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By their inherent nature, the NBA playoffs are a beast compared to what can feel like a taxing, never-ending grind of a regular season.
In the playoffs, every last shot, pass, steal, block, foul, or turnover is meaningful. Every single strategic adjustment can swing a series. There's a reason only the most talented and strong-willed players survive in a tense postseason atmosphere. There's just so much tangible pressure all around that many people (understandably) wilt like cut roses and shy away from the blinding spotlight.
Entire legacies are defined by what happens in these two months every spring for a good reason.
The 2025 NBA playoffs should be no different. On some level, I understand the tendency to shoehorn 99th percentile basketball players into a way-too-neat postseason narrative or into the overall context of their team's future. Admittedly, it's not always the best way to engage with the game. At the same time, though, these are bog-standard water-cooler and barber-shop conversations that fans of NBA basketball have all the time. And, often, the best way to actually stay informed is by watching what happens in the sample size of the playoffs.
This is, after all, when we learn who's built for big moments. They are the games that matter most.
From a team's future and a general narrative "legacy" perspective, here are the 11 NBA stars with the most to gain or lose during the 2025 playoffs.
At this point, Nikola Jokic's reputation is stamped. Most view the three-time MVP as the best, unquestioned men's basketball player in the world. Everything the Nuggets do moving forward will be centered around maximizing the prime of the all-time great Serbian center. Everything.
This is where Murray and Porter come in. As the other two max-contract players on Denver's roster, Murray and Porter have to step up and play like they're compensated this postseason. Murray has a history of delivering in the playoffs, but has missed or been hampered by injury in three of the Nuggets' last four playoff runs. That one healthy playoff run is, not by coincidence, the one where Denver won the 2023 title while Murray featured like a top-10 player. Porter, meanwhile, is one of the best shooters in the game when he's hot and in rhythm. But he's typically disappeared against more physical and complex defenses. The Nuggets don't usually fare well when he's invisible.
If Murray and Porter play to their respective salaries and the Nuggets make a deep playoff run, they will likely be locked in as core pieces through the rest of the Jokic era in Denver. If they don't and the Nuggets disappoint, anything is on the table this coming summer. One or both of Murray and Porter could be traded away for a needed Denver roster shake-up. It would feel inevitable.
Realistically, at face value, Doncic doesn't have all that much to gain from this specific Lakers playoff run.
The Lakers are going to make him the long-term face of the franchise. Everyone who even follows the NBA from afar understands that Doncic is a top-five player in his prime. With Doncic in the fold, the Lakers will be relevant power players for the foreseeable future. It's just the truth.
But can you imagine how bad the Dallas Mavericks will look if Doncic does something like take the Lakers to the NBA Finals after only a few months in Los Angeles? Of course, the Mavericks couldn't possibly look any worse in the aftermath of the Doncic trade. However, with immediate postseason success, he'll only make them look sillier for ever doubting his process and work ethic.
The calculus is different for James. At the age of 40, arguably the greatest NBA player of all time remains an All-NBA-caliber talent. Frankly, it's mind-boggling that he continues to produce at a superstar level with more than two decades of NBA mileage on his body. But that's the rub here.
Just how much longer is James going to play? I recognize that he's, in some ways, superhuman and could probably play at a high level for seasons to come. Still, the logical side of me says we're looking at maybe another couple of years at most. That means there are only a few more chances for James to add a fifth NBA title to his illustrious, extended resume, which includes these playoffs. Every potential postseason defeat from here on out for James will feel monumental given what might be on the horizon for him.
Anthony Edwards is the Timberwolves' unquestioned young face of the franchise. The electric guard is still just 23 years old. No matter what happens to Minnesota in these playoffs, Edwards effectively has an NBA lifetime ahead of him. We might only be scratching the surface with him.
The same cannot be said for his veteran teammate, Rudy Gobert.
By next season, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year will be 33 years old. While I can see Gobert contributing well into his 30s, the reality is that a listed 7-foot-1, 258-pound man at that age probably only has a few years, at most, as an all-world defender in the paint. That also means Gobert likely has only a few more chances of being a catalyst on a potential championship team. I don't know if the No. 6-seed Timberwolves are a title contender this year. Still, the logjam of Western squads seeded from No. 2 to No. 7 is so close that it would be nonsensical to write them off entirely. Helping take the Timberwolves on another deep playoff run would do wonders for Gobert's legacy and reputation.
This spring might be one of his last opportunities to do so.
Tatum only just turned 27, so by no means is there that much on the line for a superstar player who won an NBA title last June. With that said, a common "criticism" of Tatum last postseason was that the Celtics were so great and so dominant that they didn't even really need Tatum to excel to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
And well, I mean, Tatum's All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown did win NBA Finals MVP over Tatum. That did indeed happen.
Tatum's Celtics followed up their title run with another 60-plus win season this year. And Tatum did meaningfully improve to further establish himself as a true alpha dog in the league. If he takes the Celtics to back-to-back championships and actually wins Finals MVP in the process, there will no longer be any debate about his individual standing in the NBA. He will get all the respect he deserves.
Well, except from the trolls, but we can't control that, unfortunately.
At this point, Antetokounmpo has been a veritable MVP-type player for seven years. The more Antetokounmpo thrives year over year, the more he has a sounder case for the arguably second-best NBA power forward of all time (no one is touching Tim Duncan, sorry). But as Antetokounmpo has dominated, the Bucks have entered basketball Purgatory.
We are now entering the second consecutive Milwaukee postseason where a team with Antetokounmpo is widely considered unserious to most observers. And if the Bucks flame out in the first round for the third straight season, the talk of Antetokounmpo potentially seeking greener pastures on a new team while he still has great basketball left will be deafening. Oof.
Antetokounmpo can do a lot to quell this discussion himself. He could simply throttle the favored Indiana Pacers in a first-round upset while demonstrating why he's so remarkable. Let's be clear: he is good enough to achieve something like that. If this Bucks team can somehow get to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, I think many folks will table the thought of Antetokounmpo moving on from Milwaukee. For now.
When the Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2019, they understandably thought they would be a perennial NBA Finals contender. How could you not be when someone like Leonard, a player with one of the greatest peaks in league history, was on your roster?
Then they blew a 3-1 lead in the second round of the 2020 Bubble. Then, during the following 2021 postseason, Leonard partially tore his right ACL. Then, Leonard missed the entire ensuing 2021-2022 season while recovering from his ACL injury. Then, in the 2023 playoffs, Leonard tore his meniscus in that same right knee. Then, Leonard suffered not one but THREE setbacks in the 2024 playoffs, in United States Summer Olympics prep, and at the start of this Clippers season, respectively. He didn't make his Clippers debut this year until January.
You get the idea. It's been a long and winding road for the two-time NBA Finals MVP.
With Leonard in the fold during the second half of this season, the Clippers have played like a team worthy of an NBA championship. Leonard can finally deliver the Clippers what they thought they were promised more than half a decade ago because he somehow remains just as stellar as ever. But given his health history, it's fair to watch Leonard while holding your breath. And if that health problem rears its ugly head again, it'll be fairer to wonder whether we've seen the last of him as a true No. 1 option for a contender.
As for Harden, the playoff stats tell the story. I'm not talking about Harden's general playoff performance, either. I'm referring to how Harden has historically shrunk in elimination games for the various teams the future Hall of Famer has played for during his career. In elimination games, Harden averages just 22.5 points (on 16 shots), 6.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists with 41.7-31.5-83.9 shooting splits.
Woof. Wait, that's a lot rougher to see laid out in print after I typed it.
If this is the version of Harden that the Clippers once again get in inevitable elimination games this year, he may likely never shake his reputation as a big-game choker. He could significantly shift this perception of him by delivering when they need him most.
Gilgeous-Alexander is this year's likely MVP. After leading the Thunder to back-to-back Western Conference No. 1 playoff seeds, some have even called the smooth scoring guard the next face of the NBA.
But, fair or not, after a 68-win campaign, Gilgeous-Alexander has to deliver an NBA title at all costs. It doesn't matter how good and deep the rest of the West playoff field is. It doesn't matter whether one of the juggernaut Celtics or the Cleveland Cavaliers may await the Thunder in the NBA Finals. If Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't win a championship this year, the scope of wider NBA public opinion will not be kind to him. He is the best player on the favorite for the title. Full stop. If the Thunder don't win it all, people will start to wonder when, if ever, the 26-year-old guard will get over the hump and win a ring. On a macro level, folks will question whether dominant Thunder regular seasons are at all noteworthy if they fall short in the crucible of the playoffs.
(Note: This would, of course, be a natural development that has happened for every MVP-level superstar on a great team in NBA history. You have to fail before you achieve ultimate glory.)
This is a climactic point in Gilgeous-Alexander's already special career. He'd better deliver.
In my estimation, Butler is an all-time great, no matter what happens the rest of his career. The 35-year-old may not have a title, but let's not discount his two separate Finals runs with the Miami Heat. Let's not overlook his capacity to elevate his game in the postseason as one of the greatest playoff risers ever. We really should appreciate these kinds of things more because they're the reason Butler's legacy is cemented in stone.
However, what if he did win a title with this year's No. 7-seeded Warriors as a trade deadline acquisition? What if he really was that special something Steph Curry and Draymond Green needed to win a fifth championship together?
In this case, we'd have a different conversation about Butler altogether. He'd no longer be the playoff riser who couldn't reach the NBA's summit. He'd be the guy who was summarily rewarded for consistent, two-way play over the course of his entire career. His place as one of the most influential NBA stars of his era would be unquestioned, and deservedly so.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Breaking down 11 NBA stars with the most to gain or lose during 2025 playoffs
Continue reading...
In the playoffs, every last shot, pass, steal, block, foul, or turnover is meaningful. Every single strategic adjustment can swing a series. There's a reason only the most talented and strong-willed players survive in a tense postseason atmosphere. There's just so much tangible pressure all around that many people (understandably) wilt like cut roses and shy away from the blinding spotlight.
Entire legacies are defined by what happens in these two months every spring for a good reason.
The 2025 NBA playoffs should be no different. On some level, I understand the tendency to shoehorn 99th percentile basketball players into a way-too-neat postseason narrative or into the overall context of their team's future. Admittedly, it's not always the best way to engage with the game. At the same time, though, these are bog-standard water-cooler and barber-shop conversations that fans of NBA basketball have all the time. And, often, the best way to actually stay informed is by watching what happens in the sample size of the playoffs.
This is, after all, when we learn who's built for big moments. They are the games that matter most.
From a team's future and a general narrative "legacy" perspective, here are the 11 NBA stars with the most to gain or lose during the 2025 playoffs.
Denver Nuggets: Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
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At this point, Nikola Jokic's reputation is stamped. Most view the three-time MVP as the best, unquestioned men's basketball player in the world. Everything the Nuggets do moving forward will be centered around maximizing the prime of the all-time great Serbian center. Everything.
This is where Murray and Porter come in. As the other two max-contract players on Denver's roster, Murray and Porter have to step up and play like they're compensated this postseason. Murray has a history of delivering in the playoffs, but has missed or been hampered by injury in three of the Nuggets' last four playoff runs. That one healthy playoff run is, not by coincidence, the one where Denver won the 2023 title while Murray featured like a top-10 player. Porter, meanwhile, is one of the best shooters in the game when he's hot and in rhythm. But he's typically disappeared against more physical and complex defenses. The Nuggets don't usually fare well when he's invisible.
If Murray and Porter play to their respective salaries and the Nuggets make a deep playoff run, they will likely be locked in as core pieces through the rest of the Jokic era in Denver. If they don't and the Nuggets disappoint, anything is on the table this coming summer. One or both of Murray and Porter could be traded away for a needed Denver roster shake-up. It would feel inevitable.
Los Angeles Lakers: Luka Doncic and LeBron James
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Realistically, at face value, Doncic doesn't have all that much to gain from this specific Lakers playoff run.
The Lakers are going to make him the long-term face of the franchise. Everyone who even follows the NBA from afar understands that Doncic is a top-five player in his prime. With Doncic in the fold, the Lakers will be relevant power players for the foreseeable future. It's just the truth.
But can you imagine how bad the Dallas Mavericks will look if Doncic does something like take the Lakers to the NBA Finals after only a few months in Los Angeles? Of course, the Mavericks couldn't possibly look any worse in the aftermath of the Doncic trade. However, with immediate postseason success, he'll only make them look sillier for ever doubting his process and work ethic.
The calculus is different for James. At the age of 40, arguably the greatest NBA player of all time remains an All-NBA-caliber talent. Frankly, it's mind-boggling that he continues to produce at a superstar level with more than two decades of NBA mileage on his body. But that's the rub here.
Just how much longer is James going to play? I recognize that he's, in some ways, superhuman and could probably play at a high level for seasons to come. Still, the logical side of me says we're looking at maybe another couple of years at most. That means there are only a few more chances for James to add a fifth NBA title to his illustrious, extended resume, which includes these playoffs. Every potential postseason defeat from here on out for James will feel monumental given what might be on the horizon for him.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Rudy Gobert
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Anthony Edwards is the Timberwolves' unquestioned young face of the franchise. The electric guard is still just 23 years old. No matter what happens to Minnesota in these playoffs, Edwards effectively has an NBA lifetime ahead of him. We might only be scratching the surface with him.
The same cannot be said for his veteran teammate, Rudy Gobert.
By next season, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year will be 33 years old. While I can see Gobert contributing well into his 30s, the reality is that a listed 7-foot-1, 258-pound man at that age probably only has a few years, at most, as an all-world defender in the paint. That also means Gobert likely has only a few more chances of being a catalyst on a potential championship team. I don't know if the No. 6-seed Timberwolves are a title contender this year. Still, the logjam of Western squads seeded from No. 2 to No. 7 is so close that it would be nonsensical to write them off entirely. Helping take the Timberwolves on another deep playoff run would do wonders for Gobert's legacy and reputation.
This spring might be one of his last opportunities to do so.
Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum
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Tatum only just turned 27, so by no means is there that much on the line for a superstar player who won an NBA title last June. With that said, a common "criticism" of Tatum last postseason was that the Celtics were so great and so dominant that they didn't even really need Tatum to excel to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
And well, I mean, Tatum's All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown did win NBA Finals MVP over Tatum. That did indeed happen.
Tatum's Celtics followed up their title run with another 60-plus win season this year. And Tatum did meaningfully improve to further establish himself as a true alpha dog in the league. If he takes the Celtics to back-to-back championships and actually wins Finals MVP in the process, there will no longer be any debate about his individual standing in the NBA. He will get all the respect he deserves.
Well, except from the trolls, but we can't control that, unfortunately.
Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo
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At this point, Antetokounmpo has been a veritable MVP-type player for seven years. The more Antetokounmpo thrives year over year, the more he has a sounder case for the arguably second-best NBA power forward of all time (no one is touching Tim Duncan, sorry). But as Antetokounmpo has dominated, the Bucks have entered basketball Purgatory.
We are now entering the second consecutive Milwaukee postseason where a team with Antetokounmpo is widely considered unserious to most observers. And if the Bucks flame out in the first round for the third straight season, the talk of Antetokounmpo potentially seeking greener pastures on a new team while he still has great basketball left will be deafening. Oof.
Antetokounmpo can do a lot to quell this discussion himself. He could simply throttle the favored Indiana Pacers in a first-round upset while demonstrating why he's so remarkable. Let's be clear: he is good enough to achieve something like that. If this Bucks team can somehow get to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, I think many folks will table the thought of Antetokounmpo moving on from Milwaukee. For now.
Los Angeles Clippers: Kawhi Leonard and James Harden
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When the Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2019, they understandably thought they would be a perennial NBA Finals contender. How could you not be when someone like Leonard, a player with one of the greatest peaks in league history, was on your roster?
Then they blew a 3-1 lead in the second round of the 2020 Bubble. Then, during the following 2021 postseason, Leonard partially tore his right ACL. Then, Leonard missed the entire ensuing 2021-2022 season while recovering from his ACL injury. Then, in the 2023 playoffs, Leonard tore his meniscus in that same right knee. Then, Leonard suffered not one but THREE setbacks in the 2024 playoffs, in United States Summer Olympics prep, and at the start of this Clippers season, respectively. He didn't make his Clippers debut this year until January.
You get the idea. It's been a long and winding road for the two-time NBA Finals MVP.
With Leonard in the fold during the second half of this season, the Clippers have played like a team worthy of an NBA championship. Leonard can finally deliver the Clippers what they thought they were promised more than half a decade ago because he somehow remains just as stellar as ever. But given his health history, it's fair to watch Leonard while holding your breath. And if that health problem rears its ugly head again, it'll be fairer to wonder whether we've seen the last of him as a true No. 1 option for a contender.
As for Harden, the playoff stats tell the story. I'm not talking about Harden's general playoff performance, either. I'm referring to how Harden has historically shrunk in elimination games for the various teams the future Hall of Famer has played for during his career. In elimination games, Harden averages just 22.5 points (on 16 shots), 6.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists with 41.7-31.5-83.9 shooting splits.
Woof. Wait, that's a lot rougher to see laid out in print after I typed it.
If this is the version of Harden that the Clippers once again get in inevitable elimination games this year, he may likely never shake his reputation as a big-game choker. He could significantly shift this perception of him by delivering when they need him most.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
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Gilgeous-Alexander is this year's likely MVP. After leading the Thunder to back-to-back Western Conference No. 1 playoff seeds, some have even called the smooth scoring guard the next face of the NBA.
But, fair or not, after a 68-win campaign, Gilgeous-Alexander has to deliver an NBA title at all costs. It doesn't matter how good and deep the rest of the West playoff field is. It doesn't matter whether one of the juggernaut Celtics or the Cleveland Cavaliers may await the Thunder in the NBA Finals. If Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't win a championship this year, the scope of wider NBA public opinion will not be kind to him. He is the best player on the favorite for the title. Full stop. If the Thunder don't win it all, people will start to wonder when, if ever, the 26-year-old guard will get over the hump and win a ring. On a macro level, folks will question whether dominant Thunder regular seasons are at all noteworthy if they fall short in the crucible of the playoffs.
(Note: This would, of course, be a natural development that has happened for every MVP-level superstar on a great team in NBA history. You have to fail before you achieve ultimate glory.)
This is a climactic point in Gilgeous-Alexander's already special career. He'd better deliver.
Golden State Warriors: Jimmy Butler
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In my estimation, Butler is an all-time great, no matter what happens the rest of his career. The 35-year-old may not have a title, but let's not discount his two separate Finals runs with the Miami Heat. Let's not overlook his capacity to elevate his game in the postseason as one of the greatest playoff risers ever. We really should appreciate these kinds of things more because they're the reason Butler's legacy is cemented in stone.
However, what if he did win a title with this year's No. 7-seeded Warriors as a trade deadline acquisition? What if he really was that special something Steph Curry and Draymond Green needed to win a fifth championship together?
In this case, we'd have a different conversation about Butler altogether. He'd no longer be the playoff riser who couldn't reach the NBA's summit. He'd be the guy who was summarily rewarded for consistent, two-way play over the course of his entire career. His place as one of the most influential NBA stars of his era would be unquestioned, and deservedly so.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Breaking down 11 NBA stars with the most to gain or lose during 2025 playoffs
Continue reading...
