After members of The Sporting News' staff collaborated to rank the top 30 players whose teams advanced to the postseason, I narrowed the list down to rank the top 10 players remaining.

The Oklahoma City Thunder sent a clear message on Tuesday night as they took out the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. It wasn't just any win for the No. 1 seed Thunder either, as they destroyed the Wolves in a 114-88 blowout to draw first blood in the series.