Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Moderators: Clav, Domejandro, ken6199, bisme37, Dirk, KingDavid, cupcakesnake, bwgood77, zimpy27, infinite11285
Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- Sophomore
- Posts: 242
- And1: 142
- Joined: Sep 14, 2021
Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
All 3 have been super efficient in the playoffs. This is a tough one.
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- Bench Warmer
- Posts: 1,425
- And1: 963
- Joined: Feb 12, 2020
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
This is Durant vs Kawhi. Curry shouldn’t be in this conversation.
Harry Garris wrote: Curry can turn non playoff teams into title contenders.
Not if the team doesn’t have elite defenders[/quote]
What a pointless statement.Every Finals team had elite role players[/quote]
Rodwilliams wrote:Duh!Thats what I just said. Eat your own words
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
- Chanel Bomber
- RealGM
- Posts: 23,902
- And1: 42,013
- Joined: Sep 20, 2018
-
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Rodwilliams wrote:This is Durant vs Kawhi. Curry shouldn’t be in this conversation.
Curry's been a great playoff performer, with one bad series (the 2016 Finals).
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- Analyst
- Posts: 3,272
- And1: 2,983
- Joined: Dec 25, 2019
-
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
In the playoffs:
Kawhi has a 5-year peak BPM of 8.92
Steph has a 5-year peak BPM of 7.83
KD has a 5-year peak BPM of 7.27
Edit*-Note this does not include the 21 playoffs, where KD's BPM would rise a little bit as it was a 10.0, however Kawhi's BPM would rise as well as he had a 10.7 BPM. Therefore, he would still fall short of Kawhi in this comparison.
Kawhi has a 5-year peak BPM of 8.92
Steph has a 5-year peak BPM of 7.83
KD has a 5-year peak BPM of 7.27
Edit*-Note this does not include the 21 playoffs, where KD's BPM would rise a little bit as it was a 10.0, however Kawhi's BPM would rise as well as he had a 10.7 BPM. Therefore, he would still fall short of Kawhi in this comparison.
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
- Vampirate
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 5,649
- And1: 4,483
- Joined: Dec 04, 2016
-
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
While Kawhi was breaking down in the later rounds, look at his Raptors playoff numbers and efficiency overall.

Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
- picc
- RealGM
- Posts: 19,586
- And1: 21,166
- Joined: Apr 08, 2009
-
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Strictly relative to normal performance, its probably Kawhi.

Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- Head Coach
- Posts: 7,474
- And1: 4,022
- Joined: Apr 27, 2015
-
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Peak is Kawhi
Longevity it’s not Kawhi, it’s likely Durant
Steph still hasn’t won that FinalsMVP yet compared to 2 each, 4 total for Kawhi and KD
Longevity it’s not Kawhi, it’s likely Durant
Steph still hasn’t won that FinalsMVP yet compared to 2 each, 4 total for Kawhi and KD
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
- Lalouie
- RealGM
- Posts: 23,338
- And1: 12,448
- Joined: May 12, 2017
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
kawhi. no question. he hath been superb in moments when he was the sole option. impressive as curry and kd have been they have been on super powered teams in the playoffs. i know what kd @okc and he wasn't as good as kawhi
im not trying to denegrate sc or kd, just giving kawhi the props he deserves
im not trying to denegrate sc or kd, just giving kawhi the props he deserves
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
- Lunartic
- Head Coach
- Posts: 6,086
- And1: 9,746
- Joined: Nov 28, 2015
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Kawhi was otherworldly and all-time good in that Raptors run.
Durant is a close second and Curry just doesn't have the same scoring excellence in the postseason. Both of them have always played with #2 scoring options that gave them less defensive attention.
Durant is a close second and Curry just doesn't have the same scoring excellence in the postseason. Both of them have always played with #2 scoring options that gave them less defensive attention.
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 14,832
- And1: 9,178
- Joined: Sep 10, 2021
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Comes back to what you all define efficiency as meaning. Based on how I have always interrupted it, the correct poll answer statistically, is Kawhi.
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- Sixth Man
- Posts: 1,953
- And1: 1,565
- Joined: Nov 22, 2015
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
KD
GeorgeMarcus wrote:GeorgeMarcus wrote:
There is nothing inherently different about winning in the Finals compared to winning other playoff seriess,
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 50,500
- And1: 27,256
- Joined: Oct 04, 2015
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Are you just talking scoring efficiency?
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- Sophomore
- Posts: 242
- And1: 142
- Joined: Sep 14, 2021
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
dhsilv2 wrote:Are you just talking scoring efficiency?
No I’m talking about who’s the better playoffs performer in general.
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 31,971
- And1: 31,072
- Joined: Feb 18, 2010
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Kawhi's Raps run is better than anything Curry/KD have done. That said, thats the only sustained great run Kawhi has had; his other great run (2017) ended early in the WCF cause of scumbag Zaza. Spurs woudlve won game 1 and its not hard to imagine that being a long series.
Zaza is scum for what he did. Really robbed the basketball world
Zaza is scum for what he did. Really robbed the basketball world
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 4,735
- And1: 4,379
- Joined: Jun 01, 2018
-
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
KD
Steph
Then
Kawhi
Kawhi had only 1 amazing run with a deep raptors team who outplayed the other teams roleplayers.
2014 he was a role player. Total team effort.
Choked a 3-1 lead in in the semifinals in 2020 when he had the better team. At least curry choked in the finals in 2016. Which certain people say is better to lose in the finals than earlier rounds right?
KD and curry have more sustained excellence over Kawhi.
Steph
Then
Kawhi
Kawhi had only 1 amazing run with a deep raptors team who outplayed the other teams roleplayers.
2014 he was a role player. Total team effort.
Choked a 3-1 lead in in the semifinals in 2020 when he had the better team. At least curry choked in the finals in 2016. Which certain people say is better to lose in the finals than earlier rounds right?
KD and curry have more sustained excellence over Kawhi.
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 5,139
- And1: 5,678
- Joined: Aug 23, 2017
-
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Kawhi quite easily.
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 50,500
- And1: 27,256
- Joined: Oct 04, 2015
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Blazingstorm wrote:dhsilv2 wrote:Are you just talking scoring efficiency?
No I’m talking about who’s the better playoffs performer in general.
Odd way to put it then and a much more complex question.
You have to take so much into account. Unbalanced schedules. The value of the box score vs the impact data. Injuries and when and how they impact stats.
Curry is the master of off ball play which is completely different from KD and Leonard who are iso scorers at the highest level. Even on defense the 3 have 3 distinctly different roles. Leonard being a master on ball, KD being a great zone threat with his length, and Curry being the outside passing lane and zone double team guy. Leonard's game is based on power, KD's on length and Curry's on speed and stamina.
Leonard is the easiest to build around as his game is so simple and yet effective.
KD's game most fits the modern game.
Curry requires a coach to build around a team concept that very few teams use today.
Leonard is the hardest to build complex system with two scorers. KD fits well within such system and passes well, but isn't elite. Curry was built to maximize other players over his own game.
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 31,971
- And1: 31,072
- Joined: Feb 18, 2010
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
art_tatum wrote:KD
Steph
Then
Kawhi
Kawhi had only 1 amazing run with a deep raptors team who outplayed the other teams roleplayers.
2014 he was a role player. Total team effort.
Choked a 3-1 lead in in the semifinals in 2020 when he had the better team. At least curry choked in the finals in 2016. Which certain people say is better to lose in the finals than earlier rounds right?
KD and curry have more sustained excellence over Kawhi.
lmao at mentioning the Raps cast. KD was the definition of hit and miss in his OKC career until he went over to the extremely stacked GSW squad. Are those 2 GSW runs more impressive in totality than Kawhi's Raps run? Dont think you'd find much agreement there
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
- iLLmatic860
- General Manager
- Posts: 9,896
- And1: 16,387
- Joined: Jan 23, 2013
- Location: Tampa
-
Re: Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Kawahis Raptors run is better than anything KD has done in his career
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
- Mauro Pedrosa
- Analyst
- Posts: 3,630
- And1: 4,408
- Joined: Oct 15, 2016
- Contact:
-
Re: Masters of efficiency. Who is the better playoff performer? KD, Steph or Kawhi?
Rodwilliams wrote:This is Durant vs Kawhi. Curry shouldn’t be in this conversation.
Agreed. Giannis is already eyeing Curry due to his amazing run