2023 All-Postseason Team, a FANtastic performance by these 5 players

He might be the best player in the NBA. Last postseason, Giannis Antetokounmpo was widely considered the best after his performance against the Boston Celtics with an undermanned squad so maybe we should pump our brakes on that bold declaration.

What Jokić did for four rounds though, was truly spectacular. He owned the postseason from start to finish. The shot, the passing, the bully ball, it was all on display every game. It didn’t matter who the Denver Nuggets were playing against, Jokić was a consistent matchup nightmare.

He controlled the court at all times. Even on the rare occasion that he was struggling to score, his presence alone was enough to drive a defense mad. Anyone who bangs against him in the paint deserves a medal for bravery. Jokić threw his weight, and the basketball, wherever he wanted to for three months.

He takes a lot of criticism from Miami Heat fans, but his play is largely the reason that they were able to advance to the NBA Finals as a No. 8 seed. Adebayo hit the glass for key rebounds, guarded players both in the paint, and on the perimeter, and made a point to be more consistently aggressive on offense this year than he was in last year’s playoffs.

The Heat were able to hang with the Nuggets in The Finals, largely because of Adebayo’s effort. He was the Heat’s best player, averaging 21.4 points per game and 12.4 rebounds. Those would be career highs in both categories if he put up those numbers during the regular season.

He also stepped up the challenge of going body-to-body with Jokić. He fronted him, He closed on him, and even kept him off the glass at times. Adebayo basically went up two weight classes without adding any additional girth and was still competitive in the fight.

The only person to truly frustrate Jokić in the postseason. When the Los Angeles Lakers used Davis as a roamer to close on Jokić late in possessions, it resulted in some tough nights for the Nuggets’ star. A player who shot 54.8 percent from the field for the entire postseason, Game 1 was the only game in which he reached 50 percent.

It wasn’t only Jokić who Davis bothered. Davis recorded 26 blocked shots in six games during the Lakers’ first-round victory against the Memphis Grizzlies. Against the Golden State Warriors in the second round, he was a human brick wall at the rim and was still able to jump out to the perimeter and handle Stephen Curry one-on-one.

Davis’ offense was inconsistent, but on defense, he was a force every night. Running a halfcourt set against the Lakers was like trying to navigate rush hour traffic in Los Angeles. That gridlock was largely due to Davis’ presence.

The role of the No. 2 in the NBA is crucial. A role that must be filled for a team to win a championship, and Murray has embraced it. He owned that role during the bubble and the Nuggets eventually lost to the Lakers in the bubble Western Conference Finals.

Without Murray’s excellence, the Nuggets have no chance of winning an NBA Championship. They faced the harsh reality of his inability to take the floor during the previous two postseasons following his 2021 ACL injury. The Nuggets worked him back into Bubble Murray form slowly and unleashed him once the playoffs began.

He had many great moments in the 2023 postseason, such as that nine-minute stretch in Game 4 of The Finals when Jokić was off the court due to foul trouble, but his performance against the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals was sublime. He averaged 32.5 points per game on 52.7/40.5/95 shooting splits. Bubble Murray is no longer a single moment in time at Disney World, now it’s just how he plays basketball.

The Phoenix Suns were the betting favorite heading into the 2023 playoffs. Adding Kevin Durant to a team that had the best record in the NBA last season, will do that. However, it was clear early against the eventual champion Nuggets that the Suns were undermanned. However they did take the champs further than any other team, and that was largely due to Booker’s play.

He averaged 33.7 points — best in the league during the playoffs — on 58.5/50.5/86.6 shooting splits. In the Suns’ two wins against the Nuggets in the second round, Booker scored a combined 83 points, and of his 43 field-goal attempts he only missed nine. Booker shot 80 percent from the field in Game 3 when he scored 47 points.

The regular season was tough for Booker. He missed 21 consecutive games with a groin injury. There was no chance for him to make a first-team All-NBA for the second time in a row. When the playoffs arrived though, he played like a top-five player.

I know the NBA named its regular season MVP after Jordan, but I named my award — a trophyless honor — after him last season. While Jordan may not care about awards being named after him if the NBA is throwing former stars’ names on trophies left and right then he deserves to have his name on a high league honor.

Jokić certainly won’t care about this honor, he appeared only mildly impressed with winning an NBA Championship. The man comes into the locker room, ties up his basketball shoes, and tallies a 30-point triple-double while leading the offense both from the perimeter and paint, then he takes off his shoes and goes home. Jokić also held his own on defense. He very much bothered the Heat with his rim protection.

Maybe Jokić is the best player in the NBA. Maybe it’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, or Joel Embiid, or Stephen Curry. The best player in the NBA argument these days is one of those “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” situations.

What is not up for debate, however, is which player most dominated this postseason. That player is Nikola Jokić. He put up an all-time great run from April to June. Now hurry up and get that parade over with Denver so this man can get back to Serbia and his horses.