Biggest Winners and Losers of 2025 NBA Playoffs so Far

The first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs is nearly complete, and it could already have major implications on the upcoming summer.

We've seen disappointing early exits from teams such as the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks, the latter putting the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo in doubt.

There have also been some big winners, including the expected play of the No. 1 seeds and some rising stars around the Association.

These are the five biggest winners and losers of the playoffs thus far.

The journey for Jimmy Butler isn't always pretty, but the destinations have always been worth it.

A long, ugly divorce from the Miami Heat landed Butler on a competitive Golden State Warriors team and netted the 35-year-old an extra $111 million over the next two seasons. While Miami now sits at home after being throttled by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a first-round sweep, Butler's Warriors are just one win away from advancing to play the Minnesota Timberwolves in Round 2.

The saying "be careful what you wish for, because it might come true" definitely applies here as well.

The Warriors weren't Butler's first choice, if you recall.

The veteran forward reportedly desired a trade to the Phoenix Suns at the deadline, which is like wanting a ticket to get on the Titanic with the iceberg in sight.

Phoenix finished the season 36-46 overall and missed the West play-in tournament and have already made changes at head coach and in the front office. Even a Butler trade wasn't going to alter their trajectory all that much.

Butler should be thrilled he got out of Miami, didn't get traded to the Suns, ended up in Golden State and got paid an average of $55 million over the next two years.

Even if the Warriors don't win the 2025 title, Butler is already a champion this year.

If the Miami Heat culture were a dragon, the Cleveland Cavaliers may have officially slayed it.

Winning a pair of play-in games made us think Miami could have stolen a game or two from the heavily favored Cavs, yet a 55-point loss in Game 4 put a bow on a massacre of a series sweep.

The Heat went just 12-21 since making the Jimmy Butler trade and now get to sit at home while watching the veteran forward's Golden State Warriors take a 3-1 series lead on the Houston Rockets.

Where does Miami even go from here?

Tyler Herro was publicly shamed by Darius Garland only to respond with 17 total points in Games 3 and 4, including a miserable four-point performance on 1-of-10 shooting in the series finale.

The Heat do get the Warriors' first-round pick this summer (No. 20 overall) yet owe theirs (No. 15 overall) to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

As good as the coaching staff in Miami is, the roster is full of B+ to C- players who aren't going to make any playoff noise anytime soon unless a star (Kevin Durant?) can be acquired.

For those hoping for a Cleveland Cavaliers-Oklahoma City Thunder Finals matchup, the first round of the playoffs did not disappoint.

Both teams not only easily swept their opponents, but they also currently possess the two highest margins of victory averages in NBA playoff history. OKC beat the Memphis Grizzlies by an average of 19.5 points per game, while the Cavaliers demolished the Miami Heat by 30.5 (!) points in their four victories.

These numbers will inevitably come back towards earth as the playoffs move along, although the two No. 1 seeds were the only ones to record a sweep. Even the 61-win Boston Celtics dropped a game to the Orlando Magic.

The scary part is that none of the stars in Cleveland or Oklahoma City have been tasked to do much yet.

Cavs' All-Star point guard Darius Garland missed the last two games of the series against the Heat and Cleveland still won by 92 combined points.

Donovan Mitchell averaged a modest 23.8 points in his 30.9 minutes, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's leading scorer in the regular season, only needed 27.8 points a night (seventh overall) in his team's four victories over the Grizzlies.

The Cavaliers will now face a far better Indiana Pacers team while the Thunder get the winner of a good Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Clippers series, so better tests are coming.

For now, though, Cleveland and Oklahoma City should easily be Finals favorites.

Tough conversations were inevitably coming when the Milwaukee Bucks bowed out of the playoffs. These talks are only going to become more painful after they lost to the Indiana Pacers in just five games and with Damian Lillard likely missing all of next season with a torn Achilles.

That's $54 million owed to a player who likely won't see the floor next season for a Bucks team that has only recently got below the second apron. 

Brook Lopez has only missed nine total games the past three years, but he just turned 37 and will be an unrestricted free agent. Bobby Portis is likely to turn down a $13.4 million player option, and Gary Trent Jr.'s one-year deal is now up.

The Bucks only have one draft pick this summer (No. 47 overall, via the Detroit Pistons) and don't control any of their first-round selections until 2031. No young talent is coming.

If Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to stay in Milwaukee, the franchise should absolutely keep him, even if it means battling for a play-in spot next season. The two-time MVP has earned the right to make this decision for his future.

If he asks out, no one should blame him. This roster isn't close to competing for a championship even with a healthy Lillard. Still in his prime at age 30, Antetokounmpo deserves to compete for championships while he's still a No. 1 offensive option.

Thankfully, a banner was hung in 2021. The Bucks' recent past has something that can never be taken away, even if their future bleak.

Just sneaking into a guaranteed playoff spot as the No. 6 seed, it looked like the Minnesota Timberwolves could be headed for a disappointing early exit matched up against Luka Dončić, LeBron James and a favored Los Angeles Lakers team.

Anthony Edwards had other plans.

The 23-year-old put up some brilliant performances (save for Game 5), averaging 26.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals in leading the Wolves to a dominant 4-1 series win.

Edwards showed great maturity in choosing when to attack, when to stretch the defense with his three-point shooting and when to take his foot off the gas and let his teammates shine at times.

Julius Randle had the best playoff series of his career to date after struggling through previous stops with the New York Knicks, helping to justify the blockbuster trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the Big Apple.

The three-time All-Star gave the Wolves 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and shot 39.3 percent from three while punishing the Lakers' lack of size inside.

With Edwards leading the charge and a number of role players stepping up at the right time, this feels like a deep and dangerous Minnesota team that's beginning to gel in what's become a wide-open West below the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Wolves now await the winner of the Houston Rockets-Golden State series and should feel really good about their chances no matter who advances.

Winning a fourth NBA title in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers helped elevate LeBron James' legacy into a new stratosphere, although catching (or passing) Michael Jordan's six rings looks more impossible by the year.

Since that 2020 title, the Lakers have won a total of two playoff series in five years, with a pair of first-round exits now in the past two seasons.

This was an odd year to be sure, highlighted by the surprising trade for Luka Dončić. This was a move that Rob Pelinka had to make, even if it left the roster extremely unbalanced.

It's fair to question whether the Lakers have enough talent and trade assets to get this team title ready over the summer.

Dončić is just entering his prime and can be the leading scorer and playmaker. Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht and Dorian Finney-Smith (player option) should all be back. The Lakers can also trade their first-round pick in 2031 or 2032 and can offer multiple first-round pick swap rights in potential trades for a center. 

Does James himself believe he can win a title here after so many disappointing playoff exits the past five years?

The 40-year-old has been non-committal about his future, one that starts with a $52.6 million player option. Choosing to hit free agency and joining a team like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder or Boston Celtics is his best path to a title, but that would include leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table.

The trade for Dončić sparked a little hope that this team could win a title in 2025. As of now, this roster is nowhere close enough.

Even though the New York Knicks eventually took down his Detroit Pistons, one of the main stories of the series should be the play of Cade Cunningham.

In his first playoff appearance, the 23-year-old willed the Pistons to a pair of wins in Madison Square Garden already and could easily have Detroit moving on if a few plays went differently in Games 3 and 4.

Cunningham averaged 25.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game for Detroit, serving as the only consistent scoring and playmaking threat on the team.

The only players 23 years old or younger to average at least 25 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists in a playoff run in NBA history are Cunningham, Luka Dončić and Oscar Robertson.

People can nitpick about the shooting efficiency and the turnovers, but Cunningham is getting limited help from a roster that has already lost Jaden Ivey for the season.

Outside of the All-Star guard, the Pistons' next leading scorer is Tobias Harris (15.7 points) while their runner-up in assists per game is Dennis Schröder (3.7). Few (if any) superstars in the NBA could have Detroit in this position given the roster around him.

It's been a big year for both Cunningham and the Pistons. This stage has shown us that the 2021 No. 1 overall pick can be a playoff alpha the franchise can build around for years to come.

It's easy to forget that the Houston Rockets are still a young team with a lot of developing young talent even if they did finish 2nd in a loaded Western Conference this season.

We're still years away from discovering what players like Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr, Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore and others will become, which is both a blessing and a curse for a Rockets team that will want to be in the title hunt from here on out.

One lesson we've learned? Jalen Green doesn't look like "the guy" on a championship team.

The 23-year-old has struggled mightily against the Golden State Warriors, scoring in single digits three teams and only passing 11 points once in the series thus far. His 14.6 points rank just fourth overall on the Rockets and are coming on 38.8 percent shooting overall and 33.3 percent from three. Green has made a total of nine free throws in five games.

Houston obviously had hesitations when it came to paying Green last summer, as the two sides agreed on a non-max contract of just three years and $105 million with a player option at the end.

The Rockets need an alpha if they want to become a true title contender. A trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo should be their No. 1 priority this summer, as Green looks more like a No. 2 or 3 option on a championship team.

The Boston Celtics have seemingly flown under the radar this postseason, as they had a relatively quiet gentleman's sweep of the Orlando Magic.

It was the last three games, however, that should have the rest of the remaining playoff teams worried should they eventually have to go head-to-head with the defending champs.

Jayson Tatum suffered a bone bruise to his right wrist in Game 1, causing him to miss the first playoff game of his career in Game 2.

The 27-year-old decided to go scorched Earth for the rest of the series against a good Magic defense, putting to rest any doubts we had about his wrist. Tatum averaged 36.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.7 steals, made 44.0 percent of his threes and went a perfect 37-of-37 from the free throw line over the final three games.

With a title already under his belt, Tatum's postseason legacy is growing by the day.

Now in the playoffs for an eighth-straight season, Tatum recently passed Hall of Famers like Charles Barkley, Robert Parish and Patrick Ewing on the all-time postseason scoring list. He could climb as high as 23rd overall if Tatum racks up the same amount of points he did in last year's playoffs.

Tatum is quickly becoming one of the all-time postseason greats.

The only people more clutch than Jalen Brunson this season may be the New York Knicks' medical staff, who fixed what looked like a bad ankle injury (in a soft spot on the floor?) in Game 5 in a hurry for the All-Star guard to dominate in Game 6.

Brunson and the Knicks are moving on, which is bad news for basketball fans in general who really wanted to see a Game 7 between New York and the Detroit Pistons. This was a fantastic first-round series that saw both teams scrap and claw their way to victories on each other's home floors.

The star of the show was Brunson, however. The 28-year-old scored 30 points or more in five of the six games, including a 40-point performance to close out the series in Game 6.

The ankle looked just fine, as Brunson shook off a terrific defender in Ausar Thompson (who previously had success against him earlier in the fourth quarter) to hit the game-winning three.

On a night where Karl-Anthony Towns scored just 10 points before fouling out, the Knicks needed every last bucket by Brunson to get past Detroit and now move on to play the Boston Celtics.

Brunson, and those who provided treatment on his ankle, are big winners of Round 1.