2025 NBA Clutch Player of the Year Prediction – Who Will Come Up Big?

Jalen Brunson (-170)

The Knicks are 4-4 in Brunson’s absence, but they needed overtime to beat a bad Portland team on the road, and they got thumped by the Los Angeles Clippers by ten points the game after Brunson got hurt. In their latest outing, the Knicks blew out the hapless Wizards by a score of 122-103.

Beating up on inferior opponents isn’t that impressive, though. If Brunson’s injury lingers into the postseason, they could be in some serious trouble without him in the backcourt.

"I'm looking at Detroit and I'm saying this could be a 1st round exit for New York" 👀

– Udonis Haslem

(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 )

pic.twitter.com/Xnig9CFV09

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 18, 2025

Brunson’s injury is so worrying that many think the Knicks are a first-round upset waiting to happen if he isn’t healthy. It makes sense. No player in the league has a higher usage rate in the clutch than Brunson, which usually leads to good things for New York.

He scores 44% of his team’s points when the chips are down. Additionally, Brunson leads the NBA with six points per game in the clutch. That being said, the longer Brunson sits out, the more of an opportunity other players have to catch up.

The Knicks are also 16-8 with Brunson in clutch situations, which is why he’s the favorite in the NBA Clutch Player of the Year odds.

New York will obviously take their time with him as the playoffs are the priority. But each day Brunson isn’t playing, there’s a threat that someone could overtake him, such as one of these two players.

Trae Young (+230)

Young has led the Hawks to wins in three consecutive games as of March 24, and every game is huge as Atlanta tries to chase down Detroit for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Sixth place means you’re in the postseason, and you don’t have to take part in the play-in games between the seventh through tenth seeds. That said, the Hawks are likely going to run out of track, as they’re still down to the Pistons by 4.5 games.

Their struggles are not because Young isn’t a clutch player, though. You could argue that Young IS the most clutch player of the 2024-25 season!

Trae Young in the clutch this season:

1st in PTS
1st in AST
1st in 3PM

No player has ever led the league in all three categories in the clutch in a single season ❄️ pic.twitter.com/08mYuhq67F

— StatMamba (@StatMamba) March 19, 2025

Young has more clutch field goals than anyone in the NBA, and is third in clutch usage rate behind Brunson and Mitchell. Additionally, Young is first in total points, assists, and three-pointers made! He’s been able to pull away from Brunson here as a result of his injury, so it will be interesting to see how voters approach the award.

So, why might Young not win the NBA Clutch Player of the Year award? Simply put, his team isn’t good. They’re 35-36 through their first 71 games.

It’s fun that he’s so good in the clutch, but the Hawks only have roughly a 50% win rate in these situations. It’s a lot of pressure on Young, with Jalen Johnson being injured and the Hawks trading De’Andre Hunter.

Nevertheless, Brunson’s injury is keeping him in the running for the award. The NBA Clutch Player of the Year award betting odds agree, too, as he has the second shortest price to win. Nikola Jokic is also dealing with an injury, which could hold him out of the running!

Nikola Jokic (+600)

Jokic is rated as the second-best clutch player in the NBA behind Brunson, and he has an outlandish 63.7% effective field-goal percentage in clutch situations! He is also second to Miami’s Tyler Herro in clutch-squared situations, which means “shots crucial to game outcome”, with 26 field goals.

Thank goodness for Nikola Jokic.

Best Clutch Player in the NBA

— Swipa (@SwipaCam) February 2, 2025

The three-time MVP scores 37% of Denver’s field goals down the stretch, and he snatches 41.7% of their rebounds, including 47.1% of their offensive boards to extend possession. “Joker” also assists on 37.5% of Denver’s clutch field goals.

He doesn’t have better numbers than the competition, but everything Denver does goes through Jokic. If he is defended one-on-one, he can get to the rim. If you double-team him, Jokic is definitely finding the open player. It might actually be better for the opposition to let him score, rather than Jokic picking them apart on players cutting to the rim.

The Nuggets are also battling for the second seed in the Western Conference, and I think that should put him over Young in the NBA Clutch Player odds.

Jokic has been out of action recently, as he tends to an ankle injury. Like Brunson, is this going to impact how voters cast their ballots? In any event, the way we see it, Jokic has been the most clutch player of the year.

Darius Garland (+3500)

One would think that it is Mitchell who would be the clutch standout for this great Cleveland team. But it’s actually Garland who is the most clutch.

With the game on the line, @dariusgarland22 always delivers 💪

The NBA’s most efficient crunch-time shooter (among players with 80+ clutch PTS) has been calm under pressure all season long for the Cavs. https://t.co/MTKj0YiMaK pic.twitter.com/t7sSgYtlNV

— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2025

Mitchell has more clutch field goals than Garland, with 86 to Garland’s 65. But Garland is far more efficient. He shoots 57.4% in the clutch, and what’s more, Garland is shooting an insane 57.1% from three!

The Cavaliers have had a fantastic season and are cruising to the #1 seed in the East. They’re 21-7 with Garland in the clutch, but would they be better if Garland had the ball more instead of Mitchell? We’ll see come playoff time!