2025 NBA Playoffs X-Factors: Impactful Role Players Who Could Swing the Series
These eight NBA players may not be stars, but they can be x-factors in deciding their team's playoff fate. Mark Harris gives a breakdown on eight players that have the ability to swing NBA playoff series, even if most consider them to be role players.
Mark Harris
| 6 min
2025 NBA Playoffs X-Factors: Impactful Role Players Who Could Swing the Series
Every moderately intelligent basketball fan knows that star players are the driving force behind success in the NBA playoffs. Any team led by a bunch of good-not-great players isn't taking home the hardware, but role players can still make an enormous impact in deciding playoff series.
Someone has to play defense on the opposing star. Someone has to hit open 3-pointers. Someone has to shoulder the scoring load when their star teammate is in foul trouble. The star players can't do it *all* by themselves, despite what the NBA talking heads would like you to believe.
With that in mind, I decided to rank the top eight X-factor players in the NBA playoffs. Most of these guys aren't regulars at the All-Star Game, but their team might need them to play like an All-Star in critical moments to achieve their goals.
Here are the top eight X-factors in the NBA playoffs:
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NBA Playoffs "Role Players to Watch"
1. Jalen Williams
Make no bones about it, if the Oklahoma City Thunder want to win their first championship, Williams will need to equal his regular-season production in the postseason. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still OKC's apex scorer, but he'll still have the occasional off-shooting night and likely won't get as favorable of a whistle. Williams (21.6 PPG in the regular season) will have to fill in the scoring gaps if/when SGA doesn't quite have it.
J-Dub was one of the many Thunder players who shined in their Game 1 smackdown over the Grizzlies, but the competition will only get tougher once OKC blows past Memphis. His 2024 postseason production (18.7 PPG, 46.9% FG) probably won't be enough as a second option for OKC to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
2. De'Andre Hunter
Something tells me the Cavaliers were hoping for more than zero points from De'Andre Hunter's playoff debut in Cleveland when they added him at the trade deadline.
Ultimately, his donut was deemed totally irrelevant in Cleveland's Game 1 romp over Miami, so no harm no foul. That lack of scoring could really hurt the Cavaliers in the second round or later, because as good as Ty Jerome is, you can't expect him to drop 28 points every night.
Cleveland has championship goals this season, and it will need Hunter to play up to his statistics (14.3 PPG this season, 16.3 playoff PPG in Atlanta) for the team to play in June.
3. Jaylen Brown
Okay, I cheated here a bit by calling four-time All-Star and 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown an X-factor ... but when he was recently getting injections in his knee, this distinction is justified.
Brown missed the last three games of the regular season due to the bone bruise in his right knee, and while he played 30 minutes in Boston's Game 1 win over the Orlando Magic, there's always the chance that some knee issues will flare up later in the playoffs. The Celtics will need Brown at full strength to repeat as champs, and that means Brown's right knee needs to be in good shape.
4. Ivica Zubac
Zubac quietly had the best season of his career this year. The Croatian big man upped his scoring average to 16.8 points per game (11.7 PPG in 2024), while his 12.6 rebounds per game and 62.8 shooting percentage both ranked fourth in the NBA. He also led all centers in defensive win shares and defensive rating.
Two straight double-doubles (18.5 PPG & 12.5 RPG) in Denver were huge for Zubac. Nikola Jokic's seven turnovers in Game 2 were partly Zubac's doing as well, and also he's out-rebounded the Joker through two games as this series shifts to LA.
Zubac's efficient scoring on 64% shooting this series has been one thing, and his stiff defensive resistance against Jokic is even better. Slowing down Jokic is a team effort, but Zubac is the crucial last line of defense.
5. Jaxson Hayes
It turns out there was a reason the Lakers attempted to trade for Charlotte center Mark Williams in February. Without Williams in SoCal, Jaxson Hayes is Los Angeles' only suitable center.
Well, he didn't look too suitable in Game 1 vs. Minnesota. Hayes registered just one point and three rebounds over eight minutes in the series opener, with very little defensive resistance to boot. Small ball seems like a losing approach for LA against a long and athletic Timberwolves squad, so the Lakers need more from Hayes, unless they would rather go with Alex Len.
6. Christian Braun
Do the Nuggets win Game 1 if Braun doesn't sink this 3-pointer with 59 seconds left in overtime?? Maaaaybe, but that shot is exactly why he's an X-factor for Denver this postseason.
Then in Game 2, Braun missed a late 3-pointer for the tie in a modest seven-point outing. It's a make-or-miss league, and that came back to bite him.
The ball will find Braun again in big spots as teams focus their defense on Jokic and Jamal Murray, and he's going to be tasked with perimeter defense as well. He's no stranger to playoff hoops after two years on the Nuggets, but he occupies a much larger role this time around. The Most Improved Player candidate (+10000 at the end of the regular season) could be the difference in a long postseason run for Denver.
7. Julius Randle
Even though Randle's previous postseason demons didn't show up in Minnesota's Game 1 victory over LA, he remains a wild card in a potential T-Wolves deep playoff run. Despite shooting 6-of-11 in Game 1 on Saturday, his career playoff shooting percentage is still a dismal 35.3% thanks to some disastrous outings with the Knicks.
Randle still had seven turnovers against the Lakers, so it's not like he completely balled out, either. While Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels are good players, they won't regularly combine for an efficient 48 points like they did in Game 1 vs. the Lakers, which means Randle will have to step up as the secondary scorer to Anthony Edwards. Will he be able to assume that role when he is needed?
8. Malik Beasley
After hitting 6-of-12 3-point shots and scoring 20 points in Detroit's Game 1 loss to New York, Beasley only made one of his eight 3-point attempts in Game 2. Of course, the Pistons won that game and he finished with a +7 Plus Minus. Go figure.
Regardless of how Beasley's 3-point shooting did or didn't translate to wins in Madison Square Garden, Detroit is still going to need him to be effective from deep to take down the Knicks in this series.
The Pistons may not even be in the postseason without Beasley's 3-point shooting. His 319 3-pointers were second in the NBA in the regular season and he connected at an efficient clip (39.5%). That long range production helped him become a Sixth Man of the Year finalist (+700 at end of reg. season).
For a Detroit team that isn't exactly loaded with reliable scorers, his 3-point shooting will be needed in this series to stretch the floor and bail the Pistons out of dead-end offensive possessions.
NBA ODDS
