We are in the thick of the NBA playoffs, and thus far, the postseason has been as entertaining as we could have hoped. From shocking buzzer beaters at the rim (Aaron Gordon), to beyond the arc (also Aaron Gordon), to a flurry of shocking upsets the NBA world did not see coming, these playoffs have delivered.
Can we continue this intense pace of gloriously entertaining basketball? We can hope. Below we’ve ranked the 16 potential matchups left for the NBA Finals by watchability. Obviously, everything is subject to change—if the Pacers keep playing like they have the past two weeks, they might simply be an unstoppable force that throws this entire ranking out of whack.
That said, this is our best guess at what we’d like to see based on narrative, matchup potential, and all-around basketball excitement.
16. Thunder vs. Pacers
Sorry, but the nature of a list like this is that someone needed to be last. In this particular matchup, it feels like the Thunder should be able to ride their stifling defense to a title, and make for a not-that-compelling series. That said, if the Pacers can keep up the, well, pace they’ve started out on in their second-round series against the Cavaliers, I would be delighted to be proven wrong and see this one go seven.
15. Wolves vs. Pacers
Another somewhat odd matchup of styles. Also, if we’re going to get NBA Finals Anthony Edwards, I want to see him jawing against the meanest opposing fans we can find, and I’m not sure Indiana can provide the backdrop I’m looking for in that regard.
14. Nuggets vs. Knicks
As the rest of this list will show, much of my interest in a Knicks Finals run comes down to who will play the antagonist to the crowd at Madison Square Garden. Nikola Jokic is as mesmerizing a basketball player as there has ever been, but his exaggerated emotions usually range from relief to exasperation, rather than a direct challenge to the crowd. The basketball could be great here, but narrative-wise, we’d be missing something.
13. Wolves vs. Cavaliers
Just not sure what this one looks like in practice. If Anthony Edwards can rise to the occasion, it could be the crowning achievement of his young career as he ascends to his throne as next face of the NBA. But it’s also not hard to imagine the Cavaliers defense largely shutting down the already sometimes-staggered offense of the Timberwolves. If Cleveland comes back against the Pacers, chances are they’ve found something they’ll carry through the rest of the postseason.
12. Nuggets vs. Pacers
Nikola Jokic and Tyrese Haliburton are two of the most prolific passers in the league, and could provide us with plenty of stellar highlights. That said, when your main pitch for an NBA Finals series is “think of the assists!!!” there are probably better options on the table.
11. Warriors vs. Pacers
This one is kind of a crapshoot. If both teams play to the best of their ability, we could get a seven-game classic. The Pacers have been incredible through the postseason, and the Warriors have held their own to start their second-round series against the Wolves. Still, both of these squads are also capable of putting up a dud. This potential series has maybe the highest variance of quality of any on the list. It would, at the very least, be an extremely entertaining series for fans of betting the over.
10. Nuggets vs. Celtics
A matchup between the last two champions would deliver plenty of fireworks, but it wouldn’t take much for this to turn into a Celtics rout. While Jokic should be the best player on the floor on any given night, Denver has already seen the limits of their superstar’s power when facing a team that is firing on all cylinders this postseason. That said, if the Celtics decide to shoot themselves out of a few games early in the series, we could have a banger on our hands.
9. Wolves vs. Celtics
Anthony Edwards vs. the city of Boston. Fantastic stuff.
8. Nuggets vs. Cavaliers
Basketball fans don’t have too many fond memories of the Bubble Era, but one of them is undoubtedly the time Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell went toe-to-toe in the playoffs. At the time, Mitchell was on the Utah Jazz, and he and Murray traded 50-point games like it was nothing, including in Game 4, when both players cleared the mark. While Mitchell has become far more of a floor general since then with the Cavs, maybe a rematch against Murray will get his juices flowing.
7. Warriors vs. Knicks
Steph Curry loves to put on a show, and has historically put on some of his best performances at Madison Square Garden. As things stand, Curry is on a 10-game winning streak at America’s most famous arena. Curry is 12-1 in his career at the Garden, and that one loss came in the first 50-point game of his young career.
6. Thunder vs. Knicks
Two fun aspects stand out about a theoretical Finals between the Thunder and Knicks. First, the Nova Knicks taking on a team of players that feel like they should literally still be in college. Second, Isaiah Hartenstein going up against a New York team he helped anchor last year. What kind of reaction does he get at Madison Square Garden?
5. Wolves vs. Knicks
This doesn’t feel like the most likely matchup in the NBA Finals, but man if we got there it would be fun to see. Madison Square Garden has a history of saving its brightest spotlights for its villains, and Anthony Edwards would have the chance to bring down the house.
4. Warriors vs. Cavaliers
While it would be nearly impossible to live up to the last time the Warriors and Cavaliers met up in the NBA Finals, it would be fantastic to see these two sides give it a shot. The Warriors wouldn’t exactly be able to avenge their 2016 collapse against the Cavs, given the glaring absence of LeBron James, now in Los Angeles, but the series would give NBA fans a fun bit of “passing of the guard” potential, and the pregame packages with highlights of 2016 would be divine.
3. Warriors vs. Celtics
One last ride. Can the veteran Warriors, infused by a new spark of energy in the form of Jimmy Butler, keep pace with the Celtics? Given Butler’s history against Boston—he’s faced off against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals in three of the past five seasons—it would not take much for sparks to fly in this one.
2. Thunder vs. Cavaliers
We have not seen a NBA Finals matchup between the No. 1 seeds from each conference since the Warriors and Cavaliers faced off in 2016, and that one sure turned out pretty entertaining. This would be a matchup between two of the most talented young rosters we’ve seen in recent memory, and could be the start of an epic rivalry moving into the next decade of basketball. The fact that Cleveland will have to erase a 3-1 deficit to the Pacers to make this matchup a possibility only adds to the drama.
1. Thunder vs. Celtics
Simply as good as it gets folks. The reigning champions up against the young upstarts who could potentially be looking at the start of a dynasty. SGA with a golden opportunity to put an exclamation point on his MVP year against the most complete team in the NBA. Absolute cinema.
