In the early chase for the NBA Finals MVP, shots have been fired. One missed, the other connected, both in the final seconds of Game 1, Pacers vs. Thunder.
The difference on the final scoreboard was one point, and the difference on this first installment of the Finals MVP Ladder is one spot, separating the player who made the shot and the one who missed — Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Those two were the pre-Finals favorites to be in hot contention, and such has proven to be the case. Haliburton and Gilgeous-Alexander put their teams in position to win and that’s all anyone can ask of an MVP contender.
The difference between this MVP Ladder and the regular season version is obvious — there’s little time to recover or savor. It’s a best-of-seven sprint, not a six-month marathon. The situation can flip suddenly, like, in the very next game.
Let that serve as a warning to Haliburton and the Pacers and some reassurance for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder.
Setting the Game 2 stage: OKC lost only six times at home during the regular season and once in this postseason. Is it possible to lose two straight at Paycom Center in this series? That’s the task for Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard, the three Pacers on this list, as if winning Game 1 in a shocker wasn’t enough.
The stat to know: Gilgeous-Alexander’s 38 points were the third-most in an NBA Finals debut, after Allen Iverson’s 48 in 2001 and George Mikan’s 42 in 1949.
What they are saying: “Some players will say they have it, but there’s other players that show it, and he’s going to let you know about it, too. That’s one of the things I respect about him. He’s a baller and a hooper and really just a gamer.” — Pacers center Myles Turner on Haliburton.His case: He made The Shot. That’s it. And that’s all he needed to do to lead this list, because nothing else mattered. Haliburton saw another chance to be a hero and once again gravitated to the moment and became bigger than it.
For much of the game, he was otherwise mild, but such is Haliburton’s pattern at times. He’s not a volume scorer; he’s a playmaker. He’s also more dangerous as a set-up man, a pass-first point guard who involves teammates and helps raise their confidence. Then, when the time is right, Haliburton gets the ball. And he usually makes it count.
A game-winning shot in the playoffs can be a career-defining moment for a player and a highlight associated with them long beyond their playing years.
Tyrese Haliburton is building a collection of these shots throughout Indiana’s playoff run, with the latest coming in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City on Thursday night.
It was Haliburton’s fourth go-ahead or game-tying bucket in the final five seconds of the 4th quarter or overtime this postseason — and the fifth of his career. Only one player has more such shots than Haliburton in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98): LeBron James (who has eight).
Let’s break down each and rank them based on the shot itself and the fallout result.
