The NBA playoffs are fast approaching, and NBA stars are getting ready to make sure they show up for their teams. After all, NBA superstars have the most pressure to perform, and their performances will dictate how the season ends for their teams. Most often, superstars show up and put forth fantastic performances to spearhead their teams to victory. We crown an NBA champion every year, and there is always a stand-out performer in the squad.
More so than any other season in recent memory, there are a handful of NBA stars who need to win playoff games and capture an NBA championship as soon as this season. As unfair as that sounds, that is the nature of competitive basketball. In simple terms, players are never valued equally. Some superstars have more pressure than others to perform, or they risk being marginalized as a player and an athlete under the weight of expectation.
As a result, it is time to rank the top ten players with the most pressure in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. For a lot of these players, the time to win is right now because they are at risk of fading into obscurity and possibly retiring without an NBA championship. Most of the below players have yet to manage to win an NBA championship, while others need to prove they can enter elite status by winning the 2023 title even if they have championships. Pressure is rising on a lot of NBA stars, especially after Kevin Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Here are the 10 NBA players under the most pressure to win a championship this season.
10. Kyrie Irving
Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Kyrie Irving had a ton of pressure to win with Brooklyn over the past few seasons, especially when Kevin Durant was healthy and the likes of James Harden and Ben Simmons were on the roster. Now in Dallas, the pressure will shift away from Luka Doncic and onto Kyrie Irving yet again. The reason? Irving has failed to make an impact on the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, two teams he has played for since leaving Cleveland.
This season, Kyrie needs to prove he can be a winner for the Mavericks because playing on different teams that don’t have LeBron James and not succeeding does not look good for Irving’s legacy. Kyrie needs another NBA championship to prove he can win without LeBron, or else that stigma will be attached to him forever.
9. Paul George
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Paul George was a legitimate MVP candidate in the 2019 season, posting career highs across the board. George averaged 28.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 2.2 SPG, which were both career highs, and he finished third in MVP voting behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden. Since then, George has had the best teammate of his career in Kawhi Leonard, but the Clippers have not had a chance to win the NBA title. By most accounts, George has underperformed as a member of the Clippers because they were once up 3-1 against the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 NBA playoffs.
George is under pressure to perform because he needs to prove he can make an NBA Finals at least once in his career. The most success he has had was making the Eastern Conference Finals with the Indiana Pacers alongside Roy Hibbert and David West and the Western Conference Finals two seasons ago with Los Angeles. George is a great player, but many are wondering if he has what it takes to get to the Finals.
8. Kawhi Leonard
Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
Much like his All-Star teammate Paul George, Kawhi Leonard has pressure to win an NBA championship this season. The Claw has two NBA championships and two Finals MVPs to his name already, so why does he need another championship so urgently? Because his reputation has taken a massive hit since he has not played at least 65 games since 2017.
Leonard has not achieved anything in Los Angeles, despite having Paul George by his side. People in the media and in the fanbase are questioning Leonard’s hunger to compete because load management has been the player’s goal since becoming a Clipper. If Leonard wins a third championship, he can start making an argument for being a top-20 player of all time which is incredibly impressive.
7. Devin Booker
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Devin Booker has played on a great team for the past three seasons. He has had Chris Paul, one of the greatest point guards ever, by his side. He also had a dynamic center in Deandre Ayton down low and solid two-way wings, including Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson. Not to mention, Monty Williams is one of the best head coaches in the league.
The Suns lost in the Finals in 2021, collapsed against the Mavericks last year, and were under .500 at one point this season. With Kevin Durant on the team, Booker does not have the excuse of being a young player anymore. He must perform as the best shooting guard in the NBA because the time to win is right now.
6. Jayson Tatum
Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Jayson Tatum, at 24 years old, is the player expected to have a great postseason. This might seem unfair, but it really isn’t, considering his level of play this season and how badly the Boston Celtics defeated themselves in the NBA Finals last year. Boston really should have been better in the Finals, and Tatum did not have a great series as he averaged only 21.5 PPG on 36.7% from the field and also averaged 3.8 turnovers per game.
This season, Boston looks ready, and Tatum has been an MVP candidate by averaging 30.6 PPG. Playing well comes with a ton of positives, including respect and admiration, but also pressure to repeat this in the postseason. Tatum has an excellent squad bolstered by Malcolm Brogdon so it is expected that the Celtics will make it to the Finals again. This time, Tatum better show up.
5. Joel Embiid
Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
While James Harden has a ton of pressure to win, Joel Embiid has a load of pressure as the best player on the Sixers’ squad. Embiid and Harden are an excellent duo who can dominate the court, so there really isn’t an excuse why they shouldn’t reach the Eastern Conference Finals, at the least. The Sixers organization has done everything to make the team a contender, including adding The Beard, PJ Tucker, and De’Anthony Melton while developing Tyrese Maxey.
Embiid is the best player on the team, averaging 33.1 PPG and 10.4 RPG while making yet another All-Star team. As a big man with guard skills, Embiid is the best center in the game alongside Nikola Jokic, but fans and media want to see him dominate in the playoffs. Embiid must prove he can stay healthy and carry the Sixers to an NBA title because if not, there could be changes for the franchise, including a very possible James Harden departure.
4. Nikola Jokic
Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Nikola Jokic is on track to become a 3-time MVP, capturing all three in consecutive fashion. If he wins the award this season, he will be the first since Larry Bird to achieve this. How could a three-time consecutive MVP not be expected to win a title? Those in support of Jokic will claim he has not played with another All-Star yet, but Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr, Aaron Gordon, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are not bad supporting players.
The Denver Nuggets have been the best team in the Western Conference all season long, holding the number one seed by a 5.0 game margin. To be in the same conversation as Larry Bird means Jokic must win titles like the legendary Celtics star did, and the big man has the most pressure of his career right now to win.
3. James Harden
Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
No surprise James Harden is on this list after years of disappointing playoff exits. Harden is arguably one of the top-five offensive players of all time already, but his resume has a gaping hole. The only thing missing for a former MVP and one of the best scorers we have ever seen is an NBA championship. Harden is an all-time great regular season performer but has not made an NBA Finals since he was a 6th man with the OKC Thunder led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Harden, unfortunately, has a “choker” tag on him in the postseason due to his poor performances in the NBA Finals as a 6th man and also his inability to make the Finals with the Rockets. He also forced his way out of Brooklyn despite playing alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and now has the best offensive center in the league in Joel Embiid down low. Harden has had some all-time great teammates, and not being able to make the NBA Finals since 2012 is unacceptable. If Harden does not manage to win with the 76ers this season, he could be looking for a legitimate reunion with the Houston Rockets to see out his career.
2. Kevin Durant
Credit: Fadeaway World
Kevin Durant is the best player in the world, right after Giannis Antetokounmpo. A top-five offensive player ever, Durant has won an MVP award and four scoring titles in his regular season, along with two NBA titles and two Finals MVPs as a member of the Golden State Warriors. Of course, no player received as much vitriol as Durant when he left the Oklahoma City Thunder and joined the 73-9 Warriors.
To many, Durant’s championships have a massive asterisk beside them. Since leaving Golden State and signing with the Brooklyn Nets alongside Kyrie Irving, Durant has not been able to have any success, as he has won one playoff series. Now a member of the Phoenix Suns, Durant keeps adding elite players to his list of top teammates, and now is the time to prove he can win without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. If Durant does not win this year, there will be huge question marks of how great Durant really is.
1. Chris Paul
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Paul is considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, making 12 All-Star Teams, 11 All-NBA, and 9 All-Defensive Teams over his future Hall of Fame career. Amazingly, Paul has only played in one NBA Finals in his career, and he came up short in 2021 due to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. At almost 38 years old, Chris Paul has to win a championship right now.
The decline is evident in Chris Paul because he can no longer be the second-best player on a championship team. Luckily for Paul, Kevin Durant was acquired by the Phoenix Suns, and Paul can be the third option on the team and the primary playmaker. Paul’s window for a championship is closing fast, and he has no better time to win than alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. If Paul can’t win with those two stars and Deandre Ayton down low, his chances of being regarded as a top-5 point guard ever are forever gone.
Source: fadeawayworld
