Stephen A. Smith Names Top 5 NBA Players Who Need To Show Out In Playoffs

With the 2024-25 NBA regular season heading toward its conclusion, the playoffs are right around the corner.

Contenders have a couple of months to solidify their home-court advantage, while other teams are looking to fight their way into the play-in tournament or push for a better seed.

ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith recently revealed his list of the top five players who need to show out in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

From No. 5 to No. 1, they were Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, Donovan Mitchell and Ja Morant, via “First Take.”

.@stephenasmith ranks the top 5 players who need to SHOW OUT in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/9kkCWBXdqg

— First Take (@FirstTake) February 28, 2025

Doncic, Davis and Butler all were moved before the trade deadline and now play vital roles on teams with short windows of contention, with the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors, respectively, all built around aging superstars.

Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies and Mitchell’s Cleveland Cavaliers have much longer open windows due to their youth, but neither has reached a conference finals in his career and need to lead their teams to the next level to be taken seriously as contenders.

Fans are in for a treat this postseason, as the NBA title picture looks to be wide open.

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