ESPN's top 10 players in this Finals

[nickagneta]

1 - Curry
2 - Tatum
3 - Wiggins
4 - Brown
5 - Green
6 - Smart
7 - Thompson
8 - Horford
9 - Poole
10 - Grant

1st, think there is a bunch of Warrior bias here. Wiggins does not deserve to be in the top 5 on this list. I also think Smart is better than Green and that Timelord should be on this list above Grant.

My top ten:

1 - Curry
2 - Tatum
3 - Brown
4 - Smart
5 - Green
6 - Thompson
7 - Horford
8 - Wiggins
9 - Poole
10 - Timelord

[mig3zwo]

I think the ESPN list is pretty much spot-on. Wiggins killed it in the Dallas series.
Poole should be higher up... and Green a bit down. But otherwise, it fits imho.

[RJ87]

The only qualm I have is putting Green over Smart.

A healthy Rob probably makes it in over Grant, but if he's hobbled like he was down ther stretch of the Miami series, he doesn't belong on list.

[gouki88]

Wiggins ahead of Brown is lunacy. Scores less on worse efficiency, generates much less points for his teammates, and he's a worse defender. His only advantage is offensive rebounding and turnovers.

[Surferdad]

Just ESPN looking for clicks during this 4-day break. Seems pointless at this stage, the most important games of all are yet to be played.

[Who]

1 - Curry
2 - Tatum
3 - Wiggins
4 - Brown
5 - Green
6 - Smart
7 - Thompson
8 - Horford
9 - Poole
10 - Grant

1st, think there is a bunch of Warrior bias here. Wiggins does not deserve to be in the top 5 on this list. I also think Smart is better than Green and that Timelord should be on this list above Grant.

My top ten:

1 - Curry
2 - Tatum
3 - Brown
4 - Smart
5 - Green
6 - Thompson
7 - Horford
8 - Wiggins
9 - Poole
10 - Timelord

1 Curry
2 Tatum
3 Jaylen
4 Horford
5 Draymond
6 Smart
7 Rob Williams
8 Klay
9 Wiggins
10 D White

11 Poole
12 G Williams

[Roy H.]

Hey, it gives Brown some small amount of bulletin board material.

The guy who I think is a bit disrespected is Klay.

I guess if I was ranking:

1. Tatum (yes, I went there)
2. Curry
3. Brown
4. Klay
5. Smart
6a. Horford
6b. Green
7.  Poole
8. Wiggins
9. Timelord
10. White

Seriously, though, did ESPN just say "well, Wiggins was an all-star, so he's third"?  He hasn't been that good since around February.

[Moranis]

Wiggins is ridiculously high, the rest of the order is at least arguable.

[Roy H.]

https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=tatumja01&p1yrfrom=2022&player_id2=curryst01&p2yrfrom=2022

It's interesting.  Tatum and Curry have been really close this post-season (and this season in general).  The two big statistical differences:  Tatum has played significantly more minutes, and Tatum turns the ball over way more.  JT makes up for that with better defense, but it would be great if he'd be more careful with the ball.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Hey, it gives Brown some small amount of bulletin board material.

The guy who I think is a bit disrespected is Klay.

I guess if I was ranking:

1. Tatum (yes, I went there)
2. Curry
3. Brown
4. Klay
5. Smart
6a. Horford
6b. Green
7.  Poole
8. Wiggins
9. Timelord
10. White

Seriously, though, did ESPN just say "well, Wiggins was an all-star, so he's third"?  He hasn't been that good since around February.

I know Klay scored 32 in his last game, but are we convinced that he's capable of doing that against a much better D? I have watched him a decent amount this year, and I think he's washed. Sure, he has moments, but he's not the same defender and he's rarely the same scorer. This guy is playing off his legacy.

I agree with your list. Tatum is a better defender than Steph. I think he's currently a better player. I don't think we need to discount this core's finals experience, but our guys are younger, faster, and longer.

[RJ87]

Hey, it gives Brown some small amount of bulletin board material.

The guy who I think is a bit disrespected is Klay.

I guess if I was ranking:

1. Tatum (yes, I went there)
2. Curry
3. Brown
4. Klay
5. Smart
6a. Horford
6b. Green
7.  Poole
8. Wiggins
9. Timelord
10. White

Seriously, though, did ESPN just say "well, Wiggins was an all-star, so he's third"?  He hasn't been that good since around February.

Klay's offense is trending back to where it was pre-injuries, but his defense is another story. He's just not the 2 way player he was before.

[Moranis]

Hey, it gives Brown some small amount of bulletin board material.

The guy who I think is a bit disrespected is Klay.

I guess if I was ranking:

1. Tatum (yes, I went there)
2. Curry
3. Brown
4. Klay
5. Smart
6a. Horford
6b. Green
7.  Poole
8. Wiggins
9. Timelord
10. White

Seriously, though, did ESPN just say "well, Wiggins was an all-star, so he's third"?  He hasn't been that good since around February.

Klay's offense is trending back to where it was pre-injuries, but his defense is another story. He's just not the 2 way player he was before.

True, but none of the players he has behind him are 2-way players either.  They are either good to great offensive players or good to great defensive players.  Frankly, Curry isn't even a 2-way player.  There are only 2 in the series, Tatum and Brown.  No one else is good enough at both ends to be called a 2-way player.  So then it just becomes a matter of looking at what players do well and in that Klay, especially in the playoffs, has basically been the player on offense he was before he missed 2 years.  57.5 TS%, 20/4/2.5 those are basically his last several post season runs, including this one.  now perhaps you prefer Smart's DPOY level defense over the efficient scorer, that is preference, but since offense is more important it isn't hard to see how someone like Klay could be ahead of someone like Smart.

[johnnygreen]

I feel like the title is a little misleading. The ESPN insider article is "The 10 most important players in the NBA Finals". Can someone who has insider, provide the criteria that ESPN used to define who a most important player is.

[nickagneta]

I feel like the title is a little misleading. The ESPN insider article is "The 10 most important players in the NBA Finals". Can someone who has insider, provide the criteria that ESPN used to define who a most important player is.

The criteria was....however the author wanted to rank the players. That was the ONLY criteria.

So essentially our opinions here are just as good as his regardless if the title says "top 10 players"(here), "10 most important players"(top of ESPN article) or "10 best players"(on link to article on front page of ESPN).

[RJ87]

A lot of people seem to be upset that Wiggins was rated so highly. Consider his primary role in this series and its impact on his team: take Tatum out of the game. If he's able to do that at all, GSW will win this series.