NBA Playoffs: Bright Future On Display In Conference Finals

The NBA is a great position right now. The slow evolution to the post-LeBron era is inevitable, and it's starting to look like it'll be a successful one.

Two of the stars set to lead the league into it's next era sit primed to play under the biggest spotlights of their careers. Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum are just entering their primes, and they've taken their games to the next level this postseason.

The two future MVP finalists certainly have very different paths to the NBA Finals, with Tatum's Celtics the favorite in their series against No. 1 seed Miami (-124 consensus to win the East), while Luka's Mavs sit as heavy underdogs (+198 to win the West) against the Warriors.

Sure, Tatum has two Eastern Conference Finals appearances, but his 21.8 points per game in those two series are a far cry from the 28.3 he's put up these playoffs so far. Tatum as far more the straw that stirs the drink in Boston now compared to those earlier games against the Cavs and Heat in 2018 and 2020.

Doncic has had by far the most success of his young career in this year's playoffs, advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time. But his numbers have always been eye-popping in the playoffs: 32.7 points per game, 9.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists to this point are Michael Jordan-like, and it feels like he's just scratching the surface of future potential.

No matter what happens in either one of these series, we can certainly expect to see these two back here quite a bit in the future, and the NBA is better for it.

SERIES BETTING PLAYBOOKS: EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS | WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS