A man’s legacy as an NBA superstar is largely defined by his ability to show up when it matters the most. With the 2023 NBA playoffs around the corner, we eagerly anticipate the next star to jump off the page and drive his team to an NBA championship.

Players such as Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo all look like potential stars of the show for the 2023 playoffs, but who were the very best in the league’s long history? 

Many great names come to mind. There is Michael Jordan with his two three-peats. There is the Kobe-Shaq combination in Los Angeles, and the greatness of LeBron James winning championships with three different organizations. It’s never easy to narrow down a list like this one, but these are the top 10 NBA playoff performers of all time.

When do the NBA Playoffs Start?

The 2023 NBA playoffs kick off on April 11 with the NBA Play-In Tournament. The eight-team tournament includes teams seeded Nos. 7 through 10 in each conference. Each four-team group competes for its conference’s final two playoff spots. Once those berths are secured, the traditional playoff rounds begin on April 15.

The playoffs run all the way through the NBA Finals, with Game 1 of that series set to tip off on June 1.

Which NBA player has played the most playoff games in NBA history?

No NBA player has made more playoff appearances than LeBron James. The worldwide superstar has appeared in 266 NBA playoff games over the course of his career, including two stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and appearances with both the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers.

Ranking the Top 10 Best NBA Playoff Performers of All Time

10. Larry Bird

Record in Playoffs: 99-65
Teams: Boston Celtics
Total Postseason Games: 164
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 23.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists
NBA Championships: 1981, 1984, 1986

Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird boasts some of the most impressive playoff performances in Celtics franchise history, and that’s saying something. His fierce rivalry with Lakers star Magic Johnson made for some of the best playoff series in the 1980s. The two stars had been going head to head ever since the 1979 NCAA championship game between Magic’s Michigan State and Bird’s Indiana State teams.

Bird won three titles with the Celtics, who dominated the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs with five conference titles during Bird’s years in Boston. He was named the Finals MVP in both the 1984 and 1986 championship seasons, with his best run coming in 1984 when he averaged 27 points per game, and the Celtics stormed through the playoffs before taking down the Lakers in the finals.

9. Shaquille O’Neal

Record in Playoffs: 129-87
Teams: Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics
Total Postseason Games: 216
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 24.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists
NBA Championships: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006 

No player has ever dominated the paint quite like Shaq. The most physically punishing and hardest-to-guard big man in the history of the game was a constant force in the NBA playoffs.

Paired with Kobe Bryant, Shaq helped the Lakers to a three-peat of titles between 2000 and 2002, earning Finals MVP honors in all three of those series.

In his prime, O’Neal was the best player in basketball. There was no answer for his combination of size and athleticism, and his NBA playoff stats led the league in just about every category during the early 2000s.

Shaq had some of the best playoff performances in NBA history, with four 40-point, 20 rebound playoff games to his credit. Only four players have ever achieved that feat more than once, and Shaq is tied for the record with Wilt Chamberlain.

8. Steph Curry

Record in Playoffs: 93-41
Teams: Golden State Warriors
Total Postseason Games: 134
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 26.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists
NBA Championships: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022 

Steph Curry, the greatest 3-point shooter the game has ever seen, won three NBA titles in four seasons with the Golden State Warriors between 2015 and 2018. 

During that era, Curry and the Warriors were almost untouchable, and Curry has a host of NBA Finals performances to prove it. In the 2015 Finals series against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Curry’s fourth-quarter takeover led to his first ever championship, and many believe he was robbed of the Finals MVP that year, too.

He was similarly superb in Game 5 of the 2017 series, with a 50 percent shooting performance and 34 points. He did it again in Game 4 in 2018 and then again in Game 4 in 2022 -- a 43-point performance that helped him win his fourth championship with the Warriors in one of the best NBA playoff games of all time.

There’s no question that any list of the best players to show up in the NBA playoffs, and particularly the NBA Finals, needs to include Steph Curry as one of its all-time greats.

7. Magic Johnson

Record in Playoffs: 128-62
Teams: Los Angeles Lakers
Total Postseason Games: 190
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 19.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 12.3 assists
NBA Championships: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988

Magic Johnson dominated the NBA Finals and led the Lakers to an NBA championship over a talented Philadelphia 76ers team as a rookie. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was forced to sit out the deciding game, and Magic took control with his greatest performance -- and arguably the best NBA playoff performance of all time -- in Game 6 of the 1980 Finals at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.

With Kareem out, Johnson filled in at center on the road in Philadelphia. The Lakers led the series 3-2 and a win would result in a championship. Magic proceeded to score 42 points, grab 15 rebounds, and provide seven assists on his way to claiming the NBA Finals MVP and a championship in his very first season as a pro.

His career just kept getting better. Magic would retire with five NBA championships and three NBA Finals MVPs to rank as one of the greatest playoff performers in NBA history. He and John Stockton share the NBA single-game playoff record of 24 assists.

6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Record in Playoffs: 154-83
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers
Total Postseason Games: 237
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 24.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists
NBA Championships: 1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the most dominant players in the history of the league, so it's no surprise that he’s also one of the most impressive playoff talents in NBA history. 

Kareem won six NBA titles -- one with the Milwaukee Bucks and five as a member of the L.A. Lakers -- and was named the MVP in two NBA Finals series.

His ability to hit turnaround jumpers and post up against any player, not to mention his famous skyhook, was unmatched. As a result, he recorded some of the best NBA playoff point totals of all time. His nine 40-plus point performances included a 40-point night in the 1980 Finals against Philadelphia.

5. Kobe Bryant

Record in Playoffs: 135-85
Teams: Los Angeles Lakers
Total Postseason Games: 220
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 25.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists
NBA Championships: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010

Kobe Bryant won his first three championships as a younger player alongside Shaquille O’Neal, and together they were one of the greatest duos in NBA history. He came back a few years later and won two more without Shaq, and he displayed some of the best work in his all-time great career in those two series.

In the 2009 and 2010 playoffs, Bryant averaged 30.2 and 29.2 points per game, including a stunning seven-game series against a loaded Boston Celtics team in the 2010 NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant was one of the most focused, intense talents ever to play the game of basketball. He had several crowning moments in the NBA postseason, including a 37-point Game 6 performance against the Phoenix Suns in the 2010 Western Conference playoffs that claimed the series for the Lakers. He also had a tone-setting 40-point performance in Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals that resulted in the Lakers winning their fourth of five championships.

4. Tim Duncan

Record in Playoffs: 157-94
Teams: San Antonio Spurs
Total Postseason Games: 251
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 20.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists
NBA Championships: 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014

Tim Duncan was the centerpiece of a talented San Antonio Spurs franchise that won five titles with him in its lineup. He had a momentous career with the Spurs, but quietly went about his business in the playoffs as one of the greatest to ever do it.

Competing in a loaded Western Conference for most of his career, Duncan took down superstar teams as one of the best two-way players of his time. He was an all-time rim protector on the defensive end and averaged over 20 points per game on the offensive end.

Duncan appeared in over 250 playoff games during a 20-year career. In 2003, a prime Duncan almost managed a quadruple-double in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against New Jersey– finishing with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and a crazy eight blocks as the Spurs defeated the Nets. Duncan was crowned the Finals MVP, and a decade later would win his fifth title at age 37 in a sensational series against LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

Duncan’s five championships and three Finals MVP awards make him one of the most successful playoff performers in NBA history.

3. LeBron James

Record in Playoffs: 174-92
Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers
Total Postseason Games: 266
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 28.7 points, 9 rebounds, 7.2 assists
NBA Championships: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020

LeBron James, now the superstar with the most points in NBA history, has also won four NBA championships with three different franchises.

James made the NBA Finals in eight consecutive seasons during a phenomenal run in the Eastern Conference, but no series was quite as impressive as the 2016 Finals.

During an era of dominance by the Golden State Warriors, who were the defending champions and nearly unstoppable throughout the 2015-16 regular season and playoffs, LeBron rewrote the script. Trailing 3-1 in the series, LeBron forced the Cavs back into contention with back-to-back 41-point efforts in Games 5 and 6 to tie the series at 3-3. He was everywhere in Game 7 -- posting a triple-double as the Cavs came all the way back to claim the NBA championship.

While the 2016 Finals are one of the crowning moments in LeBron James’ sensational career, one game from the 2007 playoffs also deserves mention here. While a young LeBron might not have won a championship that year, he had a simply unbelievable performance against the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

LeBron closed that remarkable Game 5 by scoring 29 of the Cavaliers’ final 30 points and was the only Cleveland player to make a field goal over the final seven minutes of regulation time and two overtime periods. His lay-up gave Cleveland the lead with barely two seconds left on the clock, and the Cavs ultimately won the game -- leaving the Pistons (and the rest of us) completely stunned.

LeBron is one of the best players in NBA postseason history -- holding the records for playoff appearances and career playoff points (7,631 heading into the 2023 postseason).

2. Bill Russell

Record in Playoffs: 107-58
Teams: Boston Celtics
Total Postseason Games: 165
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 16.2 points, 24.9 rebounds
NBA Championships: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969 

Writing out Bill Russell’s list of NBA championships feels almost surreal every time. Eleven NBA titles, including a run of eight in a row from 1959 to 1966, is simply extraordinary. That alone is enough to make the case for Bill Russell as the greatest NBA playoff performer of all time.

Of course, the game was different back then, but Russell averaged 24.9 rebounds per game in the playoffs. While Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most rebounds in a single playoff game (41), Russell has the overall career record of 4,104 total rebounds.

Russell was a dominant force on both ends of the floor and prompted basketball rules changes that made it possible for others to compete with him. He won 64.8 percent of the playoff games he appeared in and was 11-1 in the NBA Finals. Russell has some of the best NBA playoff stats in the history of the game. All NBA fans, not just those who root for the Celtics, will always respect him for the way he played and what he did for the game.

1. Michael Jordan

Record in Playoffs: 119-60
Teams: Chicago Bulls
Total Postseason Games:  179
Career Playoff Per-Game Averages: 33.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists
NBA Championships: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 

Michael Jordan made it to the NBA playoffs with the Chicago Bulls in every season he played after his rookie year. He won 66.5 percent of his postseason games, giving him the best individual record of any player in NBA history.

Jordan tore through teams in the playoffs. He was a sensational basketball player who somehow had a whole new level of talent when it came to the postseason. Jordan boasts several NBA all-time playoff stats records as a result.

MJ’s 33.4 points per game is the NBA record for the highest career average by any player in NBA playoff history. He played in six NBA Finals and won all six of them, while being named the Finals MVP every time.

Not only that, but Jordan also holds the record for most points in a single NBA playoff game with a 63-point performance against Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics at the Boston Garden. After that game, Bird suggested Jordan was just “God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

Jordan holds the record for the most NBA Finals MVPs and never lost in six trips to the championship round. He also holds the single-game playoff scoring record, had 39 playoff double-doubles, two playoff triple-doubles and two three-peats with the Bulls in the 1990s. Given this truly ridiculous resume, if there were an all-time NBA playoffs MVP award, I think it would be fair to hand it to Michael Jordan.

Parameters of Rankings

These all-time great NBA players have been ranked based on their productivity and performance in the postseason alone. Playoff winning percentages, scoring statistics, clutch performances, and individual accolades -- such as Finals MVP and leading playoff scorer -- were all taken into consideration when preparing this list.

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