NBA Playoff MVP rankings: Who’s been the king of the postseason (so far)?

There should be an NBA Playoff MVP, shouldn’t there be?

People have been clamoring for this idea for what seems like forever, and we finally gave you, dear readers, a snapshot of what that may have looked like at this point — through two rounds — last season. So, why not reveal our Playoff MVPs (so far) again?

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In fact, the NBA should take it a step further and feature an All-NBA Playoff Team, so consider this, a top-five list of Playoff MVP candidates, our ballot (again: so far).

(The All-NBA Playoff Second Team and Playoff MVP honorable mentions, with apologies to Dylan Harper and Alex Caruso: Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves; James Harden, Cleveland Cavaliers; Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder; Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks.)

(Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports illustration)

Cunningham’s postseason may be done, but what a ride it was, lasting two seven-game series, and he was Detroit’s primary (only?) offensive option for the entirety.

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He gets to his spots, and that’s pretty much anywhere on a basketball court, where he can score or create with equal aplomb. At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, he is bigger than most anyone defending him, and he can muscle his way to a midrange jumper, or all the way to the basket in the absence of a big. Switch a big onto him, and he will bring him back out to the perimeter and dance his way to a blow-by drive or a step-back 3.

This is, of course, true for all of the great playmakers on this list, but Cunningham had a unique degree of responsibility on his Pistons. They often played two non-shooters — a severely struggling Jalen Duren and defensive ace Ausar Thompson — around him, and they lacked secondary creation beyond a valiant effort from Tobias Harris.

All of Detroit’s shortcomings — the same ones we were anticipating going into the playoffs — were exposed against both the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers, two teams to which a 60-win No. 1 seed should have had no problem laying waste.

But one thing is for certain in Detroit: Cade Cunningham is here for the fight.

Nobody has scored more…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-playoff-mvp-rankings-whos-been-the-king-of-the-postseason-so-far-175350287.html

Author : Ben Rohrbach

Publish date : 2026-05-22 17:53:00

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