The 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs were the most-watched championship series since 1998, averaging 20 million viewers across the first five games on ABC and ESPN—a massive 116% increase over the previous year.

The historic series, which culminated in the Knicks securing their first championship since 1973, dominated both television and digital media. Game 4 drew an average of 20.9 million viewers (peaking at 23.2 million), making it the most-watched Game 4 since Michael Jordan’s last dance with the Chicago Bulls in 1998.

The 2026 NBA Finals smashed digital records, generating a whopping 15 billion views across social media platforms. Game 4 alone, which saw the Knicks overcome a 29-point lead, generated over 4 billion views.

The boost in fan interest was driven by three major factors: 1) a new partnership with NBC and Amazon Prime expanded the league’s audience reach; 2) a massive New York market that couldn’t get enough of its beloved Knicks; 3) global intrigue surrounding 22-year-old French superstar Victor Wembanyama.

Because of the 7-foot-5 Wembanyama, the Spurs consistently fueled global engagement, and it kept growing as they advanced in the playoffs. The Western Conference finals between San Antonio and Oklahoma City finished as the most-watched conference finals in 24 years with an average of 10.8 million viewers per game on NBC/Peacock. San Antonio’s victory over OKC in Game 7 averaged 15.9 million viewers, peaking with 17.7 million viewers.

The Wemby era in the NBA is clearly underway. Business is booming thanks to Wemby and four other franchise players.

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Each year, OneManFastBreak.net ranks the five best players in the NBA. The OMFB Furious Five pays homage to the five styles of Chinese martial arts: snake, crane, monkey, praying mantis, and tiger.

The ranking system is based on one man’s opinion and does not follow or conform to any standard format, with more emphasis placed on how each player and their respective teams performed in the postseason. Stars are born during the regular season, but legends are made in the playoffs.

In 2025, OMFB Furious Five featured Jalen Brunson (5), Giannis Antetokounmpo (4), Tyrese Haliburton (3), Nikola Jokic (2), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1).

Without further ado, here are the five best basketball players in the world.

5-CADE CUNNINGHAM
Detroit Pistons, guard

Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the best part about Cade Cunningham is his team-first mentality. Bickerstaff said Cunningham’s stardom never came at the expense of anyone else on the Detroit roster.

“He’s a guy who can continue to get better and do more, and never have to invade your space as his teammate. He doesn’t have to take the food off of your plate in order for him to get full. As good as he is as a basketball player, he’s an even better person,” Bickerstaff said about his unselfish 24-year-old superstar.

Cunningham is the biggest reason why the Pistons are relevant again. He controls the pace with his remarkable dexterity at 6-6 and maturity. The man they call Motorcade established himself as one of the premier point guards in the league. The 2021 No. 1 overall pick made first-team All-NBA and earned All-Star honors.

Cunningham had a better season offensively in 2025 (26.1 points per game) than in 2026 (23.9 PPG) but he became a much better overall player in his fifth year. He also increased his assists per game from 9.1 to 9.9 (second in the league).

Behind their dynamic playmaker, the Pistons put together a conference-best 60-22 record — the franchise’s first 60-win season since the 2005-06 season. However, the season ended in disappointment as the Pistons were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals, losing in Game 7 at home.

4-NIKOLA JOKIC
Denver Nuggets, center

Nikola Jokic has been so consistently good the past five years that we’ve grown accustomed to his basketball brilliance. The Serbian big man is just one of nine players in NBA history to win at least three MVPs, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five), Wilt Chamberlain (four), LeBron James (four), Larry Bird (three), Magic Johnson (three) and Moses Malone (three).

Jokic pieced together another triple-double season, averaging 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists. He became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounds and assists. But the postseason was a completely different story for Jokic and the Nuggets. Denver, which entered the playoffs with championship aspirations, ran into a roadblock in the form of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves stunned the Nuggets and eliminated them in six games.

Jokic did all he could to push the Nuggets forward, but he simply ran out of gas and got worn down by Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, who played a brilliant series defensively and made the Joker work for every basket. Jokic shot an abysmal 19.4% from behind the 3-point line and made just 44% of his field goals.

It has been three years since the Joker won an NBA title, and he doesn’t seem to be getting closer on winning a second. Time will tell where Jokic will land on the all-time list of great centers. For Jokic to have a seat at the table with the likes of Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Moses, Hakeem, Shaq, and Duncan, he’ll need to win one more championship.

3-SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER
Oklahoma City Thunder, guard

SGA brags that he has all the answers to the test. He just needs the questions. SGA was partially correct. He did have the answers to almost every team in the league. There was one team that befuddled the reigning MVP — the Spurs. Shai and the Thunder played the San Antonio Spurs 12 times. Five times during the regular season and seven times in the playoffs. OKC went 1-4 against San Antonio in the season, and lost to the Spurs in an epic seven-game series in the Western Conference finals.

Despite authoring an amazing MVP campaign, averaging 31.1 points per game, SGA felt the season was a failure because he couldn’t lead his team back to the NBA Finals.

“It was a failure. I failed at my goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve. But through those experiences, I learned the most about myself and made the greatest amount of increases in my career when I fail.”

SGA embodies the qualities of a throwback player who understands the importance of consistency. Behind Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder finished with the best record in the NBA (64-18) and boasted the league’s best defense. If the Spurs didn’t exist the Thunder might be celebrating another championship.

SGA’s reputation took a hit during the 2026 playoffs. Opposing teams and their fans, as well as many basketball fans who follow the NBA on social media, were annoyed by Gilgeous-Alexander’s proclivity for foul baiting. In other words, SGA was flopping around like a fish to sell calls. Journalist Tom Haberstroh, best known for his data-driven analysis, analyzed SGA’s shot attempts and found that he fell to the ground 51% of the time when contacted by a defender, far and away the highest percentage among the top scorers in the league. In addition, SGA fell to the ground 10.7% of his field-goal attempts where no foul was called. He easily outpaced James Harden (8.7%) and Jalen Brunson (7.9%).

Being viewed as a flopper isn’t the moniker a two-time MVP would want to have, and the level of mockery reached a fever pitch on social media. One of the AI-generated videos posted on social media showed Gilgeous-Alexander rolling on the locker room floor practicing his flops.

During the conference finals, fans in San Antonio chanted “Flopper! Flopper!” whenever SGA had the ball.

Gilgeous-Alexander is too good of a player to be foul baiting. It sends a terrible impression that he’s seeking the help of referees to boost his scoring stats. If he doesn’t change his ways, the “flopper” tag might follow SGA for the rest of his career.

2-VICTOR WEMBANYAMA
San Antonio Spurs, Center

If there was one image that captured Victor Wembanyama’s dominance in the 2026 NBA playoffs, it was when he blocked Jalen Williams’ shot to cap off a historic game in his conference finals debut. He stood in front of the San Antonio Spurs bench for a few seconds to soak in the moment. He knew his moment had arrived. It was his world now, and his teammates reacted as if he was some mythical superhero who came to Earth to save us from an alien invasion.

Wemby certainly looked like a superhero in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against defending NBA champion Oklahoma City. On a night when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second consecutive regular-season MVP award, Wembanyama dropped 41 points, grabbed 24 rebounds, and had three blocks to lead the Spurs to a thrilling double-overtime road victory. His 40-20 effort at this stage of the postseason with so much on the line put him in elite company, joining Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Shaquille O’Neal.

“I still got a lot to learn, and I feel like I want to get that trophy many times in my career,” Wembanyama told reporters after the game.

Wemby is just barely starting his basketball odyssey, but he has already accomplished a lot in three short years. He won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2024. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2026, making history as both the youngest recipient (at 22 years old) and the first-ever unanimous winner of the award. He made the All-NBA first team for the first time in 2026. He turned the San Antonio Spurs — a team that won 56 games in 2024 and 2025 — into a 60-win juggernaut.

Head coach Mitch Johnson, meanwhile, sang Wembanyama’s praises. “He has a rare desire to step into every moment that’s in front of him,” Johnson told reporters. “I think he’s showed in his three years in a lot of different situations and a lot of different circumstances that he is going to attack those moments.”

Wemby’s historic Game 1 set the tone for the series. For the rest of the series, he reminded the basketball world who the real MVP is, averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, and scoring at least 20 points in every game. He did a little bit of everything — dunks, blocks, playing point guard even — to keep control on the way to leading the Spurs to a Game 7 win in OKC to knock out the defending champs and reach his first NBA Finals.

He was the unanimous pick as conference finals MVP. He carried that trophy into the locker room after the game, screaming in joy at supporters and teammates. “You work all these hours; it’s for these types of emotions,” Wembanyama said. “I want to win so bad. It’s like my life depends on it.”

Wembanyama was the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. In just three short years, he turned the Spurs from a lottery team into a championship contender.

Most pundits have already crowned Wembanyama as the best player in the game, and some suggested that he is now the face of the league. OMFB is not ready to crown him just yet.

Wemby and the Spurs learned a painful lesson when they reached the NBA Finals. They found out there is another level to be reached in order to raise a championship banner. The loss in the NBA Finals is the reason why Wemby is ranked No. 2 on the OMFB list. He can’t be the king of basketball if he doesn’t have a crown. He’ll have to wait his turn.

And now, the No. 1 player in the world. Drum roll please . . .

1-JALEN BRUNSON
New York Knicks, guard

If there was any doubt that Jalen Brunson is the best player, check out his trophy collection. He has the NBA Cup trophy. He has the Larry O’Brien trophy. He won NBA Cup MVP. He won the Larry Bird Eastern Conference finals MVP. He won the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP.

When you’re holding every major trophy in the NBA calendar year, you have a very strong case to be No. 1.

“I put a lot of time and effort into trying to be the best player I can,” said the 29-year-old guard, who averaged 32.6 points per game in the Finals. He saved his best for last, dropping 45 points (including 15 in the fourth quarter) in the series-clinching Game 5 on the road. It was the most points scored in a Finals close-out game since Michael Jordan did it in 1998.

Brunson is a winner. He has won at every level of basketball. Along with this season’s trophies and MVP awards, his resume includes two NCAA tournament titles at Villanova, a National College Player of the Year award and a FIBA U19 World Cup gold medal. Now, he’s an NBA champion.

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle — considered one of the game’s elite defenders — guarded Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the playoffs. Castle highlighted the differences between the two guards. He noted that while SGA is a threat when he is driving to the basket, Brunson gets to his spots and makes those angles count.

“I’d say they’re very similar in ways,” Castle said. “Obviously, Jalen’s left-handed, Shai’s right-handed. But I think Shai is more of a threat to get all the way downhill, all the way to the basket. I think Jalen likes to use angles a lot more, uses probably a little bit more pump fakes than Shai. But yeah, most of it is angles and trying to get to his spots and not really trying to draw fouls as much, but trying to get to his mid-range and get to spots the way he likes.”

Brunson’s ability to create near-impossible angles makes him an extremely difficult player to cover. He also left-handed, which adds another layer of challenge for defenders. Despite his lack of superior athleticism and ideal size — he’s listed at 6-2 — Brunson is one of the most gifted scorers in the NBA, averaging at least 26 points per game the past three seasons.

Brunson is the most impactful player to wear a Knicks jersey since Patrick Ewing. He has only been a New York Knick for four years, but winning a championship and ending a 53-year championship drought puts him in a pantheon reserved for names like Ruth, Mantle, Jeter, Namath, Taylor, Reed, and Frazier.

The former Villanova standout was named to the 2026 All-NBA second team and earned the moniker Captain Clutch for his ability to deliver big shots in the biggest moments.

“He’s a gamer, man,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said about his point guard.

“In the biggest moments, he shows up,” Brown continued. “That’s what MVPs are supposed to do. We put the ball in his hands, and we live and die with him.”

The Knicks rode the back of the Brunson bandwagon throughout their championship run in 2026. Brunson accounted for 31% of the Knicks’ offense, and his teammates didn’t seem to mind that he took nearly all the important shots. That belief in their captain is what gave Brunson all the confidence in the world, and he rewarded his team with masterful performances in the NBA Finals. The Spurs held double-digit leads in each of the five games, but lost four of them. Brunson simply refused to let his team lose. His unflappable demeanor down the stretch is what carried the Knicks across the finish line.

The Knicks had four winning seasons in a 21-year span before Brunson arrived. They’ve had four winning seasons since Brunson’s arrival. They’ve now won eight playoff series with Brunson in the lineup. They won seven total from 1998 through 2022.

It’s time to give the man his flowers. Jalen Brunson is the best player in the world.

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. He hosts a sports podcast on YouTube @onemanfastbreak1.

The first round of the 2026 NBA postseason wasn’t very kind to two recent champions and a future Hall of Famer.

The Denver Nuggets entered the Western Conference playoffs as the No. 3 seed and armed with arguably the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic. Denver lasted just six games and were eliminated by undermanned Minnesota for the second time in three years.

Since winning the NBA title in 2023, Jokic and the Nuggets are just 15-15 over the last three postseasons.

The Boston Celtics, boosted by the return of All-Star Jayson Tatum, entered the Eastern Conference playoffs with the fourth-best odds to win a championship. Boston took a 3-1 series lead against division rival Philadelphia, only to watch it evaporate and ended up being on the wrong side of history. The 76ers completed the dramatic playoff comeback, winning Game 7 in Boston.

When asked during his post-game press conference what was the turning point in the series, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla pointed to the return of Joel Embiid.

“What changed in the series was Joel Embiid came back, and they’re a completely different team,” Mazzulla said of the Sixers center, who came back in Game 4 after missing almost a month after undergoing emergency appendectomy.

Philly was the 14th team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit in the playoffs. Less than 24 hours after the Sixers’ win, the Detroit Pistons became the 15th team to overcome a 3-1 deficit. Thanks to the heroics of Cade Cunningham, top-seeded Detroit avoided losing to eighth-seeded Orlando with a convincing win at home in Game 7.

Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets weren’t considered championship contenders heading into the postseason, but they had a favorable matchup in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers, who was missing Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (rib).

But the Rockets found a way to turn an advantage into a disadvantage as the 2014 NBA MVP missed Game 1 with a knee injury he suffered in practice. Durant returned in Game 2 but suffered a sprained right ankle in the second half that ultimately forced him to miss the remainder of the series.

The Lakers jumped out to a 3-0 series lead. After a couple of hiccups in Game 4 and Game 5, L.A. closed out the series with a blowout win in Game 6.

Detroit rides MotorCade to reach conference semifinals

After Orlando took a 3-1 series lead, Cade Cunningham put his hard on and went to work.

The Pistons’ All-Star guard dropped 45 points (5-for-8 on 3-pointers) in Game 5 and followed it up with 32 points and 10 rebounds in the next game, forcing a Game 7.

In Game 7 in front of a fired up Detroit crowd that included Pistons legends like Rip Hamilton and Ben Wallace, Cunningham calmly led the Pistons to a 116-94 win. His 32 points and 12 assists helped secure Detroit’s first playoff series victory in 18 years.

Cunningham became the second Piston to score 20-plus points and dish out 10-plus assists in a Game 7. The other Piston to pull it off was Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, who was in the building to witness Cade’s brilliant performance under pressure.

“It’s an honor to be in the same sentence as a legend like IT,” Cunningham said. “I’m glad he was here. I’m glad he was able to watch … just being able to talk to him, pick his brain, and have his support. It’s amazing. I feel extremely lucky to have that.”

No joke: Jokic gets ‘punked’ in playoff loss to Timberwolves

When you’re a three-time NBA MVP, expectations are high and losing in the first round is not an acceptable result.

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, were eliminated in six games by the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team missing their best player (Anthony Edwards), starting guard (Donte DiVincenzo), and one of its top reserves (Ayo Dosunmu).

The Timberwolves had just eight players available for Game 6, but still managed to pull out a victory.

Denver’s early exit prompted some pundits like ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins, to call out Jokic for his poor postseason performance following another triple-double regular season in which he became the first player to lead the league in rebounds (12.9) and assists (10.7).

Perkins on ESPN’s “First Take” said the Joker got “punked” in the Minnesota series as Rudy Gobert made him look human. Jokic shot 44.6% from the field and 19.4% from 3-point range, both well below his season averages. Perkins added that Jokic’s recent play suggests he may be stuck with just one championship for his career.

“We were so ready to put this man above all-time greats because of certain numbers he was putting up in the regular season. He has one NBA championship. Matter of fact, I don’t think Jokic is going to win another NBA championship. He got exposed,” Perkins added. “So when we talk about top-five this and top-five that. We need to sit back and keep cool.”

Denver heads into the offseason with a lot of question marks, including the future of their all-world center. But according to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Nuggets plan to secure a long-term contract extension for Jokic, who is eligible for a $290 million max deal.

“The expectation on both sides is Nikola Jokic will be signing that when he’s eligible in July, and they’re gonna move forward,” Charania said on “Inside the NBA.”

He added: “But beyond that, there’s going to be real roster changes coming to Denver to identify how they can surround Nikola Jokic with the right pieces to get this team over the top.”

Houston, we have a KD problem

A fluke knee injury kept Kevin Durant out of Game 1 against the Lakers. He reportedly bumped knees with one of the team’s two-way players in practice as they both went for a loose ball. Durant returned in Game 2 but suffered a sprained right ankle in the second half that ultimately forced him to miss the remainder of the series.

The Rockets’ implosion started back in February. The infamous “KD files” — Durant’s alleged social media burner account slamming Rockets teammates — created a major, unresolved distraction.

During a stretch in which the Rockets lost seven of nine games entering the All-Star break, allegations surfaced that Durant criticized teammates — including sharp jabs at Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. — while using a burner account on X.

Durant is one of the best to ever pick up a basketball. Once he’s done with his career, he’ll be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. But his off-the-court drama isn’t helping clean up his image.

Durant never discussed the matter in any detail publicly, calling it “Twitter nonsense.” But it’s hard to imagine his most recent social media tiff didn’t impact the Rockets. Houston appeared disjointed, and the team actually played better when KD was in street clothes sitting on the bench.

Since his split with the Golden State Warriors, Durant has had some conspicuous stops in Brooklyn and Phoenix. Houston gave up a ton of assets to bring him in, but now they may be regretting the move.

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. He hosts a sports podcast on YouTube @onemanfastbreak1.

After shedding a few pounds, a leaner and meaner Luka Doncic shredded the competition at the FIBA European championships.

The Los Angeles Lakers should be excited for the 2025-26 NBA season following Doncic’s historic EuroBasket performance in which he led Slovenia to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Germany.

“Luka’s play in EuroBasket made it clear to the entire basketball world that he’s on that incredibly short list of ‘best player on the planet’ candidates, if not at the top,” said Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, who traveled to Poland to watch Doncic.

Luka described his offseason as a “great summer,” and he appears to be in the best shape of his basketball career. He gave a taste of what he’ll be serving in the upcoming NBA season with a spectacular performance during the European championships.

Doncic led EuroBasket with 34.7 points per game, becoming the third player to average over 30. His average ranks third in tournament history, trailing only Nikos Galis’ 37.0 in 1987 and 35.6 in 1989.

Doncic looks to be in prime shape and prime position to have an MVP-type season for the Lakers, and it’s up to head coach JJ Redick — who signed a two-year contract extension to be with the Lakers through the 2029-30 season — to make sure to put Doncic in the best possible position to succeed in Year 2 of their partnership.

“I expect the best version of Luka, and it’s my job to bring that out every day,” Redick said during a Lakers press conference.

Pelinka and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss traveled to Poland to watch Doncic play for Slovenia and came away impressed with Luka’s growth as a leader.

“He not only led by example, but he was very demonstrative in practice, in terms of his expectations of the team and how they play,” Pelinka said of Luka.

Doncic seems at peace over what transpired on Feb. 2, 2025, when he got traded from Dallas to L.A. But it doesn’t mean he has forgotten about the simple fact that the Mavericks — a team that drafted him and practically raised him — shipped him out of town.

The Luka Revenge Tour is coming to every NBA city, especially in Dallas, and the extra motivation could lead to an MVP season for Luka and a potential return to the NBA Finals for the Lakers.

OneManFastBreak projects the top eight teams in the Western Conference.

1-Oklahoma City Thunder — Fresh off winning an NBA title, the Thunder signed their top three players to significant contracts and brought back their major role players from their championship squad. However, repeating as NBA champions won’t be easy, as the West is stacked and there hasn’t been a repeat NBA champion since the 2018 Warriors.

2-Houston Rockets — The loss of veteran guard Fred VanVleet, who tore his ACL, hurts from a leadership standpoint. The absence of VanVleet puts added pressure on Alperen Sengun to be more of a playmaker. Sengun had a superb EuroBasket, and his blossoming game should make Ime Udoka and the Rockets coaching staff excited. The addition of Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith make Sengun even more dangerous as he’ll have more room to operate.

3-L.A. Lakers — Pressure is on head coach JJ Redick to navigate around LeBron James’ potential last season with the Lakers, which could become a distraction. LeBron is entering the final year of his Lakers contract, and the team has shown little interest in extending his deal. “We would love for LeBron’s story to retire as a Laker. That’d be a positive story,” Pelinka said about LeBron’s future with the team.

4-Denver Nuggets — The Nuggets are trying to maximize Nikola Jokic’s prime years. They traded Michael Porter Jr., one of the key pieces of their 2023 championship team, to the Brooklyn Nets for a draft pick and forward Cam Johnson. The team moved off Russell Westbrook and brought back Bruce Brown, and signed veteran Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas should lessen some of Jokic’s heavy workload at the center spot.

5-Minnesota Timberwolves — Anthony Edwards is rededicating himself to getting in better shape, and it starts on the defensive end. Ant-Man is entering his sixth NBA season. He has been to the conference twice. For the Timberwolves to advance to the NBA Finals, Ant-Man must be more detailed on both ends of the floor.

6-Golden State Warriors — When Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler are healthy and playing together, the Warriors put together a 23-8 record. The problem is that age and mileage might be catching up with Curry (36), Butler (35), and Green (34).

7-San Antonio Spurs — Victor Wembanyama certainly had an adventurous offseason. He trained with Shaolin monks in Zhengzhou, China. He trained with NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston. Wemby is entering his third season as well-prepared as any player. This could be the year the Spurs return to the postseason.

8-L.A. Clippers — Allegations of a no-show endorsement contract between Kawhi Leonard and a now-bankrupt green banking company hang over the Clippers like a dark cloud. It’ll be up to head coach Ty Lue to keep the team focused and navigate around the scandal.

Play-In teams: Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put a stamp on his remarkable 2024-25 season after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the city’s first NBA championship.

SGA joined a very short list of players who won an NBA title, regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP while leading the league in scoring. The list includes Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and SGA. Before SGA’s amazing season, Shaq was the last scoring leader to win a championship and MVPs in the same season. Jordan is the only player to pull off the rare feat more than once (1991, 1992, 1996, 1998). Jordan and Shai, who averaged a league-leading 32.7 points per game, are the only guards to win a scoring title and championship in the same season.

“It’s hard to believe I’m even part of that group,” Gilgeous-Alexander said during his postgame media session with the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy sitting on the table. “It’s hard the fathom that I’m that type of basketball player. As a kid, you dream. Every kid dreams. But you don’t really know if it’s gonna come true. I’m just glad my dreams were able to come true.”

Shai also became the first player since Stephen Curry in 2015 to win MVP and a championship in the same season, and first player since LeBron James in 2013 to win regular season MVP and Finals MVP honors in the same season.

Where does Shai rank on OneManFastBreak’s annual top-five list? Take a look at this year’s OMFB Furious Five.

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Each year OneManFastBreak.net ranks the five best players in the NBA. The OMFB Furious Five pays homage to the five styles of Chinese martial arts: snake, crane, monkey, praying mantis, and tiger.

The ranking system is based on one man’s opinion and does not follow or conform to any standard format, with more emphasis placed on how each player and their respective teams performed in the postseason. Stars are born during the regular season, but legends are made in the playoffs.

In 2024, OMFB Furious Five featured Jaylen Brown (5), Giannis Antetokounmpo (4), Luka Doncic (3), Jayson Tatum (2), Nikola Jokic (1).

Without further ado, here are the five best basketball players in the world.

5-JALEN BRUNSON
New York Knicks, Guard

Jalen Brunson’s arrival in New York may be one of the league’s most transformative acquisitions of the past decade. The two-time NCAA champion from Villanova has blossomed into one of the NBA’s best players after spending four seasons riding the pine in Dallas.

Jalen is arguably the most impactful player to wear a Knicks jersey since Patrick Ewing, and he’s giving New York its best shot at ending a five-decade title drought. Brunson was named to the 2025 All-NBA second team and received the Clutch Player of the Year for his uncanny ability to deliver big shots in the big moments for the Knicks.

During the regular season, he averaged 26.0 points and 7.3 assists across 35.4 minutes per game in 65 games. He amped it up in the postseason, averaging 29.4 points and leading the Knicks to their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years. He hit the 30-point mark in four of the six games in the conference finals against the Pacers, but it wasn’t enough as the Knicks fell in six games.

A week after being eliminated, the Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. Knicks brass felt the team — with Brunson as the leader — is close to winning a championship, and it was time for a new voice and a coach who can help Brunson and the Knicks get over the hump. Brunson’s decision to sign a four-year, $156.5 million extension shows he’s prioritizing bringing a championship to New York above all else. He could have signed a five-year, $269.1 million max deal, but by giving the Knicks the hometown discount and allowing the franchise salary cap flexibility.

4-GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
Milwaukee Bucks, Forward

A calf strain forced Giannis Antetokounmpo to watch his Bucks get eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. This year, Giannis and Bucks watched Damian Lillard rupture his Achilles tendon in the first round and the Pacers eliminated the Bucks for a second straight season.

Giannis put together another outstanding season, averaging 30.4 points (second in NBA), 11.9 rebounds (sixth in NBA), a career-high-tying 6.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 60.1% from the field (sixth in NBA). Giannis led the Bucks to the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup championship and named the Emirates NBA Cup MVP.

As long as Giannis is healthy and playing, the Bucks remain one of the top teams in the East. But for how long will he keep playing for the Bucks? Only Giannis knows the answer.

“I feel like there’s a lot of time that life has made me said or, like, frustrated since I was a kid – I never gave up,” Antetokounmpo said following the Bucks’ season-ending loss to the Indiana Pacers. “I always try to find solutions in my life, which I think it translates to the basketball court. I always try to, even though things might not happen the way I want it to happen, I always have class and I have this optimistic mentality of coming back, keep on working and there’s going to be a day that’s gonna be your turn. It cannot always go your way.”

3-TYRESE HALIBURTON
Indiana Pacers, Guard

Tyrese Haliburton redefined what it meant to be “clutch” in the 2025 NBA postseason. Since the NBA’s play-by-play era began in the 1996-97 season, LeBron James has the most postseason shots to either tie or take the lead in the final three seconds of regulation or overtime with eight. Before the 2025 postseason, no one else had more than four in nearly the past 30 years. Haliburton delivered four game-tying or game-winning shots in one postseason run — one clutch shot in each round.

The 25-year-old Pacers point guard played like a man possessed. You could tell Hali was bothered by being labeled “overrated” by an anonymous panel of his peers, which was published by The Athletic. Haliburton wore that “overrated” label like a badge of honor. He used the disrespect as motivation in authoring the greatest playoff run by a single player. He took it out on his peers, sending them home in the playoffs one by one.

Haliburton sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks home in the first round and he sent Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers home in the conference semifinals. Both series ended in five games, with Haliburton playing a key role in slamming the door. Haliburton gave us one of the most iconic moments in sports with his game-tying shot at Madison Square Garden, making him public enemy No. 1 in New York City.

The Pacers came back from a nine-point deficit in 52.5 seconds in Game 1, with Haliburton sinking a dagger jump shot that bounced five feet in the air before swishing through the net. The dagger shot and the choke sign celebration — an ode to Reggie Miller’s pose in front of Spike Lee — will linger in the memories of Knicks fans for a long time. The “Hali Clutch Tour” rolled into Oklahoma City in the Game 1 of the NBA Finals and didn’t disappoint. Haliburton’s 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds left gave Indiana its first and only lead of the game as the Pacers struck down the Thunder 111-110. “Man, basketball’s fun. Winning is fun,” Haliburton said after his game winner.

An Achilles injury was the only thing that derailed the Haliburton train. He seemingly was well on his way to a big Game 7 in the NBA Finals when his Achilles tendon snapped seven minutes into the first quarter. When Hali fell to the ground he pounded the floor, not just from the pain he was feeling on his foot but from the emotional pain. His body failed him at the worst possible time.

2-NIKOLA JOKIC
Denver Nuggets, Center

Nikola Jokic has been so consistently good the past five years that we’ve grown accustomed to his basketball brilliance.

The Joker is one of nine players to win at least three MVPs, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan (5), Bill Russell (5), Wilt Chamberlain (4), LeBron James (4), Larry Bird (3), Magic Johnson (3) and Moses Malone (3).

Jokic had the best season of his career in 2024-25, which is absurd considering Joker is a three-time MVP and 2023 NBA champion. This past season, he averaged a career-high 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, a career-high 10.2 assists and a career-high 1.8 steals while shooting 57.6% from the field and a career-high 41.7% from three in 36.7 minutes per game. He became just the third player in NBA history to average a triple double for a single season, joining Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson. Westbrook and Robertson are guards and primary ball handlers, which makes Jokic’s triple-double season even more impressive considering he’s a center.

The big man from Serbia was named to his fifth All-NBA first-team selection for the fifth consecutive year and finished second in the MVP voting. He led the Denver Nuggets to the second round before losing to Oklahoma City in seven games. Jokic’s size and skill gave OKC all kinds of problems, and if the Nuggets had better production from their bench they might have knocked off OKC.

Time will tell where Jokic will ultimately land on the list of all-time great centers. Jokic’s resume speaks for itself. But in order for Joker to match or surpass Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Moses, Hakeem, Shaq, and Duncan, he needs to win more than just one NBA championship.

And now, the No. 1 player in the world. Drum roll please . . .

1-SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER
Oklahoma City Thunder, guard

Lou Williams had a front row seat to Shai’s early development having been his teammate during SGA’s rookie season with the Clippers. He observed how Shai dedicated himself to improving at just 20 and is now seeing him emerge as one of the best basketball players in the world at age 26.

Lou Will said this about Shai on the “Run It Back” podcast on FanDuel TV: “He was always a responsible player who carried himself like a mature professional. He had big aspirations and was clear about his endgame. He knew his abilities.”

SGA embodies the qualities of a throwback player who understands the importance of consistency and patience in achieving the ultimate goal of winning a championship.

Behind Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder (68-14) finished atop the NBA and tied for the sixth-best single-season record in league history. Oklahoma City outscored opponents by an NBA-record 12.9 points per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 32.0 points and 6.0 assists per game and shoot 50.0% or better from the field in a season. Jordan accomplished the feat twice (1989 and 1990).

Shai had his Jordan moment in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers. He came up big in a must-win game for the Thunder. A loss would have meant a 3-1 hole. A win meant the series tied 2-2.

The Pacers had an opportunity to put a stranglehold on the series after taking a four-point lead with four minutes left in the game. That’s when SGA put on his Batman cape and took over.

“I just tried to be aggressive. I knew what it would look like if we had lost [Game 4], and I didn’t want to go out not swinging,” SGA said about taking over in the last three minutes.

“I didn’t want to go out not doing everything in my power to try to win the game,” he added. “The guys deserve that much from me, the coaching staff deserves that much from me. I just tried to be aggressive, but also let the game come to me and not to force anything and not do anything crazy. I guess it paid off.”

Shai absolutely sensed the moment, scoring 13 of his team’s final 14 points including a contested step-back baseline jumper over Aaron Nesmith where he nearly fell to the floor but somehow regained his balance and buried a clutch shot to give OKC the lead for good.

He finished the game with a game-high 35 points on 12-for-24 shooting from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in leading OKC to a 111-104 victory to tie the series. The Thunder went on to beat the Pacers in seven games to win the championship.

“That’s what it is all about. Winning, especially at this time of the season, it comes down to the moments, it’s gonna come down to end of game … it’s gonna come down to the moments where who makes winning plays,” Shai said. “I relish those moments. Love the moments, good or bad. When I was a kid shooting on my driveway, I’ve count down the clock for those moments and I now get to live it. It’s fun. I relish it.”

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastbreak.net. Follow and subscribe to his YouTube channel at @onemanfastbreak1.

Photo credits: Associated Press and Getty Images

Someone asked Nikola Jokic if he’s becoming more serious as he enters his 10th season in the NBA. In classic Joker deadpan humor, he replied, “Why so serious?” He paused to admire his genius line from the movie “The Dark Knight” before continuing his response during his nine-minute session with the media.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’m that serious or not. Maybe a little bit. I’m older,” said the Nuggets center, who already has three league MVP trophies and one NBA championship trophy on his resume before the age of 30. He posted historically great numbers during the 2023-24 season. He ranked 10th in in points, fourth in rebounds and third in assists per game. He became the second player in history to have at least 2,000 points, 900 rebounds and 700 assists in a season. The great Oscar Robertson was the only other player to accomplish the feat.

Jokic understands that life is too short to be caught up in the seriousness of the business of winning. But he also knows he can’t be wasting opportunities.

“Respect the good team that you are on because it can flip so easy, so quick,” Jokic said. “Enjoy the collective that we have and what we’ve built. Try to grow if possible. That’s my motivation.”

Everything is the same for Jokic. And that’s how he likes it. There’s continuity with the roster as the Nuggets return the core from their 2023 championship run. Denver was unable to repeat last year, and the goal this season is to get back to the mountain top.

“Every year, all 30 teams want to get better,” Jokic said. “Some of them do and some of them don’t get better. Just because I don’t smile, I don’t laugh doesn’t mean I’m not excited [about the season]. I’m excited to see what we can do. I’m excited. I just don’t show it.”

The Nuggets are coming off a season in which they won a franchise best 57 wins. But few remember their superb regular season because of the way it ended. The Nuggets ran out of gas in the playoffs as they were eliminated in the second round by Minnesota. What hurt the most was Denver squandered a 20-point second-half lead in Game 7 at home.

When Jokic was asked about the painful Game 7 loss to the Timberwolves, he touched on it for a bit and moved on.

“I don’t think about something that happened three, four, five months ago,” he said. “We had a Game 7 and we lost a big lead. That’s why basketball is an amazing sport. It’s a live thing that can change in every possible way. Can we change something? Probably, yes. Maybe we can do something different. I’m not gonna think about it now.”

Jokic’s place in basketball lore is secure. If his career ended now, he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’ll go down as the greatest centers to ever play. But winning a second NBA championship would certainly put him on a different tier of greatness. There are only seven three-time MVPs in league history with at least two titles: LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabber, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

So, winning another title would put Jokic in elite company. And that’s no joke.

The small ball era had a good run. The Denver Nuggets — led by 6-foot-11, 285-pound center Nikola Jokic — officially expired the small ball era with a brand of old-school basketball principles that rely mostly on size and strength over pace and space.

The Nuggets plowed through the 2023 NBA playoffs, winning 16 of 20 games. Their 16-4 postseason mark is the best since the 2007 San Antonio Spurs. Denver put an exclamation point on its historic playoff run by winning the franchise’s first NBA title after overpowering and overwhelming the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

“[The Nuggets] have what Golden State had. They’ve changed the game,” Fox Sports NBA analyst Ric Bucher said on FS1’s “The Herd.”

“With a point center in Jokic, now I expect teams are going to be looking to find that athletic 7-footers who might be able to match up with him to make the game difficult,” Bucher added, “or find some sort of wrinkle that is going to have an answer for Nikola Jokic.”

The Nuggets roll out a conventional starting five with Jamal Murray (point guard), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (shooting guard), Michael Porter Jr. (small forward), Aaron Gordon (power forward), and Jokic (center). They all have ideal size for their respective positions. Murray is a 6-4 point guard who can score at all three levels and post-up smaller guards. Caldwell-Pope is a 6-5 guard with elite defensive talent as a 3-and-D wing. Porter Jr. is a lengthy 6-10 shooting forward who can provide instant offense. Gordon is an athletic 6-8 forward who started his career in Orlando as a spectacular slam dunker, but became a rugged player willing to do all the dirty work and take on difficult defensive assignments.

And then there is Jokic.

The big man from Sombor, Serbia, is a throwback center with a touch of modern. He takes high percentage shots. He sets solid screens. He rebounds the ball. He can hit 3-pointers, but it’s more a luxury than a necessity. What makes Jokic special is his ability to be playmaker as the 5-man. The Nuggets run their offense through Jokic, and he’s very comfortable being the quarterback.

Having the center be the focal point is certainly nostalgic. It goes against the new-school way where threes are better than twos. Analytics shifted the attack from inside-out to outside-in.

The Nuggets don’t subscribe to this approach. They are more of a conventional team that would have been a good fit in the 1980s and ’90s.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone — whose father Brendan won two championships as a member of Chuck Daly’s staff with the Detroit Pistons — leans heavily on his starting five. He usually finishes games with his core five guys, an anomaly in today’s game as most coaches prefer going small instead of staying big. The Heat deployed this small-ball, perimeter-oriented philosophy and rode it to an improbable postseason run, becoming the second No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals. The Heat advanced through each round by wearing down opponents with 3-point shooting, near-flawless execution in the fourth quarter, and a perplexing zone defense.

It almost work until Miami ran into Denver in The Finals.

Miami’s formula worked against Eastern Conference teams. It wasn’t as effective against the bigger Nuggets, whose size, strength, and skill — three traits that define their all-world center Jokic — were too much to overcome. Jokic and Co. found the mismatches and punished the mismatches throughout the series.

Jokic enjoyed a sensational NBA Finals debut, averaging nearly a triple-double (30.2 points, 14 rebounds, 7.2 assists) en route to winning Finals MVP. He was too big and too skilled for his counterpart Bam Adebayo. Bam had a solid series (22.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists) but his numbers were pedestrian compared to Jokic. Adebayo’s effort would have been good enough against the majority of NBA centers. But Jokic is no ordinary center.

Bam is an undersized center (listed at 6-9, 255) best suited as a big forward. In boxing terms, Bam would be a light heavyweight. He was simply no match for a super heavyweight like The Joker.

Denver’s core group is homegrown. The Nuggets drafted Murray in the first round in 2016. Two years later, they drafted Porter Jr. Team executive Calvin Booth, who took over as general manager in 2020, made two important acquisitions: Gordon in 2021 and Caldwell-Pope in 2022.

Caldwell-Pope gave the Nuggets some much-needed perimeter defense with championship pedigree (he won with the Lakers in 2020), while Gordon provided athleticism and versatility on both ends. He has embraced a supporting role after being the featured attraction in Orlando.

“He’s been put into the perfect role as the third guy [behind Jokic and Murray],” said Bucher, who compares Gordon’s arc to Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick in 2014, struggled to carry the burden of being the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves, but thrived as the third or fourth wheel with the Golden State Warriors.

Gordon entered the league with a ton of hype and a ton of expectations as the No. 4 overall pick by the Magic in the 2014 draft, the same year Jokic was drafted.

Jokic’s NBA odyssey was an unlikely one. He was drafted in the second round. Forty players were taken ahead of him. He looked overweight and out of shape when he first played in the Las Vegas summer league.

“I always think about this and laugh because that first Summer League in Vegas, 300 pounds, out of shape — he’s a nice player,” Malone said of Jokic, whose draft scouting report read something like this: Slow-footed, below-average athlete; doesn’t get much lift off the floor; doesn’t have the speed or burst to drive past opponents or stay in front of them laterally on defense.

No one ever could have seen Jokic winning MVPs and becoming the most dominant big man in basketball since Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan.

“That speaks to his dedication to his craft, getting in great shape and understanding that for him to fulfill his potential, he had to work harder, and he’s done that,” said Malone, who quickly realized he had something special in Jokic during his rookie year in the 2015-16 season.

“There was a game in his rookie season at San Antonio. He put up a crazy stat line,” Malone recalled. “[He put up] 25 or 26 points, 12 or 13 rebounds, six or seven assists against a guy like Tim Duncan. That was for me when the light bulb went off and saying, ‘Wow.’ What he just did, who he did it against, on the road against this team, coached by [Gregg Popovich]. This kid has a chance to be a special player.”

Malone had one more puzzle to figure out. Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic were both on the roster and room wasn’t big enough to house them. Malone had to chose one.

“I was bringing Nikola off the bench,” Malone recalled. “After we lost a game at Dallas, I remember having the conversation [and said to myself] ‘What am I doing?’ This kid was All-Rookie as a center. I started him the next game, probably around December 12th Year 2, and that’s when our team took off, he became the focal point of everything we did. And we realized we had a player we can build an offense and a team and an organization around.”

Malone made the right call.

With Jokic as their centerpiece, the Nuggets are now sitting on the Iron Throne ruling the basketball world. It took seven years, but it was worth the wait. Denver’s loyal fans waited almost five decades to celebrate a championship. Thanks to a plus-size starting lineup spearheaded by an uber talented big man rewriting the NBA record book, the Mile High City finally got its championship banner.

Jamal Murray had an opportunity to tie the score as time expired in Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals, but his step-back 3-pointer against Jimmy Butler bounced off the rim.

It was a shot Murray has made on multiple occasions. When he missed, he was more surprised than than disappointed. It shows the level of confidence Murray has in his ability to close games. He felt good about the shot. He didn’t feel good about his lack of intensity throughout the game. “I didn’t play terrible,” he said. “I felt like I could have done a lot more.”

Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone was around Murray for the next two days leading up to the pivotal Game 3 in Miami. He could tell his 26-year-old point guard was itching to redeem himself and was ready for a big bounce-back game.

“I could tell, speaking to him and being around him the last 48 hours, that he was putting a lot of Game 2 on him,” Malone said. “It wasn’t just him. It was me and everyone of our players. It was collective. But that’s what champions do. That’s what warriors do. They battled back. I just felt his presence all game long [in Game 3]. Forget the stats for a second. I felt Jamal Murray’s presence, his energy. He was here. He was in the moment.”

In a game the Nuggets sorely needed to regain home-court advantage in the NBA Finals, Murray and Nikola Jokic authored what Malone called their “greatest performance” as a duo in their seven years together. Jokic and Murray became the first teammates to pull off a 30-10-10 triple-double game in NBA history. Jokic finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists. Not to be outdone, Murray had 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists.

“The whole playoffs he was playing phenomenal. He’s a really good leader out there. We’re just following him,” Jokic said of Murray, who might be the best player in the 2023 postseason if not for the 6-11, 280-pound monster he shares a locker room with.

Murray and Jokic have been spectacular. Both are at the peak of their powers and looking more and more like the best 1-2 punch in basketball. The rest of the NBA should be worried because the Murray-Jokic partnership could have a long, dominant run as long as they can stay healthy.

“It’s a great duo. Their games complement each other,” Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Both those guys are elite-level talent.”

Jokic is Denver’s undisputed best player. He’s arguably the best basketball player in the world. If Jokic is the engine of Denver’s Formula 1-type racing machine, then Murray is the fuel that ignites the Denver machine.

“Murray is an electric playoff performer,” Spoelstra said. “Murray will draw second and third defenders. You have to pick him up beyond the 3-point line. And he’s ignitable.”

Murray set the tone early for Game 3 as he took on the Butler defensive challenge and brought the intensity from the tip. He scored 20 of his game-high 34 points in the first half. He shot 12-for-22 from the field, he was 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and 7-for-8 from the line.

The type of energy and aggression Murray brought to the table against the Heat represented what he’d been consistently doing the entire postseason. He was sensational during the Nuggets sweep of the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

Jokic was the consistent jab that kept the Lakers at bay. Murray was the right-hand cross that knocked LeBron James and Co. out of the playoffs. Murray’s performances in games 2 and 3 against L.A. were his signature moments. He scored 23 of his game-high 37 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2 to give the Nuggets a 2-0 lead in the series. In Game 3, he dropped another 37-point outing on the road to give the Nuggets a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Murray is one of the game’s fourth-quarter performers. His ability to come through in clutch situations was one of the primary reasons why the Nuggets reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

About the only time Murray’s confidence wavered slightly was during the beginning of his rehabilitation after tearing his ACL in April of 2021. Murray had some doubts about regaining the form he flashed in the bubble season of 2020.

“I remember being in the bus with him, going to the airport after he did the injury [against] Golden State the next day and he had tears in his eyes, and that was the message. ‘Hey man, you’re gonna come back from this. And not only are you going to come back, you’re going to be better,'” said Malone. “In that moment, it’s really hard to believe that. His first thought was, ‘Are you guys gonna trade me? I’m damaged goods, you guys are gonna trade me now.’ “

Malone responded with, “I hugged him and said, ‘Hell no, you’re ours. We love you, we’re going to help you get back, and you’re going to be a better player for it.”

Malone was right. Murray not only fully recovered but he became a better player since the ACL injury. The 2023 playoffs is a reminder of the player the Nuggets selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2016 draft out of Kentucky. The kid from Kitchener, Ontario (Canada), has continued to find ways to improve and show out on the biggest stage in the world.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made some waves when he suggested that Murray is the focal point of the Nuggets’ attack. Seems silly to think that a guard — who has never been named to a single All-Star game or make All-NBA — be the focal point of a team that employs two-time MVP and All-NBA center Nikola Jokic.

But here was Kerr, without hesitation, circling Murray as the top target on the white board.

“I can see [the Heat] in their coaching meeting saying, ‘Murray is the head of the snake, not Jokic,'” Kerr said during Draymond Green’s podcast.

The Nuggets are not just a one-man show. They are a complete team with a scary two-headed monster leading the attack.

Christmas Day for basketball fans is the unofficial start of the “real season,” when contenders begin to separate themselves from the pretenders.

Seven of the top 10 teams and seven of the 10 best players in the NBA are playing on Christmas Day. There’s no shortage of star power when ABC starts its live marathon live coverage at noon ET.

But this year there’s major competition.

The NFL has a three-game slate on Dec. 25. Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers take on the Miami Dolphins at 1 p.m. ET followed by the Denver Broncos-L.A. Rams at 4:30 p.m. ET. The prime-time game at 8:20 p.m. ET features Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Arizona Cardinals.

Football is king when it comes to TV ratings, so the NBA will have to compete for viewers on a day when it usually owns the viewing audience. To help solve this viewing dilemma, OneManFastBreak.net has tagged three must-see NBA games. The other two games, well, let’s just say you’re fee to switch channel to the NFL games.

Must-see games
Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks (noon ET, ABC/ESPN) — The Knicks enter Christmas Day as one of the hottest teams in the league. They’ve won eight in a row and now currently sit among the top six teams in the Eastern Conference. The offseason acquisition of point guard Jalen Brunson has solidified New York’s once shaky backcourt. Brunson is the perfect tough-as-nails leader head coach Tom Thibodeau has been seeking since his days with the Chicago Bulls. Brunson takes the pressure of forward Julius Randle and knows how to win close ballgames, which was a big problem last season. The Sixers have been coasting so far, but they still have MVP candidate Joel Embiid. When Embiid decides to take over a game, there are few people on planet Earth who can slow him down. Madison Square Garden will be rocking for this sexy matchup.

Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks (5 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) — This could very well be a preview of the East finals. Both teams enter the colossal showdown with their full compliment of players. Khris Middleton, who missed last year’s playoff series with a knee injury, is starting to get back into shape. Middleton is the Robin to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Batman. The Celtics welcome back center Robert Williams, who was vital to their run to the NBA Finals last season. Jayson Tatum is enjoying an MVP season and his running mate, Jaylen Brown, is making a strong case to make the All-NBA squad. Celtics had owned the league’s best record until a rocky West Coast trip tripped them up and allowed the Bucks to gain ground in the standings. The Bucks’ game in Milwaukee starts at 5 p.m. ET, well after the kickoff for Packers-Dolphins game. Wisconsin fans will be able to watch their Packers and their Bucks on Christmas Day.

Phoenix Suns vs. Denver Nuggets (10:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) — The Suns-Nuggets game is the last NBA game on the Christmas Day schedule. The first quarter of Suns-Nuggets might be a skip since most of us will be watching the end of the Buccaneers-Cardinals game when Brady leads the Bucs to victory over a depleted Cards squad. Once the NFL prime-time game is over, you can tune in to Suns-Nuggets. Both teams don’t like each other. During the 2021 playoffs, the Suns swept the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic was ejected in the clincher for a hard foul on Cameron Payne. Jokic and Devin Booker had to be separated after a heated exchange. Jokic’s brothers got involved in the bruhaha when they yelled at Booker from the stands. We could see fireworks again.

Skip these games
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) — A once promising matchup turned into a sour showdown after reigning Finals MVP Steph Curry injured his left shoulder and will be sidelined for a few weeks. Without Curry, the Warriors are a shell of themselves. There’s some bad blood between the Grizzlies and Warriors, so this could have been spicy. The Dubs-Griz game will be going head-to-head with Bucs-Cards, and we all know America will always choose football over basketball. It’s OK. This game could get ugly, anyways.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) — Not even LeBron James and Luka Doncic can save this awful matchup. The Lakers won’t have All-Star Anthony Davis and the Mavericks are struggling to find four other guys to play with Doncic. If LeBron was playing Luka one-on-one, then this game actually be interesting. But as currently constructed, it’s a battle of two teams closer to the bottom of the conference.

Oklahoma City All-Star guard Russell Westbrook may not be ready to go until December. (GETTY IMAGES)

Anyone who watches ESPN’s “First Take” knows Skip Bayless’ daily diatribe on Russell Westbrook. Bayless slams Westbrook every chance he gets, pointing out Westbrook’s shortcomings as a point guard and how he is curbing Kevin Durant’s greatness.

Bayless is right about one thing, and that is Westbrook is not a true point guard. What Bayless misses completely is the fact that Westbrook is a unique talent who can’t be boxed into a position. He is more of a hybrid, someone who can play point but not necessarily trapped into that role.

If Bayless was coaching Oklahoma City, he would have Westbrook bring up the ball, hand it to Durant, and get out of the way. This completely wastes Westbrook’s special talent. He’s at his best when he doesn’t have restrictions. Curtailing him would be like owning a Ferrari and letting it sit in the garage.

Westbrook plays with raw emotion and, even though his exuberance leads to mistakes, it is the very reason why he’s such a difficult cover.

Oklahoma City got a preview of what life would be like without Westbrook during the 2013 Western Conference playoffs. Westbrook tore the meniscus in his right knee in the first round against Houston and missed the second-round matchup against Memphis.

Without their All-Star guard, the Thunder were eliminated by the Grizzlies in five games despite Durant’s superhuman numbers in the series that saw him average 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

“Everybody thinks he should be a traditional point guard like a [John] Stockton or a Mo Cheeks (former Thunder assistant coach),” Durant said during the 2011 NBA Finals. “There’s a lot of people that cannot be like Russ, either. We need him to play the way he plays.”

Westbrook’s impact on the court can’t be measured by mere statistics. He is the emotional leader of the Thunder, and his absence definitely altered the entire playoff picture. With him in the lineup, OKC is a championship contender. Without him, the Thunder won’t make it past the second round.

OneManFastBreak.net examines the teams in the Northwest Division and where they’ll finish:

1-OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Durant and the Thunder will have to wait until until December to have Westbrook back on the court after he suffered a setback in his rehabilitation process. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to alleviate swelling in his right knee. This means the spotlight shifts to third-year guard Reggie Jackson. He showed some flashes of brilliance in the Memphis series, and even if Westbrook returns Jackson could see increased playing time and be a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year. This could be a make-or-break season for Serge Ibaka. The 6-10 forward must become more than just a defensive force and expand his game on offense. Last season Ibaka improved his scoring average by four points (13.2 points), but he did most of his damage from the outside. Ibaka must develop a back-to-the-basket attack and not settle for jumpers. So far during the preseason, Ibaka has shown an improved jump hook and has been more aggressive in the paint. If Ibaka can move up his scoring average around 17-18 points, the Thunder will be the best team in the West and a sure bet to reach the NBA Finals.

2-DENVER NUGGETS

To say that the Nuggets are undergoing a facelift would be a huge understatement. Head coach George Karl is gone. General manager Masai Ujiri is now in Toronto. And Andre Iguodala, the key piece in the Carmelo Anthony trade, left for Golden State. Tim Connelly, who worked in the front office in Washington and New Orleans, takes over for Ujiri and former Indiana Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw tries to fill in the big shoes left by Karl. Shaw has been passed over numerous times for other coaching jobs, so he’s out to prove to everyone in the league that he’s more than qualified to be the head man. Shaw will rely heavily on a few holders from the Karl regime: Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari, Andre Miller, and JaVale McGee. Gallinari was initially thought to be lost until February after ACL surgery, but now it’s possible he could return in December. Gallo’s comeback can’t come soon enough, especially with the loss of Iguodala. McGee is expected to be the starter at center, and if he ever stops contributing to Shaqtin’ A Fool segments he could actually be a top-10 center.

3-PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

If there’s a team in need of some good luck, it’s the Trail Blazers. The team is still reeling from the Greg Oden and Brandon Roy setbacks. Oden was supposed to be the face of the franchise for the next 10-15 years after he was chosen No. 1 overall in 2007. Roy was the Rookie of the Year in 2007 and well on his way to being a fixture at All-Star games until his knees fell apart. Last season, the Blazers hit the jackpot with Damian Lillard. The sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft exploded out of the gates and went on to win Rookie of the Year without much of a challenge. So far, Lillard is as healthy as he can be. That’s the good news. The bad news is the same can’t be said about 2013 draft pick C.J. McCollum. The highly regarded rookie broke a bone in his left foot in practice — a similar injury he suffered while at Lehigh — five days into training camp, and no timetable is set for his return. Sound familiar? The Blazers have been here before, sadly, and hopefully McCollum will be able to overcome this latest injury and not take a similar path taken by Oden and Roy. For three consecutive seasons, LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 21 points and nine rebounds. Aldridge is so consistently he’s taken for granted and doesn’t get the recognition he richly deserves.

4-MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

Flip Saunders knows how it feels to be in the playoffs as a member of the T-Wolves because he was there the last time it happened. Saunders was hired by team owner Glen Taylor to run the basketball operations, and he’ll be ready to don his coaching suit on the first sign of trouble. Saunders’ presence in the front office and his long history with Taylor can’t be good for Rick Adelman. All the pieces are in place for Minnesota to have a good season. All the pieces have to do is stay healthy. Kevin Love missed 64 games last season because of a broken right hand, and Minnesota fell apart when he went down. When healthy, Love is regarded as one of the best power forwards in the game. In the two seasons prior to his injury Love averaged 23 points and 14 rebounds. Those numbers earned him a four-year, $60-million contract extension. Ricky Rubio enters his third NBA season and appears to be fully recovered from an ACL injury he suffered in 2012. Rubio is arguably the best passer since Magic Johnson, and those who question that statement needs to watch more T-Wolves games. Rubio is an absolute wizard with a ball in his hands. He loves to set up his teammates, and his teammates love him for it. Rubio’s jump shot, on the other hand, is still a work in progress.

5-UTAH JAZZ

Tyrone Corbin graduated from the Jerry Sloan school of coaching, naturally he takes an old-school approach when it comes to his team. The Jazz may not have the most talented roster but they are disciplined and hard-nosed. Whether it’s Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap or Enes Kanter or Derrick Favors, the Jazz select players who fit their system. Jefferson (now with Charlotte) and Millsap (Atlanta) are no longer with the team, but their replacements are more than capable of filling their big shoes. Kanter may not be as good as Jefferson offensively, but he’s a better defender and equally good on the boards. Favors is a huge upgrade over Millsap. The fifth-year pro averaged 9.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in 23 minutes. Given starter minutes, Favors should be a double-double machine. Gordon Hayward is the only returning player who averaged double digits in scoring last season. Hayward is a decent starting small forward in the NBA, but he’s not what you would consider a No. 1 scoring option. The Jazz were hoping first-round draft pick Trey Burke would be that top scoring option, but his season has been derailed by a broken right index finger that would keep him out 8-12 weeks.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Second-year power forward Kenneth Faried has brought a ton of hustle to the Denver Nuggets. (GETTY IMAGES)

When the Denver Nuggets had no choice but to trade Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks in the 2010-11 season, Nuggets coach George Karl and general manager Masai Ujiri immediately went to Plan B.

The idea was simple: without a true superstar to build around, the Nuggets remade their roster with top-10 talent at every position. Basically, Karl and Ujiri went against the conventional thought that you need stars to set your team. Instead, they stockpiled the roster with superbly gifted athletes who were willing to share the ball and play a frenetic pace.

That high-speed, full-throttle basketball style was on display Monday night when the Nuggets ran the L.A. Lakers off the court. Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and Ty Lawson added 22 in the Nuggets’ 119-108 win, a game in which Denver outscored the Lakers 33-3 on the fast break and 78-50 in the paint.

”The fast-break points, that’s a killer,” Kobe Bryant said. ”That team is like a track team over there.”

The Nuggets are two-deep at every position and play at a remarkable pace that wears teams down, especially at home where they are 24-3.

”It’s tough to neutralize speed, especially when they’re very good at what they do,” Bryant said. ”Yeah, their speed. Their speed got us. They got out on transition, got easy buckets. Kept the pressure on us. We had to labor for opportunities, think we might have had two fast-break points. Contrast that with 33. It’s crazy.”

Anything and everything the Lakers tried to do to flip the size-speed disadvantage only backfired on them.

”You have to almost over-exaggerate getting back on defense,” Bryant said. ”Literally, nobody can go to the offensive boards.”

It starts with point guards Ty Lawson and Andre Miller. Lawson is the engine that drives the Nuggets fastbreak. He’s the player with the 100-mph fastball, the type of player who can single-handedly affect a game with his blinding speed. Backing him up is the 35-year-old Miller, a savvy veteran who plays at a much slower place. Miller is the off-speed pitcher who relies on guile rather athletic ability.

Andre Iguodala, who was acquired from Philadelphia last season, is an upgrade from Aaron Afflalo. Iguodala is a versatile swingman who plays both ends of the floor and fills the stat sheet. He’s backed up by Corey Brewer, a good defender who has greatly improved his 3-point shot.

Danilo Gallinari came over from New York in the Anthony trade. Gallo is not afraid to take big shots down the stretch, and he’s the closest thing the Nuggets have to a fourth-quarter closer. He’s backed up by Wilson Chandler, who spent the lockout-shortened season in China.

The Nuggets found a gem in the 2011 NBA draft in Kenneth Faried. The player known as The Manimal is a relentless athlete who doesn’t need set plays to make an imprint in a game. His effort and energy is infectious, and Denver fans absolutely love his hustle. Faried is an undersized power forward (listed at 6-8 but probably closer to 6-6), but more than makes up for his lack of length with a Dennis Rodman-like motor. He’s averaging nearly double-double this season (12 points, nine rebounds).

Karl starts Kostas Koufus at center, and rotates him with JaVale McGee and Tim Mozgov. Koufus and Mozgov are space-eaters, while McGee is a shot-blocker who may be the most athletic big man in the NBA. And his wingspan is ridiculous. Oftentimes, McGee ignites fastbreaks with his shot blocks, and he can run the floor like a wide receiver. If he ever develops a go-to shot in the low block he could become an All-Star.

‘They continually pushed the ball down our throats,” Bryant said. “Shots go up and those guys are already leaking out, to go along with the speed. They got a lot of easy buckets because of it.”

Denver is currently in the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference, battling the Clippers and Grizzlies for the third spot. The Nuggets will be a tough out in the playoffs, especially if they somehow gain home-court advantage in the first round.