NBA All-Bubble Awards: Here's our unofficial list

Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers

The numbers: 17.6 points (50/20/89 shooting splits), 10.3 rebounds and 4 assists in 31.6 minutes a game

Like Lillard, Nurkic played all eight seeding games with a heavy burden on his shoulders, especially with C.J. McCollum at less than full strength, and he did so having not played a single game since March 2019. While players around the league were resting minor ailments, the 7-foot Bosnian put his rehabbed broken leg to the ultimate test — and looked like he had not lost a step. His 22-10-3 line against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday was wildly under-appreciated, and it was arguably his fifth-best performance in the bubble.

All-Seeding Games Second Team

Chris Paul, Oklahoma City Thunder

The numbers: 16.9 points (49/40/97 shooting splits), 6.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds in 29.2 minutes a game

The Thunder could have easily slid in the West standings, with Dennis Schroder missing much of the restart, but Paul’s steady hand secured them a spot in the 4-5 matchup. Playing all seven games of OKC’s restart entering the final day of the regular season, Paul has averaged 20.8 points (on 49/40/97 shooting splits), 8.1 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per 36 minutes in Orlando. But his impact goes beyond stats. The Thunder have been 23.8 points per 100 possessions better with Paul on the floor in the bubble.

James Harden, Houston Rockets

The numbers: 35.3 points (54/37/90 shooting splits), 9.2 rebounds and 8.7 assists in 35.3 minutes a game

Harden arrived late to the bubble, and it made no impact on his rhythm. It is as if he can stroll in from a day at the beach, change into a Rockets uniform and score 35 points on footwork and feel alone. The man is an offense unto himself. It can be monotonous to watch, but you have to give the man his due. With superstar teammate Russell Westbrook hampered by a hamstring injury, Harden rattled off back-to-back brilliant games to clinch a top-five seed, almost underwhelming given his season-long assault on offensive metrics.

Caris LeVert, Brooklyn Nets

The numbers: 25 points (48/26/67 shooting splits), 6.7 assists and 5 rebounds in 33.1 minutes a game

It was a foregone conclusion the Nets were going to be bad in the bubble. Gone were Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince and Wilson Chandler. That is a playoff rotation in the East. Brooklyn finished 5-3 in Orlando against a competitive schedule, retaining the seventh seed, and LeVert was the main reason. We knew he was good, but Thursday’s 37-6-9 in a shootout with a red-hot Lillard was a revelation. The question now is whether LeVert can be so brilliant alongside Durant and Irving.

Michael Porter Jr., Denver Nuggets

The numbers: 22 points (55/42/93 shooting splits), 8.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 33.3 minutes a game

Porter entered the bubble averaging 7.5 points as a rookie, hardly able to earn a spot in Nuggets coach Mike Malone’s rotation. Injuries forced Malone’s hand in Orlando, and Porter responded, elevating Denver’s ceiling in real time over the eight seeding games. During a four-game stretch when the Nuggets finished 3-1 and secured the No. 3 seed in the West, Porter averaged a 29-point double-double on 56/47/96 splits. Jamal Murray’s return forced Porter into a tertiary role, one that should make Denver more dangerous.

Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

The numbers: 20.1 points (52/31/85 shooting splits), 9.1 assists and 6.7 rebounds in 32.1 minutes a game

Like Porter, Jokic played each of Denver’s first seven seeding games. The guy had the coronavirus a month ago. Rumor had it he returned to training camp with less body fat, but he still looked to be an everyman, so much as a 7-foot Serbian with legendary passing skills can be. He posted a 30-12-10 triple-double in a win over the Thunder and nearly did it again in a victory against the Utah Jazz — the only two games on the Nuggets’ schedule against teams jockeying against them for the third through sixth seeds in the West.

Kia NBA Player of the Seeding Games

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

Lillard entered the final day of the Western Conference race for the eighth and ninth seeds as a heavy favorite to capture Bubble MVP honors, but Booker had a chance to unseat him, had the Blazers star submitted a disappointing performance in falling out of playoff contention. That did not happen. Far from it. His 42 points (8-of-14 from three) and 12 assists (against one turnover) against the Nets were basketball god-like.

Booker was brilliant, albeit slightly less efficient, but the harsh truth is that Lillard’s effort rendered the Suns’ remarkable 8-0 run inconsequential beyond the excitement they gave us and the growth they experienced. Booker quelled concerns that his style of play could not serve a team in the bright lights of a playoff chase, but Lillard vaulted himself into a conversation about where he belongs on the all-time point guard pantheon.

– – – – – – –

Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach

More from Yahoo Sports:

• Haynes: How Damian Lillard has made the Blazers dangerous

• Bulls fire head coach Jim Boylen 

• MLS, FC Dallas condemn death threats

• Florida man arrested for living in stadium luxury suite