The 20 Most Interesting Players of the 2025 NBA Playoffs

Daniel Waddleton

Apr 16, 2025

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THE PLAYOFFS ARE almost here, and after a regular season that felt like it spanned 14 months, I’m more than ready. There’s a limit to how many times anyone can listen to Draymond Green campaign for Defensive Player of the Year.

For my mid-week piece, instead of talking about the teams in the playoffs (that will drop Saturday morning), I want to focus on the players. Specifically, the 20 most interesting players heading into this postseason.

This isn’t a ranking of the best guys in the field -- you won’t find Nikola Jokic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on here. We know what they bring. This is about intrigue. Who’s being asked to take a leap? Who might swing a series? Who’s got the most to prove, the most to lose, or just the weirdest role in a playoff setting?

There’s no scientific formula here, just a mix of narrative weight, on-court importance, and plain curiosity. So with that, here are the 20 players I’m most interested in watching this postseason.

1. Jalen Williams, F, Oklahoma City Thunder

Season Stats: 21.6 PTS, 5.3 REB, 5.1 AST, 57.3% TS, +3.6 EPM

Some might be surprised to see Williams atop this list, but team context matters, and Oklahoma City is currently the betting favorite to win the title. For them to get there, Williams must elevate his game from last postseason.

Although he still defended at a high level, his offensive performance was inconsistent. He averaged 18.9 points per 75 possessions on -3.5% relative true shooting in the 2024 playoffs -- not nearly efficient enough for a team’s No. 2 option. His overall impact remained strong (+8.2 net rating on the court) thanks to his defense and versatility, but OKC needs him to create more fluid offense, especially when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off the floor.

There’s reason for optimism. Players often take a leap in their second playoff run with lessons from the past, and the addition of Isaiah Hartenstein gives those non Shai units a true connective hub, potentially freeing Williams to play more decisively. I think the Thunder’s playoff ceiling hinges on the play of J-Dub.

2. Kawhi Leonard, F, Los Angeles Clippers

Season Stats: 21.5 PTS, 5.9 REB, 3.1 AST, 58.9% TS, +3.9 EPM

If the Clippers were representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals this June, I wouldn't be shocked. Yet, everything hinges on the health and performance of Kawhi Leonard.

L.A. has been one of the surprise teams of the season, sitting 18 games over .500 despite Leonard missing extended time. Still, if this team wants to reach its ceiling, it will come down to Kawhi stepping into his former role of playoff assassin -- the two-time Finals MVP who has risen to the moment time and time again, taking down some of the all-time greats.

One of the best postseason performers of his generation, Kawhi’s two-way presence unlocks everything. Offensively, he helps the game flow for guys like James Harden, Norman Powell, and Ivica Zubac -- allowing them to scale down and operate more efficiently. On defense, his presence gives the Clippers a real shot at turning this already third-ranked unit into a playoff-level juggernaut without giving back anything offensively.

3. Darius Garland, G, Cleveland Cavaliers

Season Stats: 20.8 PTS, 2.9 REB, 6.7 AST, 60% TS, +3.5 EPM

Garland’s playoff track record hasn’t exactly been sunshine and rainbows. He’s struggled with the physicality of postseason defenses in the past, but he’s also never entered the playoffs playing this well.

A potential All-NBA selection, Garland has looked like a top-tier point guard all season. His tight handle, elite quickness, and 40% shooting from three on a career-high seven attempts per game have made him nearly unguardable. Add in his brilliant playmaking, and it’s no surprise he’s been arguably the driver behind the league’s top-ranked offense.

So the question is: will this be the year Garland finally breaks through in the postseason, or will the same issues rear their ugly heads again? Given how central he’s been to Cleveland’s success, his ability to hold up against top-tier defenses will be critical -- especially if they hope to challenge a team like Boston.

4. Chet Holmgren, F/C, Oklahoma City Thunder

Season Stats: 15.0 PTS, 8.0 REB, 2.0 AST, 59.9% TS, +3.3 EPM

Williams took most of the heat after the Thunder’s playoff exit against Dallas last year, which allowed Holmgren’s postseason to fly under the radar. He wasn’t bad, but his inconsistency from beyond the arc hurt the offense. After hitting 37% of his threes on 4.3 attempts per game during the regular season, he fell to just 26% on five attempts in the playoffs -- a steep drop that you could feel throughout the playoffs.

That's not all I want to focus on though, I want to turn your attention to this. Since he and Isaiah Hartenstein returned to the lineup, Holmgren's been playing more at the four in a two-big look and it’s working. That lineup has posted a dominant +13.5 net rating across 679 possessions. If he continues to thrive in that setup this spring as a perimeter player offensively and defensive roamer, the Thunder might not even see a Game 7 this Spring.

5. Evan Mobley, F/C, Cleveland Cavaliers

Season Stats: 18.5 PTS, 9.3 REB, 3.2 AST, 63.3% TS, +3.9 EPM

From where I’m standing, Evan Mobley was the most valuable player on a 64-win Cavaliers team this season. His defensive versatility was unmatched and will likely result in a defensive player of the year award. In double big lineup's he was an elite roamer -- holding opponents to -9.2% shooting at the rim as the closest defender -- and when the Cavaliers would leave him on the floor alone he was one of the most switchable five's in the NBA.

Offensively, he had the best season of his career under Kenny Atkinson, who unlocked Mobley serving more as a hub in the middle of the floor or in empty side two-man actions. He's also been unleashed as an interior scorer, shooting 76% at the rim on 7.2 attempts per game. It's not shocking Cleveland posted a +12.2 net rating with him on the floor.

Mobley’s season will likely earn him a Second Team All-NBA selection, but for the Cavs to make a deep run, it has to all carry over into the postseason. Whether it's dethroning Boston or even outlasting a healthy Pacers or Bucks team in the second round, Mobley needs to sustain this level. His past playoff issues -- like the lack of a three-point shot or struggles with physicality on the interior -- feel less relevant this time around. Atkinson has schemed around the shooting, and Mobley has been the one dealing out the punishment this season. Still, we need proof of concept in a postseason setting, because their is no title run without it.

6. Luka Doncic, G, Los Angeles Lakers

Season Stats: 28.2 PTS, 8.2 REB, 7.7 AST, 58.7% TS, +6.2 EPM

I don’t need to tell you how elite Luka has been in the playoffs. He’s averaged 31 points and eight assists over 50 career games, and just last season led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals. His postseason resume speaks for itself.

What makes him so interesting this year is the new uniform, suddenly raising the Lakers’ ceiling to championship heights. With him, LA have a real shot at the title, but only if he looks like vintage Luka. Since returning from the calf injury he suffered on Christmas, he hasn’t quite reached that level. He’s looked a step slower, and his true shooting percentage in purple and gold is the lowest it’s been since his rookie season.

Which version of Luka shows up on April 19th will say everything about this team’s chances. Because no defense in the league -- no matter how good -- is built to withstand A+ Luka operating alongside LeBron James and Austin Reaves.

7. Cade Cunningham, G, Detroit Pistons

Season Stats: 26.1 PTS, 6.1 REB, 9.1 AST, 56.5% TS, +3.4 EPM

One of the feel-good stories of the season has been the Detroit Pistons. After breaking the NBA’s consecutive loss record last year, they now find themselves sitting as the sixth seed with a chance to win their first playoff series since 2008. Cade has been at the center of it all, carrying the second-highest offensive load (58.2) in the league.

Cade has proven he can drive a good regular-season offense, but now we find out what that looks like in the playoffs. As talented as he is, there are still things you can nitpick. He doesn’t generate a ton of separation, struggles to finish at the rim at times, and his relative true shooting sits at -1.3%, showing some inefficiency. It's not uncommon for a young player with so much offensive responsibility, but it’s still a weakness.

The Pistons likely won’t make a deep run, but this will be our first look at Cade in a playoff setting, and how he performs could have a major influence on Detroit’s next steps as they build out the roster around him.

8. Alperen Sengun, C, Houston Rockets

Season Stats: 19.1 PTS, 10.3 REB, 4.9 AST, 54.5% TS, +3.0 EPM

Like Cunningham, Sengun is having a career year on an overachieving team. Also like Cunningham, he’s never played in a playoff series, which raises real questions about how his regular-season success will translate in his first postseason run.

Sengun is cut from the Domantas Sabonis cloth: a connective hub offensively, strong rebounder, skilled post scorer, and not a great shooter. Sabonis’ first playoff run with the Kings wasn’t exactly a glowing endorsement of that archetype. It’s fair to wonder if Sengun might run into some similar issues.

Another more positive reason he’s on this list is the Rockets’ late-season shift in lineup construction. They’ve started leaning into this two big look late in the season with Sengun and Steven Adams -- and the results have been absurd. In 321 possessions, that combo has a +30.0 net rating, dominating the offensive glass and opponents taking just 21.4%% of their shots at the rim. It’s been the catalyst of Houston’s late surge to the No. 2 seed in the West. How much Houston goes to that lineup will be a subplot this postseason.

9. Mikal Bridges, F, New York Knicks

Season Stats: 17.6 PTS, 3.2 REB, 3.7 AST, 58.5% TS, +1.1 EPM

Simply put, the Knicks gave up a lot for Mikal Bridges, and the return so far has been underwhelming. Offensively, I think Knicks fans may have expected more than he was ever realistically going to provide given the price tag. He’s been fine as a second-side creator and remains a solid spot-up shooter -- the kind of role he thrived in during Phoenix’s Finals run -- but he hasn’t shown much more than that.

Defensively, though, has been the bigger letdown. This has been the worst screen navigation season of his career -- an area he’s typically excelled in -- and his defensive playmaking is down, averaging a career-low 1.5 stocks per 36 minutes. It's not shocking this is the second-lowest D-LEBRON season of his career.

The Knicks could use some extra offensive creation from him in the playoffs, but more importantly, they need him to rise to the intensity of postseason basketball and rediscover that elite two-way impact he flashed in Phoenix and Brooklyn. If not, New York's playoff stay won't be long.

10. Aaron Gordon, F, Denver Nuggets

Season Stats: 14.7 PTS, 4.8 REB, 3.2 AST, 65% TS, +0.9 EPM

This concept of scaling your game up or down is exactly what lands Aaron Gordon in the top 10 of this list. The Nuggets have the best player in the world, which gives them a chance in any series, but this roster isn’t nearly as deep as the one that won the title in 2023. Even last postseason -- still with more depth than they have now -- Denver struggled to generate offense outside of Nikola Jokic against physical teams.

This year, Gordon has shown he can rise to the moment. He’s stepped up when players have missed time, delivering efficient scoring nights and even shooting a career-high 43.6% from three on over three attempts per game. If he can continue to give the Nuggets timely shot creation and knock down threes at even a 38–40% clip when opponents try to funnel the ball to him beyond the arc, Denver can beat anyone.

11. Draymond Green, F/C, Golden State Warriors

Season Stats: 9.0 PTS, 6.1 REB, 5.6 AST, 53.4% TS, +1.4 EPM

Draymond, in very Draymond fashion, is openly campaigning for his second Defensive Player of the Year award this season. He’s going to have to put his money where his mouth is if this Warriors team is going to reach the heights their 23-8 record and +9.2 Net Rating since the Jimmy Butler trade suggests they can.

The Warriors have always liked to play small, but even their old “death lineups” with Draymond at the five weren’t that small. Thompson, Iguodala, Barnes/Durant -- those guys were all 6'6+ and 215+ pounds. Their best lineups this year are still littered with good defenders, but they are actually small.

Draymond has been arguably the best playoff defender of his generation, can he pull off his greatest act yet at age 35 for two straight months?

12. Jaden McDaniels, F, Minnesota Timberwolves

Season Stats: 12.2 PTS, 5.7 REB, 2.0 AST, 56.2 TS, +0.5 EPM

McDaniels at 12? Yeah, because I really like these Wolves as a team that could crash the Western Conference playoff party, and a lot of that depends on him. We already know how elite he is at the point of attack defensively as a 6'10 wing with a seven-foot wingspan who can still navigates screens like a guard. Just ask Devin Booker or Jamal Murray.

Yet valuable as his defense is, Minnesota is going to need spacing this postseason. They struggled with it at times last year, and that was with Karl-Anthony Towns instead of Julius Randle. Can McDaniels hit enough shots to keep the floor spaced so he can stay on the court in key moments? I think both he and Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s shooting could quietly be the X-factors that decide how far this team goes.

13. Tyrese Haliburton, G, Indiana Pacers

Season Stats: 18.6 PTS, 3.5 REB, 9.2 AST, 61.6% TS, +4.2 EPM

The Pacers are one of the most interesting teams in this year’s playoffs, with a wide range of possible outcomes. From a first-round exit to another trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, their up-tempo playstyle on both ends puts just about anything on the table. Of course, a lot of that hinges on the shoulders of Tyrese Haliburton -- the Pacers' jitterbug point guard whose pace and playmaking can make even the best defenses spin when everything is firing.

Haliburton was good, not great, in last year’s postseason and Indiana still made the ECF, albeit through an injury-riddled path. This time around, the road will be tougher, but the team also feels stronger. The question is whether Haliburton can be more consistent than he was a year ago and continue building on what’s an impressive last two months of the season, averaging 19.2 points and 10.1 assists on 64.8% true shooting since February. Indiana is the under the radar team to watch in the East.

14. Anthony Edwards, G, Minnesota Timberwolves

Season Stats: 27.6 PTS, 5.7 REB, 4.5 AST, 59.5% TS, +3.4 EPM

What a postseason 2024 was for Edwards. He was drawing Michael Jordan comparisons after the Western Semifinals -- and just two weeks later, people were questioning whether he was capable of processing high-level playoff defenses as a lead ball handler.

Edwards is someone I’ll be watching closely this postseason, not just because the Timberwolves are my dark horse, but to see his development as a playmaker in a playoff setting. Some games, he makes all the right reads and takes what the defense gives him. Other times, he says “hell with it” and tries to do everything himself. Finding the balance between aggression and not playing into the defense’s hands will be key. Like always with Ant, I expect the playoffs to be a wild but fun rollercoaster of highs and lows.

15. Jayson Tatum, F, Boston Celtics

Season Stats: 26.8 PTS, 8.7 REB, 6.0 AST, 58.2% TS, +4.2 EPM

Tatum comes in at 15 for a similar -- though less extreme -- reason as Anthony Edwards. He’s already won a championship and has 113 playoff games under his belt, with plenty of highs. However, his 2024 postseason left something to be desired, especially with how it ended: no Finals MVP.

I’d argue Tatum was still the most valuable player in Boston’s playoff run -- his defensive versatility, in particular, was key in the Finals against Dallas -- but his offensive game has always had stretches where it struggles with the physicality of the postseason. When his three-point shot abandoning him last year, his scoring output felt like it hit a low. As always, he made up for it with everything else he does to impact the game, but this is his shot to put it all together en route to a title and a Finals MVP

In my opinion, this has been the strongest offensive season of his career. If he can bring that level into the playoffs and fry dudes the way he has all year, it’ll go a long way toward solidifying his place among the league’s elite.

16. Jalen Green, G, Houston Rockets

Season Stats: 21.0 PTS, 4.6 REB, 3.4 AST, 54.4% TS, +0.0 EPM

If the Rockets are any kind of threat in the postseason, it’ll be because Jalen Green was really good. Head coach Ime Udoka has benched his 23-year-old leading scorer multiple times late in games in favor of better defensive options -- and with a 54.8% true shooting percentage and inconsistent defensive effort, it’s understandable.

However, Green is the best shot creator on this roster and has the raw talent to go shot for shot with many of the league’s stars. For Houston to reach its ceiling, he has to be on the floor in crunch time. I don’t think they’re ready to win four straight rounds, but I’ve warmed up to the idea of them knocking off one of the teams that is. Green playing up to Udoka's standard will be the X-factor.

17. Jrue Holiday, G, Boston Celtics

Season Stats: 11.1 PTS, 4.3 REB, 3.9 AST, 56.5% TS, +1.2 EPM

Holiday was an integral part of two NBA champions, his legacy is set. But he’s on this list because, frankly, this regular season has not looked awesome for him. It has me wondering: is this Boston putting him in bubble wrap, easing him into the playoffs? Or has he genuinely lost a step?

If the Celtics are going to repeat, they’re going to need him -- especially with a playoff path that figures to be much tougher than last year’s. If we don’t get a recharged version of Holiday, Boston’s road to a title gets a lot bumpier. I’ll be watching early and often to see which version shows up -- and whether he can sustain it over two grueling months.

18. Kyle Kuzma, F, Milwaukee Bucks

Season Stats: 14.8 PTS, 5.7 REB, 2.3 AST, 54.5% TS, -3.3 EPM

I’m not sure Kuzma truly belongs on this list, but I wanted to include at least one player from every team I think can realistically win a playoff series. For Milwaukee, Kuzma is an X-factor. We know what to expect from Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the postseason. Brook Lopez’s impact will be matchup-dependent. Milwaukee’s stable of 3&D guards will likely struggle defending bigger wings.

That’s where Kuzma, in theory, becomes critical -- the one player on the roster capable of taking on that defensive challenge, and the one who can function as a reliable four when the Bucks go to Giannis-at-the-five lineups. Yet this is all far from guaranteed. In fact, during Milwaukee’s eight-game win streak to close the regular season, Kuzma wasn’t even always part of the closing lineup.

Trading a proven playoff killer and franchise legend like Khris Middleton for Kuzma was a bold swing by the front office, health concerns or not. If this late-season trend continues and Kuzma underwhelms, the Bucks could flame out early, and the front office might go down with them.

19. Paolo Banchero, F, Orlando Magic

Season Stats: 25.9 PTS, 7.5 REB, 4.8 AST, 55.1% TS, +1.6 EPM

The Magic aren’t going to beat Boston with the league’s worst three-point shooting percentage -- but they won’t make it easy on them either, thanks to the NBA’s second-ranked defense. Boston will have to work for it, and I could see the series lasting a little longer than expected. What I’ll be watching during those two weeks is the growth of Paolo, who, despite strong counting stats, has been inefficient to begin his career. This is the second season in a row that Orlando's offense actually gets better when Paolo's off the floor.

All that said, at just 22 years old, Paolo might have begun turning a corner. Since March 1st, he’s averaging 29.1 points and 4.6 assists on 59.1% true shooting -- the best offensive stretch of his career. He still leaves much to be desired with his shot diet and playmaking chops, but he enters his second postseason run riding a hot streak. I’m excited to see what we get from him in this nothing-to-lose series for both him and the Magic.

20. Ja Morant, G, Memphis Grizzlies

Season Stats: 23.2 PTS, 4.1 REB, 7.3 AST, 56.3% TS, +3.0 EPM

Following the firing of Taylor Jenkins -- and more importantly, offensive coordinator Noah LaRoche -- the Grizzlies have returned to a much more Ja-centric style of play. LaRoche was brought in to install a heavy movement, “everybody eats” system that leaned away from pick-and-rolls and DHOs. Morant, as we already knew, wasn’t a fan. Since LaRoche’s departure, the offense has returned to a more familiar look -- built around Morant in the pick-and-roll, where he’s most comfortable.

Morant is only 25, but it feels like we’ve hit a crossroads. Once seen as a future face of the league, there’s now real speculation about whether the Grizzlies even want him long-term. His on- and off-court shenanigans haven’t gone away -- if anything, he’s leaned into them -- and his game seems to have plateaued. He’s still an elite downhill attacker and dynamic passer, but the jumper hasn’t developed, and there are fair questions about how efficient “Ja Ball” can really be.

Memphis isn’t a title threat this year, but for at least a couple games, Morant will have the chance to quiet the noise and remind the league what his best looks like against playoff defenses. That curiosity alone earns him the final spot on this list.