Booker, Young Join List of Historic NBA Postseason Debuts
There have been plenty of impressive NBA postseason debuts in recent years, with records seemingly being broken every year as offenses continue to raise the bar. But very rarely have we seen young stars lead their team deep into the postseason in their first go-around. Until now.
Tonight, Trae Young will try to prolong Atlanta's season. If the Hawks can pull out their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Bucks, they will meet another team led by a player who, like Young, has been amazing in his first postseason: Devin Booker.
Here’s a look at some of the best debut runs in NBA postseason history.
Paul Pierce
In his fourth season in the league, Paul Pierce made his first playoff appearance with the Boston Celtics in 2002 after leading them to the third seed in the East alongside Antoine Walker.
The 24-year-old showed he was ready for the big stage from the very first game of his postseason career, scoring more than a third of Boston's points to open a first-round series against the sixth-seeded Sixers—he had 31 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, four steals and three blocks in the 92-82 win.
Pierce had plenty of similar dazzling moments throughout his debut postseason run that saw the Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Like when he had 46 points and shot 8-for-10 from beyond the arc in series-clinching Game 5 against the Sixers. Or when he had a playoff career-high 17 rebounds and 25 points—23 of which came in the second half—against the Pistons in Game 5 of the second round. And his heroics to lead Boston to a 26-point comeback win over the Nets in Game 3 of the ECF can’t be forgotten—19 of his 28 points came in an exhilarating fourth quarter.
The Celtics ultimately fell to a top-seeded Nets team in six games, but Pierce had a remarkable run nonetheless. He averaged 24.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game across the 2002 postseason, including seven double-doubles in 16 games.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson remains the youngest player, and only rookie, to be named Finals MVP, doing so with the Lakers in 1980.
Now, to be fair, Johnson had as good of help as you can get—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on that Lakers team and the MVP of the regular season—but the incredible manner in which Johnson stole the postseason spotlight cannot be overstated.
Johnson had a triple-double in his playoff debut against the Phoenix Suns, and then he had two more right after that. He nearly averaged a triple-double throughout the playoffs to help the Lakers get past the Suns and SuperSonics, but it was perhaps his performance in the NBA Finals that was the most impressive.
Abdul-Jabbar, who had been averaging over 31 points and 12 rebounds per game, sprained his left ankle in Game 5 against the Sixers, putting the Lakers’ title hopes in jeopardy. Come Game 6, though, Johnson put Los Angeles on his back in one of the greatest playoff performances ever.
The 20-year-old filled in at center and played every position on the court as he proclaimed his own superstar status, if anyone hadn’t noticed already. Johnson went off for 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Lakers to a 123-107 victory and secure the championship. He was named Finals MVP after averaging 21.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 8.7 assists in the six-game series.
Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports
Trae Young
The Hawks weren’t supposed to have made it this far, currently in an Eastern Conference Finals series against the Bucks. Trae Young has been the primary reason why.
Young has shimmied his way into postseason stardom, setting new records and shocking the world in the process, as he’s averaged 29.8 points, 9.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds so far this postseason.
The point guard is the first player in NBA history to notch at least 20 points and seven assists in each of the first 13 playoff games of his career, and he’s had at least 30 points in seven of those. He’s also the first player in NBA history to score at least 48 points in a conference finals debut—he had 48 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to beat the Bucks in Game 1. And he’s already had eight double-doubles.
Young has been out for the last two games with a bone bruise in his right foot and is expected to try to take the court again in Game 6. Regardless of whether the Hawks make it to the Finals or not, he’s had quite the impressive run to lead his team to do the unthinkable in his first time in the playoffs.
Devin Booker
For years, Devin Booker waited for his chance to show everyone how special of a player he is on the biggest stage. The Suns made the playoffs for the first time since 2010 this season, and he’s made the most of the opportunity.
With veteran Chris Paul as his co-star and Deandre Ayton making a big impact as well, Booker has led Phoenix in scoring (27.0 ppg) and minutes (40.4 mpg) in these playoffs. He's also averaging 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists, both good for second on the team.
Booker has flexed his superstar status throughout these playoffs as he’s shown up for the Suns in huge moments, such as when he dominated in Game 6 against the Lakers to seal the first round series. He was able to score with ease whenever he wanted and finished with 47 points on 15-for-22 shooting from the field, including eight three-pointers, along with 11 rebounds.
After the Suns swept the Nuggets, they entered the Western Conference finals against the Clippers with Paul out due to health and safety protocols. Booker stepped up for his team and recorded the first triple-double of his career when it mattered most, finishing with 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a 120-114 win.
Booker has had quite the special debut run already, and now has a chance to add to that in the Finals.
LeBron James
Unlike everyone else on this list, LeBron James didn’t lead his team past the second round in his first postseason, but he deserves recognition nonetheless. Especially considering the team he was playing with—the second best player on Cleveland’s roster was Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 50-32 record and the fourth seed in the East to make the playoffs for the first time in his career in the 2005-06 season, just his third in the league.
The young star made quite the statement in his first game, securing a triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to defeat the Wizards 97-86. The Cavs went on to win that series in six games over a fifth-seed Washington squad, and James scored at least 32 points in five of those.
James and the Cavaliers had a much steeper task in the Eastern semifinals, where they faced the top-seeded Pistons. Detroit took the first two games and looked in position to sweep, but James wasn’t letting his team go out that easily. He had a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, along with four steals, in a Game 3 victory, and then led the Cavaliers to win the next two games as well to take a 3-2 series lead.
The Pistons, boasting Rip Hamilton, Chauncy Billups and Rasheed Wallace, were a much more solid all-around team than James’s Cavaliers though, and they won the next two games to take the series. James had 27 points in Game 7, but got no help from his supporting cast—the other four starters combined for a total 16 points. He averaged 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists in his first playoffs run and then led that team to the conference finals the following season.
More NBA Playoff Coverage:
• Nadkarni: Chris Paul Led the Suns to the Finals on His Own Terms
• Rosenberg: Trail Blazing Arrogance
• Pina: Is This as Good as It Gets for Ayton? Not Likely
• Herring: How Not to Freak Out With Your Freak Out
