During the first round of the NBA Playoffs, 430 NBA Top Shot fans watched their favorite teams live and in-person with free tickets they won just for being a collector. For them and millions of people watching at home, the best plays from these games have been captured forever as Moment NFTs, dropping this Thursday, May 5, in NBA Top Shot’s first pack drop of the 2022 Playoffs. If you look closely, you might even spot a collector or two in some of these new Moments.
Over the span of 43 first round games, 9,279 points were scored – only 40 of those plays will make the cut.
32 of them are available in packs and minted to a count of 8,750 per Moment, and 8 of them can be earned as rewards by playing in Challenges, dynamically minted to the number of fans who complete each challenge.
These Moments tell the story of the 16 teams who made the NBA Playoffs, and the players who have given it their all over the course of the regular season to reach this point, hoping to win 16 more games to earn the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy and cement their place in history.
- Want to get your hands on these pieces of NBA history? 22,500 packs will be available for $19 and 22,500 will be available for 10 Trade Tickets.
- Each pack will contain 4 Moments, including 2 guaranteed Limited Edition Moments from the 2022 NBA Playoffs and 2 Base Set Common Moments from Series 3, featuring hand-picked highlights from the 2021-22 regular season.
- There is 0 Collector Score requirement to participate in this pack drop, with a 1 pack per transaction limit, meaning you can only buy one pack at a time, but you can rejoin the Queue for the possibility of purchasing another pack while supplies last.
- 3,636 2022 NBA Playoffs Round 1 Packs will be airdropped for free to collectors, with 3 packs sent to holders of every Series 2 Common 2021 NBA Playoffs Complete Set and 3 packs sent to holders of every Series 1 Rare First Round Complete Set. The snapshot for this airdrop took place at 8:00am PST on Monday, May 2, 2022.
Each Moment reflects a page in the story of the 2021-22 NBA season, with some of those stories continuing forward and others ending sooner than expected.
This is the story of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs, as told by NBA Top Shot.
The Miami Heat defeat the Atlanta Hawks in 5 games
In Game 1 of this series, Duncan Robinson, Miami’s sharp-shooting guard, set the franchise record for most three-pointers made by a Miami Heat player in a playoff game. His 8-for-9 performance from beyond the arc, off the bench, accounted for a game-high and season-best 27 points, and Miami Heat history, in a 115-91 win.
In Game 3 of this series, Trae Young secured the Atlanta Hawks’ only win with his patented floater in the paint. Bouncing off the rim and backboard before falling through the net with 4.4 seconds left, his 23rd and 24th points of the game were a moment of clutch playoff magic in a 111-110 win for the young star whose playoff run to last year’s Eastern Conference Finals surprised and delighted NBA fans…other than the ones who root for the Knicks and 76ers.
The Miami Heat took care of business in Game 5, eliminating Atlanta without the help of Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, leading to an inspired and vintage performance from Victor Oladipo, starting his first game of the Playoffs.
Oladipo had missed nearly two years of NBA action prior to making his return with the Heat earlier in 2022, and prior to Game 4 and Game 5 of this series, he hadn’t played a minute of Playoff basketball since August 2020. His team-best 23-points helped Miami advance, despite a career-best performance from De’Andre Hunter, who scored 35 in a 97-94 losing effort, doing everything in his power to keep it close against Oladipo’s big game.
Jimmy Butler’s Game 2 performance was the stuff of NBA legends. This Challenge Reward Moment, a gorgeous fadeaway three, captures a career playoff-high 45-point display of dominance. The three-pointer captured in this Moment is part of a personal 7-0 scoring run over the span of 56 seconds that sealed the game for the Miami Heat and gave them a 115-105 win and 2-0 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Toronto Raptors in 6 games
In Game 1 of the Series, emerging Philly favorite Tyrese Maxey showed the world that his breakout sophomore year wasn’t going to slow down after 82 regular-season games. His monster 38-point game was the best Playoff scoring performance of his young career and second-best scoring performance ever including the regular season. This Moment showcases his fearlessness, driving into 4 Toronto Raptors defenders for a fall-away jumper and the foul.
Game 3 of the series pushed the limits of regulation, seeing the Philadelphia 76ers win a 104-101 overtime thriller and pull away with a 3-0 series lead, with two Moments being captured in the process of “The Process.”
In packs, you’ll find Tobias Harris playing his part with a double-double, including this slick through-the-legs crossover of Pascal Siakam and silky smooth layup in traffic. If Philly is going to make a deep run, they’ll need Tobias to stay reliable, and they’ll also need Joel Embiid to make more magic; his game-winning three-pointer in overtime, an iconic Moment for the big man and Philly fans, is available to earn as a Challenge Reward.
This clutch shot capped a 33 point, 13 rebound game for Embiid, battling through a right thumb injury and capturing just how amazing the MVP candidate can be. How many centers have a three-pointer drawn up for them off an inbounds play?
Game 4 and 5 saw the Toronto Raptors claw back, refusing to get swept. A nail-biting 110-102 win, led by Pascal Siakam’s career playoff-best 34-point game, gave Toronto fans a bit of breathing room and hope.
In Game 5, OG Anunoby’s confident slam in a well-rounded 16-5-4 performance encapsulated Toronto’s rising swagger and confidence, and gave everyone in the state of Pennsylvania a scare with a big 103-88 game 5 win, showing just how important young forward has become for this Raptors team as they look ahead to next season.
The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Chicago Bulls in 5 games
For the Milwaukee Bucks to make another run to the NBA Finals, they’re going to need a staple of last year’s team to make his impact felt; that’s exactly what Brook Lopez did in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs after missing the majority of the regular season with an injury. In his first and only Moment of Series 3 so far, the big man gets a pass in the corner, fakes a three, and drives to the paint for a contested jumper and foul over three Chicago Bulls defenders. His 18 point, five rebound and two block game came in a 93-86 win at home.
Game 2 of the series saw the Chicago Bulls secure their sole win of the playoffs, a 114-110 fight to tie up the series, led by a dynamic duo of DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević.
DeMar put the Bulls on his back, scoring 41 points, including a tough layup over and around Giannis Antetokounmpo to secure the W in the closing seconds of the game. DeRozan had an All-NBA worthy year, proving himself a valuable free agent signing for Chicago with a career-best scoring year, highlighted by NBA-history making back-to-back buzzer-beating threes on December 31st and January 1st.
This bucket was made possible thanks to an offensive rebound and pass from his center, whose Moment from this winning performance is a display of the footwork and finish that made him a two-time NBA All-Star, spinning into the paint, then going up-and-under Brook Lopez for two of his 24 points.
In Game 3, Grayson Allen tipped-off his big Playoff campaign, stepping-up in light of Khris Middleton’s absence with an efficient and team-leading 22-point scoring performance off the bench in a big 111-81 win for Milwaukee on the road. In this layup, Allen boldly drives to the rim after passing on a three-pointer, soaring towards the rim and effortlessly transitioning to an underhand layup that fires up his team.
Game 3 also captures the Challenge Reward from this series, a Jrue Holiday steal that showcases what makes him one of the best two-way guards in the NBA. His tenacious defense on DeMar DeRozan leads to a steal and easy bucket, part of a balanced 16 point, 6 rebound, 6 assist stat line.
The Boston Celtics sweep the Brooklyn Nets
In a surprising series to forget for the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics showed the world that their dominating stretch of basketball after the NBA All-Star break wasn’t a fluke. The first game of the series was a slugfest, with Kyrie Irving returning to Boston and their less-than-welcoming fans with a massive 39 point, 5 rebound, 6 assist and 5 steal game, hitting big shot after big shot to keep Brooklyn in the game for as long as he could.
Every time Kyrie touches the ball, it’s possible he’ll do something highlight-reel worthy, and this mesmerizing and gravity defying bounce pass to Patty Mills broke NBA Twitter for a moment, making it our choice for his sole Moment.
The Boston Celtics were ultimately the victors of Game 1, largely in part to Grant Williams’ defensive performance against Kevin Durant, forcing one of the best scorers on the planet into off-brand and off-kilter performances. When Grant defended KD, he shot 30% over the course of the four-game sweep, and in this Moment, a crafty block of KD finishes with a transition layup, filling up the stat sheet on offense and defense.
Of course, the story of Game 1 is Jayson Tatum’s buzzer-beating game-winning layup, the show stopping conclusion and instant career-highlight reel classic. This Moment from Tatum is available to earn as a Challenge Reward, and marks one of the signature moments in the young Celtics franchise star’s evolution into an undeniable superstar.
For the Brooklyn Nets, Bruce Brown was the story of Game 2, scoring the team’s first nine points, and shooting 57% from the field across the series. In Game 2, Brown scored 23 points, led the team with 8 rebounds, and added 4 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal, shooting 75% from beyond the arc and 67% from the field in one of the best games of his career. Over the course of Game 2 and 3, Brown was arguably the Nets best player.
Despite Brown’s heroics, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart had a different outcome in mind, banking in a left floater over three Nets defenders as the shot clock hit zero and creating an iconic celebration and meme in the process. Smart’s bucket was the dagger in Game 2, securing another win for the Celtics as they continued their sweep of a preseason Eastern Conference favorite.
THE WESTERN CONFERENCE
The Phoenix Suns defeat the New Orleans Pelicans in 6 games
The New Orleans Pelicans surprised the defending Western Conference champs with a first-round fight, led by Brandon Ingram having a certifiable “Welcome to Stardom” Playoff series. Averaging 27 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on 47.5% from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc, Ingram’s 30-4-5 game four performance in a 118-103 win will be remembered and memorialized on NBA Top Shot with this massive poster-worthy dunk.
The Game 4 Pelicans win also captures rookie guard Jose Alvarado pestering Chris Paul all series long, hounding him full-court time and time again and forcing him into multiple 8-second violations. Giving CP3 a taste of his own medicine, this Moment features Alvarado tapping into his youthful energy to pickpocket the Point God with a sneaky steal.
Game 5 saw Cameron Johnson and Mikal Bridges punch back to take a 3-2 lead in a 112-97 win, highlighted by Mikal’s career playoff-high 31-points, while also shutting down CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram on the defensive end. His Moment from this game is the rare “double block,” denying Ingram on two consecutive attempts in the paint. Cam Johnson’s big dunk Moment from this game was an emphatic punctuation mark in the game, stepping in for big minutes in the wake of Devin Booker’s hamstring injury.
Game 6 features Chris Paul’s all-time 14/14 shooting night as a Challenge Reward Moment. This playoff-record for most makes without a miss in NBA history features CP3’s last bucket of the game, a clutch two that bounces off the rim into the hoop to secure a 115-109 win, and end the series; an iconic Moment by an all-time great guard. There’s something poetic in Paul’s playoff performance taking place in New Orleans, the city and team where he started his career.
The Dallas Mavericks defeat the Utah Jazz in 6 games
For the first half of this series, the Mavericks were without Luka Dončić, so the rest of Dallas had to step up and fill his shoes. In Game 2, Maxi Kleber rose to the occasion, scoring 25 points on 8-11 from three, including this clutch corner triple to help the Mavs secure a 110-104 home victory.
In Game 3, Spencer Dinwiddie proved why he was one of the most valuable “Fresh Threads” additions of the year, putting up 20 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals in a 126-118 Mavericks win on the road, highlighted by his poster-worthy dunk Moment over Rudy Gobert. The Utah Jazz didn’t go down without a fight, and Donovan Mitchell dropped 32 points in a losing effort, including a dunk Moment over Davis Bertans that temporarily shifted momentum in Utah’s favor.
In Game 4, Rudy Gobert grabbed a rebound off a missed free throw, running the floor and finishing an alley-oop from Donovan Mitchell to take a 100-99 lead with 11-seconds left that would prove to be the game-winning basket. Gobert’s huge 17 point, 15 rebound game is captured with this Moment.
The most important player of the series was undoubtedly Jalen Brunson. In this Challenge Reward Moment from the deciding Game 6, which the Mavericks won 98-96, Brunson flashes his handles, dribbling Rudy Gobert into a pretzel inside the paint before floating in two of his 24 points in a clutch, series-deciding road victory. Brunson led the Mavericks in the series, in the locker room and on the stat sheet, stepping up big in Luka’s absence to become one of the breakout stars of the Playoffs so far.
The Golden State Warriors defeat the Denver Nuggets in 5 games
Despite an MVP-caliber season from Nikola Jokic, the Golden State Warriors and their Super Splash Brothers had too many weapons for the Denver Nuggets to slow down. In Game 3 of the series, the Warriors 118-113 win and 3-0 series lead is captured on NBA Top Shot through Draymond Green’s clutch defense and steal of Jokic, and Jordan Poole’s Challenge Reward worthy 27-point display, headlined by a beautiful and acrobatic reverse layup down the baseline.
The Denver Nuggets sole win of the series came in Game 4, where Nikola Jokić had a remarkable 37 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, including a clutch assist to Will Barton in the corner for the game-sealing three-pointer. The previous possession, Monte Morris, who played a huge role in the game and scored 24-points, hit a floater with 30 seconds left on the clock to give the Denver Nuggets the lead. These two plays and possessions were paramount in securing the win.
Despite missing Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray for the entire season, the 2021-22 Denver Nuggets racked up 48 wins, more than their 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, and the second most in a season since drafting Jokic in 2014. Their success this season is a testament not just to Jokić’s development and playmaking skills, but his ability to make all of the players around him, like Monte Morris, the best versions of themselves.
The Warriors closed out the series in Game 5, headlined by Gary Payton II, who corralled an off-target pass and hit a focused, contested three-pointer to put Golden State up by 5 and close out the series with a 102-98 victory. The crunch-time minutes from GPII, and the biggest shot of his NBA career, came in a 15-point performance off the bench, shooting 75% from the field and beyond the arc, demonstrating the depth that Golden State has on offense.
The Memphis Grizzlies defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves in 6 games
Game 1 of this series marked Anthony Edwards’ first Playoff game ever, and at just 20 years old, the explosive young scoring threat racked up 36 points and 6 assists in a 130-117 win, including this dazzling step-back jumper over Brandon Clarke. The big road victory for Minnesota also included a statement-making performance from Karl-Anthony Towns, in which the smooth-shooting big-man scored 29 points and secured 13 rebounds, headlined by a ferocious, high-flying dunk over Jaren Jackson Jr. in which he elevates to the rim with authority.
In Game 5, Brandon Clarke came up big with 7 huge offensive rebounds in the 4th quarter that were essential in the Grizzlies W, including a clutch assist Moment that led to a Ja Morant three, stepping up with Steven Adams out of the rotation, adding 21 points to his 15 total rebounds.
Game 6 of the series saw Tyus Jones hit the biggest shot of the game as the shot clock expired, draining a huge three-pointer after getting the pass from Ja Morant. The clutch basket from the backup point guard would seal the victory for Memphis and eliminate the Timberwolves from the Playoffs.
No play from this series or from the first round of the NBA Playoffs captured the attention of basketball fans everywhere like Ja Morant’s game five dunk from a 111-109 victory and 30 point, 13 rebound and 9 assist game.
The internet-breaking Moment is earnable as a Challenge Reward, and features one of the most jaw-dropping displays of athleticism and dunking ability in a season and young career full of spectacular highlights. It’s hard to put into words just how special this Ja Morant dunk is. The “Ja Breaker” will live on forever in our memories, and for some of you, in your collections. One of the greatest dunks in NBA Playoffs history is coming to NBA Top Shot.
We’ll see you at Thursday’s pack drop for your opportunity to add these Moments to your NBA Top Shot collection.
** Editor's Note: The line about airdrops was updated for clarity on Wednesday, May 4 at 8:20pm PT
** Editor's Note: The line about Ja's thumbnail was removed on Thursday, May 5 at 12:10pm PT
