With the 2024 NBA Finals wrapping up, the league has now completed 77 playoff runs (when you count the days of the Basketball Association of America). That means there's a heck of a sample to draw from when determining the best playoff performers of all time. And that's exactly what Bleacher Report's done for you below.
But before we dive into the final order, a word on how we got here. Numbers were certainly consulted, both basic and advanced. Unfortunately, the most consistently accurate and readily available catch-all, box plus/minus , only tracks back to 1973-74, so that wasn't initially in the mix for an "all-time" list (though you'll certainly see mention of it for individual players below).
Instead, we used win shares, win shares per 48 minutes, player efficiency rating, a simple combination of points, rebounds and assists per game and minutes played to get a baseline. All 1,758 players with at least 100 career playoff minutes were sorted by the average of their ranks in those five categories. Using both rate and cumulative numbers gave everyone credit for peaks and longevity.
And that second part is important. On little more than box plus/minus or points per game, a player like Anthony Edwards would absolutely belong in the top 50, but making an all-time list like this requires staying power. From there, subjectivity, trophies and championships took over for the final tweaks of the order.
That led to some pretty painful omissions, including James Worthy, Patrick Ewing.