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Let the world hear your story! These six people are less than 23 years old and scored 25+ in the finals, each of them is a legend!

6:50pm, 13 June 2025【Basketball】

In the third game between the Thunder and the Pacers, the Pacers, who returned to their home court, seized the opportunity and finally successfully defeated their opponents, rewriting the big score to 2:1. In this game, the Pacers can be said to have used their lives to the three armies, and the whole team burst out with extremely active desire to win, so they deserved the final victory. The team's young player Benedit Matherin became the surprise player, scoring 27 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in the whole game, becoming the sixth player in history to be under 23 years old but able to score 25+ in the finals. Looking back at the previous five, they are all legendary superstars, so Matherin's future will surely be full of hope. Let’s take a look at who the top five legends are, and what outstanding performance they have in the finals!

1. Magic Johnson

Single game data: 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals

Time of occurrence: The first star in the 1980 Finals to win 25+ in the Finals before the age of 23 is the great Magic Johnson. Time went back to the 1980 finals. Although he was still a rookie at that time, the Magic had already shown outstanding strength in his rookie season. The Lakers were able to reach the finals that year, and his contributions behind him were no less than those of seniors such as Jabbar and Wilcox. Moreover, the Magician was only 20 years old at that time, but he became the team's hero in the finals. In the crucial sixth game, Jabbar was unable to play due to an accidental injury. In such a crisis, the Magic unexpectedly served as the center of the game and successfully won the jump ball. In the whole game, he completely dominated both offense and defense, and eventually scored 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals, helping the Lakers win the championship. And it is also with such dazzling performance that the Magician was elected as the MVP of the finals that year. He won such a valuable trophy at the age of 20. To this day, no one can break the record of the youngest FMVP.

2. Kobe Bryant

Single game data: 28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks

Time of occurrence: After the Magician set this record, there was only one young player reaching this height 20 years later in the finals, and that person was no one else, Kobe Bryant, the Magician's junior in the Lakers. That year, Kobe was not yet 21 years old, but he had become one of the core of the team, helping the Lakers achieve a luxurious record of 67 wins and 15 losses in the regular season, and after nine years of success, he broke through the siege in the West. In the finals, he was injured by Jaren Ross' foot pad in the second game and missed the third game. In the fourth game, in order to help the team get the match point, Kobe also reluctantly carried thick protective gear and chose to return to the field. In this game, both sides fought fiercely until overtime before they decided to win. Although Shaquille O'Neal scored a luxurious data of 36 points and 21 rebounds, he left the court with six fouls at the last moment. The Lakers, who were on the verge of life, are likely to lose the game. Kobe stood up, and the young Pan scored consecutively in the last moment, successfully scoring 28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks, helping the Lakers narrowly defeat the Pacers with 2 points. After the game, O'Neal walked out of the arena with Kobe on his back, which became an eternal classic moment in the finals.

3. Tony Parker

Single game data: 26 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists

Time of occurrence: 2003 Finals

After Kobe, another young player achieved this achievement three years later, and he is Tony Parker of the Spurs. Parker had only been two years in the NBA at that time, but with his outstanding speed, he had become one of Popovich's favorite disciples. During the regular season, he played 82 games, averaging 15.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, making him one of the few players on the team who can share the pressure of Tim Duncan. After entering the finals, Parker did not have any stage fright against the league's first point guard Jason Kidd, and his overall performance was excellent. After moving to the Nets' home court in the third game, Parker was like a god-like help, scoring 26 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists in the whole game. He scored 11 points in the key final quarter. In the end, at the age of 21, he successfully suppressed Kidd and helped the Spurs take the initiative. It was from that moment that Parker had completely gained Popovich's trust, which was also the beginning of his gradual success in becoming the core and eventually becoming a double legend of the Spurs and France.

4. LeBron James' single game data: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and time of occurrence: The 2007 Finals

Time came to the 2007 Finals. Under the leadership of LeBron James, the Cavaliers broke through the siege from the East and finally met with the experienced Spurs in the finals. James was only 22 years old at that time. In the eyes of the outside world, a new era is coming soon. However, due to the obvious gap in the overall strength of the team and the Cavaliers are participating in the finals for the first time, it is difficult for them to find opportunities to win against the Spurs. In the end, the Cavaliers were also eliminated by the Spurs with a total score of 4:0. However, for James, although he lost to the Holy City this year, it still has a lot of significance, because this is his first time to set foot in the finals, laying a solid foundation for him to enter the playoffs in total 10 times in the future. In addition, in the second game, he also scored 25 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Although the team failed to win the game, the 22-year-old also joined the ranks of legendary superstars and became the fourth player in history to achieve this achievement.

5. Kawhi Leonard

Single game data: 29 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks

Time of occurrence: 2014 Finals

Before Mathering, the last young man who could score 25+ in the Finals was Kawhi Leonard. In the 2014 finals, Xiao Ka, who was about to turn 23, seized the last time and became the fifth person on this list. The finals of this year were a hearty revenge for the Spurs. They created historical winning records in multiple finals and finally defeated the Heat with a total score of 4:1. In the third game, Leonard scored 29 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in the whole game, which also allowed the Spurs to see the future. In the end, although the finals were only 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2 assists, Leonard still won the FMVP of that year. But it’s a pity that although Leonard gradually grew up later and eventually became the top superstar in the league. But he and the Spurs still chose to leave because of irreconcilable contradictions, and failed to stage the story of GDP sticking to the holy city again.