The stage door has swung open, inviting a fresh set of NBA superstars to step into the spotlight.

The Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker and the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young would seem to have all the credentials for marquee billing—youth, talent, the “wow” factor.

Despite Booker having to play with a broken nose, both have been NBA playoff phenoms while pacing their teams to their conference finals.

Their ability to score 40-plus points per night for a couple of long-overdue franchises has placed them in the national conversation.

With many of the NBA’s established headliners now in their 30s, here’s a look at Booker and Young, who may wind up going head to head in the NBA Finals that begin Thursday, July 8.

Devin Booker, wearing the Phoenix Suns’No. 1 jersey: The 24-year-old averaged 27.1 points in his first 14 playoff games this season with highs of 40 points against the Los Angeles Clippers and 47 points against the Los Angeles Lakers.

In addition to his scoring, the 6-foot-6, 210-pound shooting guard has averaged 6.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists during the Suns’ playoff run. He had 25 points on June 26 as Phoenix defeated the Clippers 84-80 to take a 3-1 lead in the series.

He was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Melvin Booker and Veronica Gutierrez during the time his dad was playing in the Continental League. Previously, Melvin Booker was the Big 12 Player of the Year for the University of Missouri.

Because Booker’s mother is of Puerto Rican and Mexican ancestry, he is eligible to play for the Puerto Rican and Mexican national teams at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in addition to Team USA. He was selected Monday for the U.S. Olympic Team.

Booker played one season at the University of Kentucky before becoming the 13th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. His career scoring average with the Suns is 23 points.

During the Suns’ Western Conference final against the Los Angeles Clippers, Booker suffered a broken nose in three places that required a protective plastic mask covering much of his face. His current annual salary is $29.47 million.

Trae Young, wearing the Atlanta Hawks’ No. 11 jersey: The 6-foot-2, 182-pound point guard averaged 29.8 points and 9.5 assists through 14 playoff games, with a 48-point explosion against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals.

Despite playing on a sprained ankle, Young tossed in 35 points in the Hawks’ 113-102 loss on June 27 to Milwaukee as the Bucks took a 2-1 series lead.

Like Booker, Young is the son of a basketball playing father. Young’s father, Rayford Young, starred at Texas Tech before playing professionally in Europe.

Young made the 2020 NBAAll-Star Team and was on the 2019 All-Rookie squad. Now in his third season in Atlanta, Young averaged 24.1 points for the regular season along with 8.9 assists.

Scoring comes naturally for the Hawks’ sensation. As a senior at North Norman High School in Oklahoma, he averaged 42.6 points. In his one season at the University of Oklahoma, he averaged 27.4 points.

Young was the NBA’s fifth overall draft choice in 2018. His current salary is $6.572 million annually.

As prolific as Booker and Young have been during these playoffs, they are far off the postseason record.

The top five, single season playoff scoring averages are held by Michael Jordan (43.67 points in 1986), Jerry West (40.64 in 1965), Elgin Baylor (38.62 in 1962 and 38.08 in 1961), and Hakeem Olajuwon (37.50 points in 1988).

Jordan is also the career leader for playoff scoring with a 33.45 norm. Virginia native Allen Iverson comes next at 29.73.

Jordan, again, is atop the list for most points in a single playoff game. Playing for Chicago, he had 63 points in a 1986 game. Baylor scored 61 points for the Lakers in a 1961 contest.