Player Gradings For The 2024 NBA Finals
With the NBA Finals now concluded, it’s time to look back at which players thrived, disappointed, or did basically as was expected of them. Remember that these ratings are strictly based on the Finals series, not the whole playoffs.
Jaylen Brown: A
He was the Finals MVP for a reason. He consistently stepped up when Boston needed it and was an absolute weapon on the defensive side of the ball. His POA defense proved crucial in slowing down Kyrie Irving, particularly when he matched up with him.
Though he struggled from the field in the close out Game Five, he was the C’s most consistent shot-maker throughout
the series.
He also averaged five assists, a credit to how his game has evolved and matured over the years, not just looking for his shot and playing a team game.
Luka Doncic: B
Luka did everything you could’ve asked of him on the offensive side of the ball, averaging 29.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 5.6 APG, leading the team in all three categories.
He also led the team in steals per game at 2.6, but that’s the majority of the reason he’s only getting a B rating. For the first three games of this series, not only was he getting torched on defense, but he also wasn’t showing nearly enough effort. He was rightly criticized for this and responded nicely in Game Four with a much better defensive game, but you have to wonder what could’ve been if he had locked into both sides of the ball earlier. He also averaged 4.6 Turnovers in the five games, which gives the rating a slight knock.
Jayson Tatum: B+
I don’t like the criticism Tatum faced in this series due to his poor shooting from the field. While his shot-making ability was certainly far from impressive through the first four games, people seemed to ignore everything else Tatum was doing on the floor.
The 7.2 assists he averaged was a seriously surprising step up, and when Dallas continued to help heavily on him driving or posting up, he consistently found his shooters and cutters for easy baskets. His defensive versatility was also on full display this series, both on the boards (7.8 per game) and in his help defense. While the 38.8% FG is far from what you want from a superstar, we can agree that he was still very valuable in other aspects of this series.
Kyrie Irving: C-
I love Kyrie Irving as a basketball player. He is easily one of our league's best and most entertaining scorers today. That said, he was very disappointed in this series, and I’m sure no one’s more disappointed in Kyrie than he is. Irving shot 38.2% from the field in losses this series and 30.4% from downtown in the same games.
I will give him some credit, as it was evident he was giving every effort on the defensive end from the start of Game One. While it wasn’t super effective at times, he gave it his all at both ends, wondering if the constant booing from the hostile Boston crowd affected him at all.
Jrue Holiday: A-
This guy just continues to improve, and he is a winning player. In Game Two, he was Boston’s best player on offense, and from there, he was incredible defensively in every game. Easily one of the best on-ball defenders in the league, he showed his worth in this series as he won his second NBA title.
PJ Washington: D+
I had high hopes for PJ coming into the series. This year, he was excellent in the playoffs, particularly in the Conference Finals against Minnesota. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t find a rhythm offensively, which frustrated him and led to several unnecessary fouls. His foul trouble limited his effectiveness defensively, and ultimately, he was a net negative for most of the series.
Al Horford: A
If you’re wondering who has the highest 3P% in NBA Finals history, it’s this guy! The 37-year-old Horford finally gets his coveted championship ring after a stellar series in 30 MPG, particularly from the 3-point line.
Dereck Lively: A-
Lively was probably the Mav's second-best player this series and was excellent in his extended minutes off the bench throughout the playoffs. He certainly had his bad moments in the Finals, but he’s a rookie, and for a 20-year-old, I thought he held his own pretty well, especially against the experience and talent of Boston’s frontcourt. Excited to see him develop even more next season, and hopefully, he can develop that 3-point shot we saw in Game Four!
Kristaps Porzingis: B+
Coming back after a month or so of not playing, KP was awesome in Game One, scoring 20 points on excellent efficiency.
He wasn't as good the rest of the series, but he was still dealing with injury, which resulted in him not playing in Games Three and Four. Nonetheless, I was impressed with what I saw on both ends of the court.
Derrick Jones Jr: C
Another guy who was exceptional for Dallas throughout the playoffs, the productivity dropped slightly in the finals. I gave a C rating because I can’t say I expected Jones to play as he did in the Conference Finals again, knowing his opportunities would be limited. He shot 43% from the field and 25% from three in the five games.
Derrick White: A
It’s completely unfair how good the Boston Celtics backcourt is defensively, probably the only starting backcourt in the NBA that could do this good job on Luka and Kyrie. White has a knack for making the right play at the right time, including hitting key shots. Many times in this series, the Mavs threatened to go on a run, or Boston was looking lost on possession; the ball fell to Derrick White, and he drained a 26-footer. It’s those types of plays that swing momentum and either ignite a home crowd or suck the life out of a road team’s crowd.
Pritchard, Hauser, And Tillman: A
The rest of the guys got real rotation minutes for Boston, and they all made the most of it. Dallas tried to attack Pritchard and Hauser on defense, but the two held their well most of the time. On the other end, Hauser was a sniper, hitting on 11 of 23 attempts from downtown, and Payton Pritchard hit TWO half-court buzzer-beaters in the series, which I think is enough to justify the rating. Tillman didn’t play for many minutes, but I thought he was of high quality when he played, giving Horford and even Tatum a little rest.
Exum, Green, And Gafford: B
Daniel Gafford probably deserves his description as the starting Center, but he only averaged 14.8 minutes per game, so I put him with the bench guys.
None of these guys were exceptional, but all had really good moments and were relatively consistent throughout the series in their limited minutes. Exum was great at pushing the pace and was solid defensively. Green was also solid on that end and had a surprisingly good 3-point shooting in the series, particularly in Game Five. Gafford was fine in his minutes but was outplayed by Lively, resulting in his minute limitation.
That's a wrap for the 2024 NBA Finals, on to the off-season.
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