Stephen A. Smith has a clear pick for the best player left in the 2025 NBA playoffs. A month after the postseason started, only four teams are still standing in the race for the championship.
The Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves start tonight, while the Eastern Conference finals between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers will start tomorrow.
Each of these teams has a clear star, with the Thunder having Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Timberwolves with Anthony Edwards, the Knicks with Jalen Brunson and the Pacers with Tyrese Haliburton.
Ahead of these matchups, a debate about who is the best player left in the playoffs sparked. Smith and Co. discussed it, with the veteran analyst having a clear selection.
During Tuesday's episode of "First Take," Smith named Brunson the clear best player of the postseason, even saying that Gilgeous-Alexander has been terrific too, but the Knicks guard has the edge.
"Jalen Brunson is clearly the best player in the playoffs," Smith said. "I think Gilbert is not right on point. Shai Gilgeous, soon-to-be-MVP, best player, but the best player this postseason is Jalen Brunson."
Additionally, he warned Brunson and Gilgeous-Alexander about a player who can take the spotlight from any opponent: Edwards.
"The reason I bring up 'Ant-Man,' however, is because if there's one person who has the ability to eclipse the greatness we are witnessing elsewhere, it is that brother. On center stage, this man, Anthony Edwards, can take the hell over and debunk all of that talk.
"I get it that Jalen Brunson is the best playoff dude, I get that Shai Gilgeous is the best in terms of all-around from the beginning of the season to know, and is about to win an MVP, but there's somebody in the mix that can take steal thunder from both of them and it's 'Ant-Man.'"
Edwards is coming off eliminating LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler in back-to-back series. After struggling to find consistency without Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves figured things out at the right moment, going from a No. 7 regular-season finish to the conference finals.
The two matchups confirm that the NBA is entering a new era, but while Brunson and Gilgeous-Alexander might be getting all the attention, Edwards and Haliburton are eager to send them home.
More must-reads: