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When every team gets done with their 82 regular season games, only 16 of the 30 remain - 8 from each conference - who battle it out for the Larry O'Brien Trophy through a course of multiple 7-game series.
Also read: Top 10 regular season scorers in NBA History
The covetous MVP (Most Valuable Player) award is bestowed upon a special talent from the league every year, but the award doesn't seem to take the post-season numbers into consideration. In fact, that's the case with most of the NBA awards and the anomaly has forever remained a topic of discussion, considering the season where MVP was awarded to a player from a team that couldn't even make it to the second round of the playoffs.
Playoffs are when the intensity of every shot, every play and every possession increases tenfold. It is when the mental fibre of each team is stretched to its limits and the toughest of them all prevail.
Time and again, we have seen exceptionally talented players blaze through their regular seasons, setting the bar of expectations way too high, only to falter under immense pressure in the playoffs. It is when the experience and the ability to see the play even before it happens on the court, come under the microscope.
The following men excelled at delivering in pressure situations and as a result, have found their place among some of the best scorers in Playoffs.
#10 Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Wade was drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NBA draft by Miami and went on to play for the franchise till 2016, before being traded to the Bulls followed by joining the Cavaliers, and then being traded back to Miami in 2018. He is Miami's all-time leader in points, games, assists, steals, shots made and shots taken.
Miami Heat reached 4 consecutive (2011 to 2014) NBA Finals under the orchestration of Wade, Bosh and LeBron and won 2 NBA titles during the same period. In the 2008–09 season, Wade led the league in scoring and earned his first NBA scoring title. He is a 12-time All-Star and was also named the NBA Finals MVP when Heat beat Mavericks in 2006 to win the championship.
Wade has appeared in 177 playoff games throughout his post-season career and has recorded 3,953 points against his name.
#9 Tony Parker
Tony Parker was born in Bruges, Belgium, and raised in France. Parker's two younger brothers were also heavily involved in basketball. As Parker built his skill, he played the point guard position, recognizing that his speed and agility made this position ideal for him.
Under Pop's esteemed leadership, Parker-aided-Spurs went on to win four NBA Championships in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. Parker was selected as an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career for the 2005–06 season as he managed 18.9 ppg and an impressive .548 in field goal percentage.
Owing to the consistent and classic teamwork of the Spurs franchise, Tony Parker played in 226 playoff games alongside legends Duncan and Ginobili. He had 4,045 points stacked next to his playoff total by the time Spurs lost to Warriors in the first round in the 2017-18 season.
#8 Jerry West
Jerry West joined the Lakers in 1960 and led them to a Championship in 1972. He was also named the NBA Finals MVP in 1969. A 14-time All-star and 10-time All-NBA first team member, West's iconic #44 jersey was retired by the Lakers franchise as a sign of respect to the legend.
Jerry West playoff scoring record is scintillating as he played just 153 games and scored a total of 4,457 points in the process. His playoff average of 29.1 points per game is 4th on the All-time playoff ppg list.
After his playing career ended, West took over as head coach of the Lakers for three years. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and was voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996.
#7 Karl Malone
Karl "The Mailman" Malone hoarded 4,761 playoff points shooting 46.3% from the field in the post-season. Although he lags behind in the points per game tally (standing at 19th with 24.7 ppg in the playoffs All-time), Malone had an impact on the floor which is remotely expressed on paper. Standing 6 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 260 pounds, the muscular Malone quickly established himself as one of the most dominant power forwards in the league.
He appeared in 193 playoffs matchups during his career, stacking up 2 regular season MVP awards and was named an All-Star 14 times. Malone's nickname, "The Mailman," came from the time when he played basketball at Louisiana Tech University and "always delivered."
Another one of Karl's amazing feats is that he ranks first among NBA career free throw scoring leaders by a total of 9,787 made free throws.
#6 Tim Duncan
After graduating in 1997, Duncan was the Spurs’ first overall pick, and boy did they have ANY idea as to what they were getting. Wearing a dead expression at all times and having no concern for the fashion police (those big oversized shirts), Duncan quickly rose through the ranks, winning NBA Rookie of the Year and cementing himself as the face of the most respected and consistent organisation in the league.
Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976), went on to lead San Antonio Spurs to five NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014), with the first one being the franchise's first NBA title.
Tim Duncan was a part of 251 playoff clashes (which is the most by any player in the NBA's history) and has dropped 5,172 post-season points. A jaw-dropping 15-time All-Star, 2-time MVP winner and 10-time All NBA First team member, Duncan was one of the 14 NBA players to have registered more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a single season (2001-02).
#5 Shaquille O' Neal
Shaq was named in NBA's list of 50 greatest players of all time in 1996. He redefined on-court dominance and the use of muscle in the paint to bag 4 NBA titles, capturing NBA Finals MVP at three of those finals with the Lakers.
Under Phil Jackson's guidance at the Lakers, Shaq evolved as a player, focussing more on rebounding, defence and free-throw shooting, which eventually helped him win the regular season league MVP in 1999-2000 season. Complete to the core, he coupled with Kobe to lead the Lakers to 3 NBA championships in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
His career playoffs total includes 5,250 points (5th highest total in NBA playoffs history) fetched in 216 playoff games. Along with 15 All-Star Game selections, O’Neal was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
#4 Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant retired in 2016 wearing a Lakers jersey, and that was the end of an era, to say the least. He scored 60 points in his farewell game and received what was regarded as one of the best send-offs in international sports around the globe.
Bryant accumulated 5,640 points playing 220 post-season games, and in the mix of things, picked up 5 championship rings. He was voted an All-Star 18 times and also has the NBA MVP award for the year 2008 placed in his trophy shelf. Following this, Kobe led Lakers to 2 more championships in 2009 and 2010, winning the Finals MVP on both the occasions.
Bryant, a shooting guard, and O’Neal, a centre, meshed into a remarkably effective combination under legendary coach Phil Jackson and led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships.
#3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also called (until 1971) Lew Alcindor, byname of Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, dominated the game throughout the 1970s and early ’80s.
In 1975 he was traded to Los Angeles Lakers (from the Milwaukee Bucks), who later went on to win the NBA championship in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. He is the all-time regular season leading scorer in the NBA with 38,387 points, along with most games played appearing in 1,560 matchups.
By the time his career ended, he was leading the NBA in terms of most field goals made (15,837), and most minutes played (57,446) as well. With 6 rings (1 with the Bucks and 5 with the Lakers) and 6 regular season MVP awards headlining his basketball resume, Kareem has set the bar for professional basketball in the years to come.
As far as his playoffs record goes, he had 5,762 points in 237 post-season games topping it off with 2 NBA Finals MVPs twice (in 1971 and 1985).
#2 Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest all-around player in the history of the game. Being named in the All-NBA First team 10 times plus 9 times in the NBA All-Defensive first team emboldens his impact on both ends of the floor. He earned the nickname “Air Jordan because of his extraordinary vertical air-stay and inhuman decision making in mid-air making it seem like he was up there forever.
Jordan led the league in scoring in the very first season of his in the NBA, grabbing 'Rookie of the Year' after being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984. He was only the second player (after Wilt Chamberlain) to score 3,000 points in a single season (1986–87) and had bagged 5 NBA regular season MVP trophies by the time he retired in 2003. His pile of 32,292 regular season points stands 4th on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
Jordan's playoff numbers are things to be recorded in golden words. He won 6 NBA Championships playing for the Chicago Bulls, finishing with 5,987 post-season points in 179 playoff games in total.
Although he stays second on the all-time playoffs scoring list, his playoff average of 33.3 points per game tops anyone else's in the whole league.
#1 LeBron James
LeBron James has played in 239 post-season games(second to only Tim Duncan's 251) and has scored 6,911 points averaging 28.9 points per playoff game. His playoff scoring tally is astronomical, in terms of the fact that the person who stands second(Michael Jordan) is 924 points behind.
Also, the only active players on the top 10 list, Tony Parker (4,045) and Dwyane Wade (3,954), have huge ground to catch up, which seems pretty unlikely. Practically, James is going to be NBA's leading playoff scorer for a seriously LONG time(added that he has a couple more seasons in him AT LEAST before he retires).
In 2017–18 he played a full 82-game regular season for the first time in his career and led the NBA in minutes played per game (36.9) while averaging 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and a new career-high 9.1 assists per game.
He has completed 15 seasons in the league and has been named an All-Star for 14 consecutive years, also winning the NBA 'Rookie of the Year' in 2004. With 3 NBA Championships (2 with Miami Heat and 1 with the Cavaliers) and 4 regular season MVP awards already, James doesn't look like stopping before he has crashed every record there is in the basketball books.
