DALLAS, TEXAS - MAY 22: Jalen Brunson #13 of the Dallas Mavericks drives to the basket against Kevon ... [+] Looney #5 and Jordan Poole #3 of the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter in Game Three of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals at American Airlines Center on May 22, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. The Golden State Warriors won 109-100. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Back in 2018, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green told the team's management that there were "82-game players" and "16-game players." The former might put up numbers during the regular season, but as teams advance deeper into the playoffs, they're often relegated to the sideline.

An 82-game player often has a standout skill, whether it's three-point shooting or lockdown defense, but they have a glaring weakness, too. If they're a liability on either end of the floor, teams begin to repeatedly exploit that in the postseason.

A handful of soon-to-be free agents used the 2022 NBA playoffs to prove they're of the 16-game variety. That should put them in line for a hefty payday in free agency this summer.

The following five in particular likely earned themselves a nice raise with their performance during this year’s playoffs.

The Dallas Mavericks could have offered Jalen Brunson a four-year, $55.5 million extension before the season began, but they waited to do so until after the February trade deadline, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. At that point, Brunson was averaging a career-high 16.0 points on 50.3 percent shooting, 5.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.

"I told him once the season is started, that's it," Brunson's father, Rick, told MacMahon. "I told the Mavericks, 'Once the season is started, there's no contract talk,' and I went back against my word. In January, I thought he did enough where he deserved [the extension]. I said, 'Hey, take the money, man.' He wants security. He wants to live here. And they declined."

That decision might have earned Brunson an extra $30-40 million based on how he fared during the Mavericks' run to the Western Conference Finals.

In their first-round victory over the Utah Jazz—the first two games of which came without star guard Luka Doncic—Brunson erupted for 27.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. His 41-point, eight-rebound, five-assist masterclass in Game 2 helped the Mavericks avoid falling into an 0-2 hole without Doncic, and they won three of the next four to close out the Jazz and send them into a potentially existential tailspin.

Brunson struggled in the first two games of the Mavericks' second-round series against the top-seeded Phoenix Suns, shooting 9-of-28 (32.1 percent) with nine rebounds, five assists and four turnovers. But over the final five games of that series, he averaged 21.8 points on 48.9 percent shooting, 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and only 1.4 turnovers per game, including 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting in their blowout Game 7 road victory.

NBA executives who spoke with MacMahon projected Brunson to earn at least $20 million annually on his next contract. He's going to be one of the top prizes of this year's free-agent class, particularly if James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine re-sign with their respective teams.

Kevon Looney got off to a quiet start in the playoffs, averaging only 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 14.3 minutes across the Golden State Warriors' first 10 games. Playing Draymond Green at the 5 has long been their postseason trump card, which limits the minutes for a traditional center like Looney.

But in their closeout Game 6 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Semifinals, Looney hauled in an outrageous 22 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards. He then parlayed that monster game into a strong showing against the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.

In the Warriors' five-game victory over Dallas, Looney averaged 10.6 points on 70.6 percent shooting and 10.6 rebounds in 28.0 minutes per game. Neither Dwight Powell nor Maxi Kleber could stop him from dominating the glass or serving as a lob or drop-off threat.

After a quiet 10-point, five-rebound performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Looney erupted for 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 12 rebounds in Game 2. In doing so, he became the first Warriors center to have a 20-10 game in the playoffs since Robert Parish in 1977, according to StatMuse.

“You kind of have a core group of guys that represent your culture, your identity, what you’re about,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently told reporters, per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Generally, those guys are mentors and leaders. We feel their presence every day. It impacts the whole group. That’s what Loon is for us."

Looney earned a paltry $5.2 million this season, but he could be in line for a major raise if some team envisions him as starting-center material coming off this playoff run. The Warriors have to juggle retaining players against the threat of an enormous luxury-tax bill, which could limit how much they're willing to spend on Looney.

Victor Oladipo earned back-to-back All-Star nods in 2017-18 and 2018-19, but a quadriceps tendon injury caused his career to go off the rails from there. He played only 52 games across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons combined, and he bounced between the Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and Miami Heat in the latter campaign.

He re-signed with the Heat on a one-year, $2.4 million deal this past summer, as they afforded him the opportunity to rehab slowly after undergoing a second surgery on that quadriceps tendon. That decision may soon pay off handsomely, as Oladipo cemented himself as a key rotation member on the Heat's run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Oladipo played only eight games in the regular season, making his season debut in early March. The Heat held him out of the first three games of their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, but he cracked the rotation in Game 4 and then erupted for 23-points in 8-of-16 shooting in their closeout Game 5 victory that came without both Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra pivoted away from Duncan Robinson because of his defensive limitations, which opened the door for Oladipo to cement his role off the bench. He had three double-digit outings in a four-game stretch against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, although he cooled off against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, averaging 9.7 points per game on only 30.6 percent shooting.

"Once he got healthy, immediately you saw his presence defensively, and now how impactful he can be," Spoelstra told reporters. "And then offensively, as the playoffs went on, that’s how funny it is and crazy, like he’s getting in better rhythm in the most pressure-packed moments."

The Heat have Bird rights on Oladipo, so they can exceed the salary cap to re-sign him on any salary up to a max. His playoff performance could cause other teams to come calling with some or all of their mid-level exceptions, too.

Tyus Jones has established himself as one of the NBA's best backup point guards over the past few years with the Memphis Grizzlies. The playoffs briefly afforded him the opportunity to prove what he could do as a starter, too.

When All-Star point guard Ja Morant suffered a bone bruise in his right knee during the Grizzlies' second-round series against the Warriors, Jones moved into the starting lineup in his place. He finished with 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting, six rebounds and five assists in Memphis' three-point loss in Game 4, but he bounced back with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals in a blowout Game 5 victory.

Jones struggled from the field in the Game 6 closeout loss, scoring only seven points on 2-of-12 shooting, but he chipped in nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals. He also took on an array of defensive assignments throughout the series, from larger guards and wings like Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins to smaller combo guards such as Jordan Poole and Stephen Curry.

Jones started 23 regular-season games in Morant's absence, and the Grizzlies went 19-4 in his starts. But with Morant cemented as Memphis' franchise point guard moving forward, it's unclear whether Jones will be content to re-sign as a backup.

“I would like to be a starter in this league, obviously," Jones said, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I think any player you ask in this league would say that. I’d be lying if I said no. At the same time, that’s not the end all, be all."

Jones earned $8.4 million this past season, but he could be in line for a significant raise if some team does peg him as its next starting point guard. ESPN's Bobby Marks suggested teams should cross Jones "off their wish list" if they were hoping to land him for the $10.3 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception this summer.

After bouncing between the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards over his first four seasons in the NBA, Gary Payton II finally found a home with the Golden State Warriors. He averaged career highs in points (7.1), rebounds (3.5) and minutes (17.6) per game during the regular season, and he started 16 games for them this year after starting only 23 games over his first five NBA seasons combined.

The 29-year-old made his impact felt throughout their run to this year's championship, too.

In their closeout Game 5 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the first round, Payton racked up 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 26 minutes. He followed that up with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block against the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, all while having to defend superstar point guard Ja Morant.

Payton's playoffs nearly came careening to a halt from there, as he fractured his elbow early in Game 2 when Dillon Brooks fouled him from behind on an attempted chase-down block. He missed the rest of the series against the Grizzlies and the Western Conference Finals, but he returned in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and chipped in seven points on 3-of-3 shooting, three rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes.

Payton helped the Warriors seize control of the Finals in Game 5 with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, five rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes off the bench. That's an incredible turnaround for someone who nearly applied for a job with the Warriors as a video coordinator prior to the season.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac or RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.