NBA WAGs: Ayesha Curry, Gabrielle Union among wives and girlfriends of the NBA playoffs

While a fierce MVP battle rages on, wives and girlfriends of star NBA players are bound to sit courtside as the 2017 playoff season commences this weekend.

The Golden State Warriors finished first in the Western Conference, going 67-15 in the regular season. Star point guard Steph Curry will likely be cheered by wife Ayesha Curry as fans and analysts ponder the potential for a repeat of the 2016 NBA Finals featuring head coach Steve Kerr's Warriors and the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

The case has been made for LeBron James as this season's MVP, and wife Savannah Brinson will undoubtedly be watching as her husband goes for his fourth NBA championship. The Cavaliers will appear in the first playoff game on Saturday, April 15 when they face off against the Indiana Pacers.

Click through to see the must-know wives and girlfriends of the NBA playoffs:

Although they were dealt a recent loss at home by the Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 53-29 regular season record. Their standing gives them home-court advantage to start the playoffs, and star players Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford will likely have their respective wives -- Kayla Wallace and Amelia Vega -- in tow throughout the playoff ride.

All eyes, though, are on Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook as he fights for what FiveThirtyEight's Kyle Wagner calls his "self-evident" right to this year's MVP award. Westbrook recently achieved a record-breaking triple-double average in a single season, and wife Nina Earl will most likely be present at games to see what other surprising feats her hubby can hurdle.

"This playoff picture might shape into one the most exciting postseason we've witnessed in quite some time," writes Sports Illustrated's Jake Fischer. "There are question marks surrounding each power player on the chess board, especially in the Western Conference."

Playoff play kicks off with four games on Saturday.

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