First Team
Guard: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Playoff stats (15 games): 25.5 points, 5.4 assists, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals
If you only saw the NBA Finals, you wouldn’t guess that Curry missed the start of the playoffs with injury. After missing the whole first round with an MCL sprain, his return to the Warriors lineup was seamless.
After coming off the bench in his return game and playing just 31.2 minutes per game in the second round, Curry was back in full flight in the Finals. His Game 2 performance, with the series still in the balance, was a masterpiece – 33 points and a Finals-record nine 3’s.
Averaging 27.4 points in the four-game sweep, Curry must have been close to winning his first Bill Russell Trophy. Even without it, though, he had a great postseason after a rocky start.
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Guard: James Harden, Houston Rockets
Playoff stats (17 games): 28.6 points, 6.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 steals
Harden’s playoff shooting struggles are well documented, and they continued this season. And yet, despite shooting just 29.9 percent from 3, he still had an outstanding postseason.
He started with a bang against Minnesota, scoring 44 points in Game 1 and leading the Rockets to a comfortable series win. That was one of three games of more than 40 points for Harden, and he had eight games with more than 30.
Most importantly, he converted that scoring prowess into team success. By proving that he and the Rockets could hang with Golden State, Harden took the next step on the path to greatness.
Forward: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Playoff stats (22 games): 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.0 blocks
Quite honestly, there’s nothing you can say that would capture the greatness of LeBron James in these playoffs. He had one of the all-time great postseasons and took the Cavaliers to the Finals with little help from his teammates.
His performance in Game 1 of the Finals was an instant classic, and the best game I have ever seen from any player. If you want to see how dominant LeBron was, just look up the highlights from that game. And if you want to see how much his teammates contributed, watch the end of that game.
With 11 games of 30-plus points, three triple-doubles and almost 42 minutes per game, LeBron pushed himself to the limited. In doing so, he reached a level that very few players could ever hit.
Forward: Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Playoff stats (21 games): 29.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.2 blocks
Say what you will about Kevin Durant, but he’s now in rarefied air. Only five players have ever won back-to-back Finals MVP awards, and he was as dominant as ever in this season’s decider.
His 43-point performance in Game 3 was a stunning display of scoring from all over the court. Even more remarkable is that it came with 13 rebounds and seven assists.
And while it’s easily forgotten now, Durant led the Warriors through the first round without Curry on the court. A potentially tricky series lasted just five games, largely due to his strong performances on both ends.
Center: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Playoff stats (9 games): 30.1 points, 13.4 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 2.3 blocks
Davis may have had the shortest stay in the playoffs of any First Team selection, but he had a huge impact while he was there. He finished the postseason second in points per game, first in rebounds per game and first in blocks per game.
He also led the Pelicans to a stunning upset in the first round, sweeping the red-hot Trail Blazers and closing them out with 47 points in Game 4. He even gave a sign of what fans might see in later rounds for years, with 33 points and 18 rebounds against the eventual champions.
With a double-double in every game and some truly dominant defensive performances, it was impossible to leave Davis out of this team. Hopefully in future seasons we’ll get to see him in the postseason for a little bit longer.