From undrafted free agent to Game 7 hero — Caleb Martin’s surreal journey just keeps getting better. The Miami Heat forward ensured his team would not be the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 series lead with an enormously clutch performance in the win-or-go-home showdown against the Boston Celtics. A driving Jimmy Butler hit Martin with a heads-up pass before stepping out of bounds, and Martin knocked down the wide-open 3-pointer after getting Grant Williams to bite on an opportunistic pump fake. It was one of four triples in six tries for Martin, who shot 11 for 16 from the field for 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and three assists in the series-clinching 103-84 win on May 29, 2023. The Heat became just the second eight-seed in NBA history to advance to the NBA Finals, where they will take on the Denver Nuggets, the Western Conference’s top seed. 

Caleb Martin

Caleb Martin heats up in dominant 2023 Conference Finals closeout game

Three seconds were all that remained between a crushing loss and an offseason full of regret for the Boston Celtics. Then like a flash of lightning, Derrick White saved the day with one of the biggest and most improbable buckets in franchise history. Following three Jimmy Butler free throws that gave the Miami Heat a one-point lead in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, all hope seemed lost — until suddenly it wasn’t. Beginning the final possession as the inbounder, White dished to Marcus Smart for a game-winning 3-point attempt that rimmed out, only for a hustling White to get behind the defense as he tracked Smart’s shot the whole way. The miss bounced directly into White’s waiting hands underneath the basket, and in the same motion he flicked the putback layup into the bucket a fraction of a second before time expired. The stunning sequence allowed the Celtics to win their third straight game and force a deciding Game 7 in Boston, and White’s 11 points, four rebounds, six assists and three blocks helped his squad hold off the Heat in an heart-stopping 104-103 win on May 27, 2023. 

Derrick White

Derrick White keeps C's alive with miracle putback in 2023 Conference Finals

With their backs firmly against the wall, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics responded in an emphatic manner. After staying alive in the Eastern Conference Finals with a win in Game 4, the Celtics returned to Boston and jumped right on the Miami Heat in Game 5 to leave little doubt that this was now a series. With a helpful screen from Robert Williams III clearing a path to the rim, a determined Tatum zipped past the defense into the lane before ending the possession with a bang in the form of a powerful one-handed throwdown. The monster slam was part of a dominant first quarter for the Celtics, who jumped out to a 15-point lead and never looked back. Tatum posted 21 points, eight rebounds, 11 assists and two steals as his squad staved off elimination once again with a 110-97 victory on May 25, 2023. 

Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum attacks the paint for hammer dunk in 2023 Conference Finals

Thanks to a season-saving second half, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics lived to fight another day. Brown and company trailed the eighth-seeded Miami Heat by six at halftime in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a series they were already behind 3-0, facing a daunting climb that no team in NBA history has ever come back from. That did not matter to Brown, who, with some help from Grant Williams on the defensive end and Marcus Smart in facilitating the counterattack, was able to finish a fourth-quarter possession with a driving layup that turned into an and-1 conversion. The sequence stretched Boston’s late lead to 15 with under four minutes to play as the Celtics out-scored the host Heat by 23 in the second half to stave off elimination. Brown was at the center of it all with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in his squad’s 116-99 win on May 23, 2023. 

Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown converts tough two on the road in 2023 Conference Finals

Of all his many accomplishments on a basketball court, LeBron James had never started a postseason game this hot. The 20-year veteran wasted no time in getting to work against the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, scoring on an array of layups, fadeaways and 3-pointers as he did everything in his power to stave off a series sweep. James shot 11 for 13 from the field and 4 for 4 behind the arc as he poured in 31 first-half points, his highest-scoring postseason half in a career spanning 282 games. The 19-time All-Star shot 15 of 25 in the game for 40 points while also mixing in 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and four treys for the Los Angeles Lakers on May 22, 2023. It was the 29th 40-point playoff game of James’ career — the second most in NBA history. 

LeBron James

LeBron James turns in 31-point half in 2023 Conference Finals performance

Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat have loudly and spectacularly crashed the 2023 postseason party. After stealing the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals on the road, Adebayo and company refused to take their foot off the gas in Game 3. The two-time All-Star corralled a pass at the elbow before hitting Jaylen Brown with an ankle-breaking spin move and finishing the possession with an earth-shaking slam. The Heat looked like anything but underdogs in dismantling the Boston Celtics from start to finish, while Adebayo finished with 13 points and three rebounds in the shocking 128-102 runaway victory on May 21, 2023. 

Bam Adebayo

Bam Adebayo spins defender to the floor in 2023 Conference Finals

Satou Sabally fell first — then her shot followed suit. The Dallas Wings forward didn’t let a little contact deter her from starting her 2023 season off on a high note as she eluded Nia Coffey’s defense thanks to an evasive behind-the-back dribble that propelled her toward the basket before finishing with an and-1 driving layup between two Atlanta Dream defenders. Sabally tallied 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks as the Wings opened the season with an 85-78 win on May 20, 2023. 

Satou Sabally

Welcome back, Brittney Griner. Playing in her highly-anticipated first WNBA game after missing the entire 2022 campaign, the eight-time All-Star showed little signs of rust in the face of unprecedented adversity as she corralled a pass from Diana Taurasi and buried the first shot she took against the Los Angeles Sparks without hesitation. The veteran Phoenix Mercury center connected on 7 of 9 shots for a team-high 18 points and also mixed in six rebounds, two assists and four blocks in 25 productive minutes on May 19, 2023. 

Brittney Griner

Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat laughed in the face of a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit. After stealing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on the road, Butler and the eighth-seeded Heat were right back at it in Game 2. Armed with a little extra motivation from a bear-poking Grant Williams earlier in the period, Butler came to life, scoring nine of his team-high 27 points in the final six-and-a-half minutes, including these two when he beat Williams on a drive to the basket that culminated with a go-ahead foul line pull-up jumper with 2:33 to play. The All-NBA Second Team selection’s clutch shot gave the Heat a two-point advantage it would not relinquish, and Butler added eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in the stunning 111-105 victory to take a 2-0 series lead over the Boston Celtics on May 19, 2023. 

Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler buries pull-up over Grant Williams in 2023 Conference Finals

As she enters her 10th season with the Connecticut Sun, Alyssa Thomas knows by now when to pick her spots. The three-time All-Star got off to a sizzling start to the 2023 season as she drove into the lane with her left hand before wrapping a crafty bounce pass around multiple Indiana Fever defenders to a cutting Brionna Jones for a second-quarter layup. Thomas filled the box score for the Sun, posting 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks to help her squad secure a season-opening 70-61 victory on May 19, 2023. 

Alyssa Thomas

Rui Hachimura has looked more and more at home in the playoffs with each passing game. The fourth-year reserve forward unleashed a sizzling start for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals as he got behind the Denver Nuggets defense and took flight to slam home an alley-oop from LeBron James late in the second quarter. Hachimura made all seven of his shots in the first half, scoring 17 of his 21 points before halftime on May 18, 2023, marking his fourth game of the postseason with 20 or more points. 

Rui Hachimura

Rui Hachimura back cuts for lob in efficient 2023 Conference Finals half

Jamal Murray was 5-for-17 through three quarters in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers wish the game ended right there. With his Denver Nuggets trailing by three points, Murray flipped a switch and torched the visitors during a scintillating final period. Murray’s fourth-quarter heat check stunned the Lakers as he sandwiched two mid-range pull-up jumpers around four 3-pointers, all of which came with defenders in his face. Murray connected on 6 of 7 shots in the quarter for 23 of his game-high 37 points, nearly out-scoring the entire Lakers team over the final 12 minutes. He also posted 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and six triples as the Nuggets secured a 108-103 victory and 2-0 series lead on May 18, 2023. 

Jamal Murray

Jamal Murray scorches Lakers with 23-point quarter in 2023 Conference Finals

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