4 rebounds 6.2 assists, and 1.2 steals.

In a series featuring James and Luka Doncic, Edwards emerged as the best player.

5. Stephen Curry

The Houston Rockets had possibly the most intimidating batch of defenders a team could hope to throw at Curry, with Amen Thompson as the primary, followed by Fred VanVleet, Tari Eason and Dillon Brooks.

Curry emerged from the dust as the series winner, averaging 24.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.1 steals. He shot 47.1 percent from the field, including 39.2 percent from three.

It’s incredible to see just how much attention he commands from the defense and the space it opens up for his teammates. Buddy Hield was the biggest recipient in Game 7, dropping 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting and hitting nine threes.

6. Jalen Brunson

Despite nursing pain in his right ankle, he finished the first round second in scoring at 31.5 points per game. Brunson wasn’t the most efficient but he answered the call whenever his team needed.

When it came to closing out Game 6 and the series, the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year was ready for his moment. He knocked down a dagger triple after shaking off Ausar Thompson to dispatch the young, feisty Detroit Pistons in six games.

7. Jimmy Butler

Butler may be higher up this list if not for having effectively missed two games in the series (only played six minutes in Game 2 and missed Game 3). Excluding those games, Butler averaged 21.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.6 steals.

As we know is usually the case with Butler, the numbers hardly tell the story. Butler perfectly played the role of Robin to Curry’s Batman, sustaining the offense when Curry was hounded. He was also a great Robin to Draymond Green’s Batman defensively and the two combined for several special reads on that end together.

In a league where depth is trumping top-tier talent, Houston couldn’t muster enough when Curry and Butler were at their best.

8. Chet Holmgren

It seems like forever ago but Holmgren was the Oklahoma City Thunder’s best player during the first round. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 29 minutes per game. He also shot 42.3 percent from three and knocked down 86.4 percent of his free throws.

In what had initially set up as an intriguing matchup between him and Jaren Jackson Jr., Holmgren made minced meat of it. His ability to run the floor, shoot from deep and protect the rim is a cheat code for the Thunder on both sides of the ball.

9. Tyrese Haliburton

Other than a miserable shooting performance in Game 1, which the Indiana Pacers won anyway, Tyrese Haliburton’s fingerprints were scattered across this first-round victory over the Bucks.

Milwaukee couldn’t get consistent stops and a lot of that came down to Haliburton’s ability to pick apart its defense time and time again. He averaged 17.6 points and 11.6 assists, and was extremely impactful, despite poor scoring efficiency.

It was a statement finish to the series when he isolated against Antetokounmpo in Game 5 and scored at the basket for the overtime game-winner.

10. LeBron James

Spare a thought for James, who huffed and puffed everything he had to hang with Edwards and the Wolves. He was excellent defensively but tasked with too much responsibility, due to the lack of size in the Lakers’ frontcourt.

With Luka Doncic getting picked on defensively and Austin Reaves struggling offensively against Minnesota’s size and length, the series result isn’t a reflection of James’ performance.

He finished the five games averaging 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks. Not too shabby for a 40-year-old.

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Just missed the cut: Donovan Mitchell, Julius Randle, Kawhi Leonard

Honorable mention: Jaylen Brown, Luka Doncic, Julius Randle, Ivica Zubac, Myles Turner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander