Major upset after major upset has turned the 2021 NBA Playoffs upside down. Now, only four battle tested teams remain, each with a chance to bring home the coveted Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. Despite the idea of a superteam becoming largely common in the current NBA, all of these four teams seem to be comprised of just one superstar, due to different reasons, of course. The Eastern Conference’s Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks have been carried by their individual superstars, while the Western Conference’s Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers have become single superstar teams after injuries to their star players in just the past few days. Let’s take a deeper look into the most important players on each of these remaining championship contending teams.
Trae Young / Atlanta Hawks: Coming in as the biggest underdog in this field of competitors, the young Hawks have been led masterfully by their equally young leader, Trae Young. Averaging 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists during the regular season, Young was seen as a budding superstar on a young team that was due for a deep playoff run in a few years. No one expected that in the same season, the Hawks would be able to make a deep run to the Eastern Conference Finals, taking out the likes of the #1 seeded Philadelphia 76ers on the way. Poised to continue their hot streak, the Hawks will need everything from Young who has averaged an incredible 29 points and 10 assists thus far in the playoffs.
Giannis Antetokounmpo / Milwaukee Bucks: Taking a look at the other team in the Eastern Conference Finals, we find a Bucks squad that has finally made it far enough given the talent on their team. Two time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was looked at as somewhat of a regular season player after his last few playoffs with the Bucks ended in premature exits to less talented teams. However, he has managed to flip that narrative on its head after his dominant performance thus far in the playoffs. Averaging 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists in the 2021 playoffs, Antetokounmpo has proved that he is big time and deserves to be in the conversation for the best overall player in basketball. Another signature 40 point performance that propelled his Bucks over the loaded Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals has cemented his status as one of the league’s top five players.
Devin Booker / Phoenix Suns: A couple of weeks ago the basketball world was raving about the MVP-like season that Chris Paul had this year after helping the Suns reach the #2 overall seed in the Western Conference. However, after a positive test for Covid-19, Paul has already missed the first game of the Western Conference Finals and may be forced to miss a few more games of the series. In his absence during their first game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Suns, and more specifically Devin Booker, looked unfazed. Booker, already considered to be a carbon copy of Kobe Bryant, put up a Mamba-like performance that even Bryant would’ve been proud of, willing the Suns to victory behind a 40 point triple double. In his first ever playoffs, Booker has averaged 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists while leading the Suns past the likes of Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and league MVP Nikola Jokic. Booker has managed to reinvent the Suns into a championship caliber team just a year after some of the biggest names in the NBA, including three time champion Draymond Green, were encouraging him to leave Phoenix due to their supposed inability to make it to and succeed in the playoffs. Although Chris Paul is likely to return in the next few games, Booker has shown that he is the main scorer on the Suns and that he has what it takes to carry a team to victory all by himself.
Paul George / Los Angeles Clippers: After losing Kawhi Leonard prior to Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals against the #1 seed Utah Jazz, many thought that the Clippers were finished and had little to no chance to win the series despite just winning two straight games to tie the series at 2-2. However, the following two matchups were dominated by a revitalized superstar that was incessantly mocked for his poor play in last year’s playoffs. Formerly nicknamed Pandemic P, Paul George overcame his doubters to come through and carry the Los Angeles Clippers past the Utah Jazz with a 37 point, 16 rebound performance in Game 5 of the series and a 28 point, 9 rebound, and 7 assist game to help close out the Jazz in Game 6 and win the series 4-2. Now, with Leonard still out battling a knee sprain, George has been given the role of a leader against the Phoenix Suns. Despite losing the first game of the series 120-114, George has regained support and confidence from his fans and it is still more than possible for the Clippers to win this series given that Paul George is able to show up like he has in the last few games of these playoffs.
All of these players are vital to their team’s success and will likely determine if their organization is able to hoist the NBA championship trophy. In an era filled with seemingly unbeatable superteams, the four remaining teams in the 2021 NBA playoffs are all evenly matched and no team has a clear advantage over the other. Given that the last few NBA finals have been dry due to a lack of competition, all NBA fans should be excited for what this year’s finals has to hold.