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The best players of the 2022 NBA Finals
The best players of the 2022 NBA Finals
The dust has well and truly settled on what was another blockbuster season of elite basketball. With that in mind, we think it’s now a good time to look back at the business end of the campaign; here we rate the best players of the 2022 NBA Finals.
Number 5. Jayson Tatum
Kicking off our look at the best players of the 2022 NBA Finals is Jayson Tatum. Tatum arrived in the post season with huge expectations on his back and whilst he failed to meet those it is probably more of a knock to the hype placed on his shoulders than the player himself. Tatum was still the standout scorer and playmaker on the Boston Celtics roster as he put up 25.6 points per game along with 6.2 assists. Had he delivered in some of the big moments then it’s highly plausible he’d be ranked a damn sight higher on this list.
Number 4. Al Horford
Next up on our list is Tatum’s teammate Al Horford. Horford was often targeted and overrun by the Warriors in the defensive phases of play but whilst he struggled generally in that sense he bossed the rebound stats with 9.3 per game in the post season; 7.8 of them were defensive claims too. On top of that he was a big threat on the offensive front. He delivered inside scoring, playmaking and three-point shooting. That saw him post numbers of 12.0 points per game but notably he sank 48% of his three point attempts. On top of all that, the veteran was the primary voice in the Celtics locker room. Unfortunately, he and his team fell just short of the Championship.
Number 3. Andrew Wiggins
Andrew Wiggins is a big part of why the Final series ended when it did. Steph Curry’s three point shooting was a tad off and the Warriors were generally struggling to chalk up points. In that moment, Wiggins delivered the good in the shape of 26 points with 13 rebounds to boot. It was a colossal performance and, without it, the Celtics would have won the game. Wiggins’ inclusion isn’t all about that one game though; he also kept a pretty close watch on Tatum for the vast majority of the series, which is not easily done!
Number 2. Robert Williams
Coming in second in our look at the best players of the 2022 NBA Finals is Robert Williams, which may well raise an eyebrow or two. For us though he absolutely deserves to be recognised. Not only was he basically playing on one leg but he performed better than most. Entering the sixth game of the series, Williams was +31. Not only was this number the best for all Celtics players at the time but they fell down to -42 when he stepped off the floor. Williams was an excellent shot blocker and rim protector the entire time and rarely ever missed a shot that he took from the field hence his 68% conversion. Imagine if he was fully fit!
Number 1. Steph Curry
Last but not least, of course, it is the NBA Finals MVP award winner Steph Curry. The bloke was absolutely phenomenal throughout the six game series; the Celtics simply couldn’t handle him. He dropped a 43-point masterpiece to help the Golden State Warriors win one game, then closed the series out with another 30-point bomb. He did have one poor game where he didn’t hit a three pointer for the first time in over 200 games, but that was just an anomaly. As for the bigger picture, Curry’s legacy was already secure but another championship to his name definitely won’t do any harm in his quest to become held amongst the best of the best.
There you have it, the best players of the 2022 NBA Finals.
