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.

***

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.

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.

***

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

Moments after helping the Boston Celtics capture the franchise’s 18th NBA championship banner, Jaylen Brown was awarded the Bill Russell trophy after being named the most valuable player of the NBA Finals. Brown graciously accepted the trophy from commissioner Adam Silver. Then, he gave a thoughtful and self-effacing remark.

“I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime Jayson Tatum,” said Brown, who has been playing alongside Tatum for seven seasons in Boston and both have absorbed a ton of criticism following three losses in the conference finals, including last year’s disappointing Game 7 loss at TD Garden to the Miami Heat.

“These last seven years have been a roller coaster, up and down. I had to listen to all the s*** that people said about me,” Tatum said.

Celtics general manager Brad Stevens had full faith in the resolve of his two superstars. He trusted that they’ll rebound from the playoff loss to the Heat and come back the following year with a vengeance. And they sure did.

Tatum and Brown played the entire 2023-24 season with massive chips on their shoulders and took out all their frustrations on the rest of the league. The Celtics blitzed through the regular season with a league-best 64 wins and lost just three games in the postseason.

“We’ve been through a lot, the losses, the expectations,” Brown told reporters. “The media have said all different types of things: We can’t play together, we are never going to win. We heard it all. But we just blocked it out, and we just kept going. I trusted him. He trusted me. And we did it together.”

Every championship team over the last four decades have had a great 1-2 punch. Tatum and Brown are the latest dynamic duo to etch their names on basketball lore. Where do Tatum and Brown rank on OneManFastBreak’s annual top-five list? Take a look at this year’s OMFB Furious Five.

***

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 2023, OMFB’s Furious Five featured Jimmy Butler (5), Stephen Curry (4), Joel Embiid (3), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2), Nikola Jokic (1).

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

***

5-JAYLEN BROWN
Boston Celtics, Guard-Forward

Brown wasn’t named to the All-NBA team or the All-Defensive team during the 2023-24 season. Think about that for a minute. The MVP of the 2024 NBA Finals and Eastern Conference finals MVP wasn’t voted on first-team, second-team or third-team All-NBA. Also, he was not named to first-team or second-team All-Defense.

To say that it was a snub was a major understatement. Brown is without a doubt one of the best two-way players in the NBA. He belongs in the top 15 on offense and top 10 on defense. He left little doubt about his status with one of the all-time great performances in the 2024 playoffs.

Against the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals, Brown averaged 29.8 points in the Celtics’ four-game sweep. Brown hit the series-defining shot in Game 1 when he drained a corner 3-pointer to send the game into overtime where Boston took control. From that point, the Pacers could never regain control of the series.

Against the Mavericks in the NBA Finals, Brown took on the defensive challenge of guarding the Dallas Mavericks’ all-world point guard Luka Doncic. He made Doncic earn every point and held the league’s best playmaker to 5.6 assists and 24% shooting from 3-point range. Brown could have easily gloated in front of the media when he had the mic during the postgame Finals pressers. But he took the high road and let his performances speak for themselves.

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 playoffs.

The two-time NBA MVP felt that he let his teammates down by not being on the court as the Pacers took full advantage of a Giannis-less Bucks squad and won the series in six games. Giannis vowed to do everything in his power to get his body right for the next season.

Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that missing the final 22 days of the Bucks season was one of the more difficult stretches of his 11-year career.

“I was trying to push myself and push myself and push myself to get to a place where maybe I can’t check the boxes, but maybe I can even go out there and help, but in our opinion it was not safe for me to be out there because I couldn’t run full speed,” Antetokounmpo said.

Prior to his injury, Giannis put together another outstanding season, averaging 30.4 points while shooting 61.1% from the field. The Bucks remain one of the top teams in the East, but they need a healthy Giannis to compete for a championship.

3-LUKA DONCIC
Dallas Mavericks, Guard

Doncic had one of best season’s of his young career, leading the league in scoring (33.9), finishing third in the MVP voting, and authoring the signature moment of the regular season when he dropped 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks. It was the fourth-highest point total in NBA history and trails only Wilt Chamberlain (100 and 78) and Kobe Bryant (81).

Luka was the driving force behind the Mavericks’ impressive run to the NBA Finals. It was the franchise’s first appearance in the Finals since Dirk Nowitzki led them there in 2011.

But Doncic’s body couldn’t hold up through the entire playoff grind as he physically struggled down the stretch with a plethora of injuries. He received a pain-killing injection ahead of Game 2 in the Finals and played through much of the playoffs with a sprained knee.

Doncic didn’t make any excuses when he was asked about his ailments.

“It doesn’t matter if I was hurt, how much was I hurt,” he told reporters following Dallas’ 106-88 loss in Game 5 at TD Garden. “I was out there. I tried to play, but I didn’t do enough.”

Some of basketball’s greatest players, including Nowitzki, lost the first time they made the NBA Finals. Nowitzki lost to the Miami Heat in 2006, but learned from that loss and got over the hump in 2011. Doncic will certainly take the painful lessons from his Finals loss and learn from them when he gets another shot. He understands that he has to stop complaining to the referees, play better defense, and get in better shape.

2-JAYSON TATUM
Boston Celtics, Forward

Tatum let his emotions pour out after the Celtics won the NBA title. He understood what it meant for him being the face of a storied franchise. He can now join the table reserved for Celtics greats such as Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Larry Bird, and Kevin Garnett. Winning an NBA title was a career-defining accomplishment for Tatum. “All the sacrifice was worth it,” he told reporters.

Tatum is generally known for his ability to put the ball in the basket. And he’s darn good at it. But critics were quick to point out his flaws after losing to Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals and to Jimmy Butler’s Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals. Many pundits started doubting Tatum’s ability to lead a team and be able to handle the pressure of being a superstar. Even Mavericks coach Jason Kidd took a swipe at Tatum by telling reporters that Jaylen Brown was the Celtics’ best player.

Tatum absorbed all the blows and kept on grinding. He added layers to game to become more of a complete player. His play-making skills were on full display during the 2024 NBA Finals. Despite struggling from the field (38.8%), he impacted the game in multiple ways. He led Boston in rebounds (7.8) and assists (7.2), and took on the challenge of defending his position as the team’s primary 4-man.

“I think he makes everyone’s life easier,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said about Tatum. “One because of who he is as a person, the type of character he has. I think your franchise player has to be a cornerstone of what you do. It starts with his high character, just the way he carries himself as a person, as a dad, as a teammate.”

Tatum may not have collected any hardware during the 2023-24 season, but doesn’t need trophies to prove his greatness. He was Boston’s best player all season, leading team in scoring (26.9) and rebounding (8.1). Tatum could have easily been named Eastern Conference finals MVP after averaging 30.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists in sweeping the Pacers. By comparison, Brown averaged 29.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Tatum became the sixth player since 1980 to lead his team in points, rebounds and assists in the playoffs while winning a title. The other five were Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, and Nikola Jokic. That’s some pretty good company there.

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

1-NIKOLA JOKIC
Denver Nuggets, Center

Nikola Jokic has been so consistently brilliant that he could have easily been named MVP four straight years. The known as The Joker won his third regular-season MVP in four years, becoming just the ninth player 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 ranked 10th in points (26.4), fourth in rebounds (12.4) and third in assists (9.0) while missing just three regular season games. He became the second player to have at least 2,000 points, 900 rebounds and 700 assists in a season, joining Oscar Robertson who pulled off the feat in 1962.

Behind the Serbian big man, the Denver Nuggets won 57 wins and earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. In a highly anticipated matchup against LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the first round of the playoffs, Nuggets eliminated the L.A. Lakers in five games with Jokic averaging nearly a triple-double (28.2 points, 16.2 rebounds, 9.8 points). The Jokic-Davis matchup pitted the league’s best offensive weapon against the league’s best defender. Even though the series went just five games, it shaved plenty of skin off the Nuggets.

In the conference semifinals, the Nuggets were stretched to the limit by the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves pulled off the improbable, winning Game 7 on Denver’s home court. Jokic did all he could to push the Nuggets forward, but he simply ran out of gas and got worn down by Minnesota’s trio of big men. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said his team looked “dead tired” and blamed fatigue for blowing a double-digit lead in Game 7 against the T-Wolves. The Nuggets’ starting unit of Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Jokic played 958 minutes together in the regular season. That’s more than any other five-man lineup in the last six NBA seasons.

Time will tell where Jokic will land on the list of the greats. If his career ended today, his legacy is secure and his spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is nearly guaranteed. He now wears the crown once held by Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Moses, Hakeem, Shaq, and Duncan as the game’s best and most dominant big man.

But Springfield can wait. The Joker still has plenty of greatness left in him, and he’s far from satisfied winning just one championship.

They don’t call him Nikola Jokic “The Joker” for nothing.

When a reporter covering the 2023 NBA Finals asked Jokic if he considers himself the best player in the world, he responded in classic Joker fashion. “I’m confused,” the Denver Nuggets superstar center replied. “It’s hard to say. Sometimes I am, sometimes I’m not. And I’m cool with that.”

What’s cool about Jokic is he lets his game do the talking. He may not possess the agility of Hakeem Olajuwon, the shot-blocker skills of Bill Russell, or the sheer power of Shaquille O’Neal. But he belongs in the pantheon of all-time big men.

Jokic relies on his basketball IQ and guard-like skills. He’s also quite good at filling in the blanks.

Need scoring? Jokic averaged 24 points per game.

Need rebounds? Jokic averaged nearly 12 boards.

Need a playmaker? Jokic averaged almost 10 assists.

“The MVPs are real. The triple-doubles are real,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said about his franchise player after sweeping the L.A. Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference finals. Three weeks later, Jokic would lead the Nuggets to the franchise’s first NBA championship after overpowering the Miami Heat in five games.

The beauty of Jokic’s game lies in it’s flexibility. He’s a shape shifter. He doesn’t fight the game or force the issue.

There was some talk from TV pundits that he’s padding his stats to strengthen his MVP case. This “silly narrative” irked Malone.

“The narratives, the silly narratives this year are just what, silly and somewhat ignorant,” Malone said. “I think Nikola has gone through three rounds now where he’s averaging a triple-double in the playoffs. Have you seen any stat-padding out there? I’m serious, enough of the silliness.”

Malone continued, “The guy is a great player; give him his damn respect. Stop chopping him down at the knees. He’s a great player, and give him the respect he deserves.”

Shaq certainly has Jokic’s respect. After Jokic produced a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut, Shaq welcomed Jokic into the fictional “Big Man Alliance.” Jokic humbly accepted the flowers from The Diesel.

***

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 2022, OMFB Furious Five featured Jayson Tatum (5), Nikola Jokic (4), Luka Doncic (3), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2), Steph Curry (1).

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

5. JIMMY BUTLER
Miami Heat, Forward

The Miami Heat have reached the NBA Finals twice since Jimmy Butler came to South Beach. And it could have easily been three Finals appearances if Butler’s 3-pointer in the waning moments of Game 7 in the 2022 Western Conference finals in Miami had gone in. “Next year, we will have enough, and we’re gonna be right be right back in this same situation and we’re gonna get it done,” Butler said after the Heat’s heartbreaking playoff loss.

Almost exactly one year later, the Heat found itself in the same situation. This time it was Game 7 in Boston’s TD Garden Arena with the surging Celtics having built up plenty of momentum to make a historic comeback after being down 0-3 in the series. The pressure was on Butler to deliver, and he delivered in Playoff Jimmy fashion. He scored a game-high 28 points despite struggling from the field (12-for-28 shooting) in 43 minutes. Despite battling fatigue, Butler grabbed seven rebounds, created scoring for others with six assists and was an absolute pest on defense with three steals. He also knocked down three timely 3-pointers. Butler also did the job on the defensive end as he bottled up Celtics All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown to 19 points on 8-for-23 shooting. Butler’s stifling defense also forced Brown into eight turnovers.

Butler, who was named the 2023 conference finals MVP, has firmly established himself as one of the best, if not the best, two-way players in basketball. But what separates Butler from other All-NBA studs is his grit. He can win a game with sheer will and determination. It’s not always pretty, but it is always effected.

“He’s one of those guys who competes at literally everything. Cards, UNO games … he’s just the ultimate competitor,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry told the Associated Press about Butler, who embodies everything about Heat Culture.

What exactly is Heat Culture? It’s about keeping the main thing the main thing. It’s about competing. It’s about winning.

The Heat Culture is not for everyone, but it perfectly fits Butler’s hard-charging personality.

“More than anything it’s just the belief that we have in one another, the belief that you must have in yourself to realize how special you can be in this league, in this moment, in this organization,” Butler told the AP. “I think everybody’s bought into that. Everybody’s confident. I don’t even know if overconfident is what you would call it, but it’s a thing. And our guys are playing some incredible basketball. So that Heat Culture, the confidence that Heat Culture instills in each and every one of us is very real.”

4. STEPHEN CURRY
Golden State Warriors, Guard

Steph Curry admits he is the NBA’s “petty king.” He sees and hears and remembers all the disses, the slights, and the snubs. It doesn’t matter if they are done in jest. If Curry thinks he or any member of his inner circle gets disrespected, he will clap back.

When a Boston bar trolled Curry’s wife, Ayesha, by posting a sign saying “Ayesha Curry Can’t Cook” the NBA’s greatest 3-point shooter fired right back by wearing a T-shirt to a postgame press conference that read “Ayesha Curry CAN Cook.”

When ESPN talking heads like Domonique Foxworth and Kendrick Perkins both predicted that Curry will win “zero” championships after signing his $215 contract extension with the Warriors, Steph put it in his memory bank and saved the retort for the right occasion. After Curry and the Warriors clinched their fourth NBA title in eight seasons, Curry called out Foxworth and Perkins during a postgame session with the media.

“I clearly remember some experts and talking heads putting up the big zero on how many championships we’d have going forward because of everything we went through,” Curry said. “We hear all that, we carry all that and try to maintain a purpose, not let it distract you. But you carry that weight.”

Curry has been carrying the weight of the Warriors since 2015 when he won the first of two straight MVPs and broke the Bay Area’s 40-year NBA title drought. For nearly a decade, the road to the championship had to go through Curry and Golden State. But the 2022-23 season was a trying season for Curry and the Warriors.

The normally buttoned-up franchise had to deal with the ugly Draymond Green incident where he was seen in a video punching teammate Jordan Poole during practice. The Warriors struggled to find their footing during the regular season and finished in sixth in the standings. There were flickers of hope that the Dubs dynasty would keep moving after Curry dropped a record-setting 50 points in Game 7 of the 2023 Western Conference first-round series against the Sacramento Kings in Sac Town. The Dubs’ tumultuous season came to an end one round later after getting eliminated by LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers in the conference semifinals.

3. JOEL EMBIID
Philadelphia 76ers, Center

Doc Rivers once asked Joel Embiid, “Have you ever seen an out-of-shape MVP?” Embiid laughed when he heard the question. Rivers then followed by saying, “It doesn’t exist.” The Philadelphia 76ers big man got the message loud and clear. In order for him to be at an MVP-level, he needed to work on his conditioning. He hired a chef and worked with a nutritionist. The renewed commitment to fitness turned Embiid into one of the most dominant centers the league has seen since Shaq and Tim Duncan.

Over the last three seasons, Embiid has averaged 28.5 points (2021), 30.6 (2022), and 33.1 (2023). He has led the NBA in scoring two years in a row. The last time a center did that was Shaq back in 2000. Embiid put an exclamation point on his remarkable 2022-23 season by dropping 52 points on a super efficient 20-for-25 shooting from the field against the Boston Celtics. After the game, Rivers told reporters that the MVP race was “over.”

Philly fans have been trusting the process for a decade. Thanks to Embiid, the 76ers are back to being one of the beasts in the East.

The 7-foot, 280-pound big man from Cameroon is an absolute two-way beast. He is an old-school centerpiece on offense who can destroy single coverage and command double teams. He forces teams to adjust. He has amazing footwork for a big man. It’s not quite Olajuwon level, but it’s getting very darn close. He has a vast array of low-post moves and shots, and he can drain the occasional 3-pointer if given space. Defensively, Embiid’s ability to be up on the pick-and-roll while also going back and protect the basket have made the Sixers one of the toughest teams to score on. He’s one of those guys who just has great size and skill and that allows him to be a top-notch defender. “He’s just smarter,” Rivers said of his center. “Smarter and able to cover ground. With this size, I never realized that he had the feet that he has and his IQ helps too. He’s a very smart defensive player so you don’t really know that till you coach a guy. I’ve been very impressed with him.”

2. GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
Milwaukee Bucks, Forward

Don’t tell Giannis Antetokounmpo that his 2023 season was a failure. A reporter made the mistake of bringing up the F-word to Giannis moments after the Milwaukee Bucks became the sixth No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the playoffs.

“It’s not a failure,” Giannis said after the Bucks were eliminated by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in five games. “It’s steps towards success,” he continued. “There’s always steps to it. Michael Jordan played 15 years. He won six championships. The other nine years, he was a failure? (No.) So why do you ask me that question? It’s the wrong question.

“There’s no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days. Some days you’re able to be successful. Some days you’re not. Some days it’s your turn. Some days it’s not your turn. And that’s what sports is about. You don’t always win. Some other people are going to win. And this year, somebody else is going to win. Simple as that.”

The Greek Freak had another superlative individual season. He finished third in the MVP voting — averaging 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists — and led the Bucks to the best overall record in the NBA. Despite an outstanding regular season, Giannis’ 2023 season will be defined by his team’s stunning collapse in the first round.

Giannis has reached a point in his career that anything less than a championship is considered a failure. And that’s ok. It comes with the territory. The two-time MVP will undoubtedly use the Miami series as fuel for next season.

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

1. NIKOLA JOKIC
Denver Nuggets, Center

How good was Nikola Jokic in the 2023 NBA playoffs? Just ask Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

“I know how great Jokic is,” LeBron said after his L.A. Lakers were swept 4-0 by Jokic and the top-seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.

“There are certain guys in this league that play the game a certain way, a certain way that I like to play the game as well, and he’s one of them,” LeBron said. “Where you are always off balance when you are guarding a player like that, because of his ability to score, rebound, shoot. He sees plays before they happen. There’s not many guys in our league like that.You already knew you was going against a beast once the series started… Everybody gets cracked up into his stats, but I don’t think a lot of people talk about this part of his game. Maybe it’s not talked about because a lot of people don’t understand it. But I do. He’s special.”

“I always knew how great he was,” Durant said after his Phoenix Suns squad were beaten 4-2 by the Nuggets in the conference semifinals. “Jokic is a all-time great,” Durant continued. “He’ll go down as one of the all-time great centers that ever touched a basketball. He went out there and did what he was supposed to do.”

The media narrative around Jokic’s historic eighth season in the NBA was that he was “stat padding” and his triple-doubles were not organic. This false narrative was one of the biggest reasons why Jokic was denied an opportunity to win his third consecutive regular-season MVP trophy, an award that went to Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.

Only three players in the league history won three straight MVPs: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird. Some members of the media didn’t think Jokic belonged in that elite group. That’s an opinion that can be debated and litigated for hours, weeks, months, and years. There is no right or wrong answer. What can’t be debated was how Jokic performed during the 2023 NBA playoffs.

Jokic put up eye-popping stats in the Nuggets’ 4-2 series win over the Suns, averaging 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 10.3 assists in 38.5 minutes.

He pulled off another impressive triple-double feat in the conference finals against the Lakers as he averaged 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 11.8 assists. He swished two off-balance 3-pointers over the best defensive center in the world, Anthony Davis, as the shot clock was running out. That’s when the Lakers knew it wasn’t going to be their day — or their series.

“Even when you guard him for one of the best possessions you think you can guard him, he puts the ball behind his head, Larry Bird style, and shoots it 50 feet in the air and it goes in,” LeBron said. “He did it 4-5 times this series.”

When Jokic was asked about those off-balance threes, he replied, “I’ve been off balance my whole life. It’s kind of normal for me.”

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