With the 1st round of the playoffs underway, a lot of teams are looking forward to moving on to the next round. Just that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns are in a precarious situation with 0-2 records. This terrifying ordeal has brought up questions on the legacies of their two leading superstars and all-time greats, LeBron James and Kevin Durant .
LeBron James has always been regarded as one of the best to ever play the game. Often in the GOAT conversation, he has not been able to match the championships of a certain Michael Jordan . This playoff matchup though, has presented a unique challenge. A 1st round exit to the Denver Nuggets would surely knock his legacy in his quest to be considered the best.
Likewise, Kevin Durant is often considered one of the greatest scorers to grace the game. However, many fans and analysts consider his two championships to be the result of being around other great players. Now. if he exits the playoffs in the 1st round, despite being part of a star-studded Phoenix Suns team, his legacy will take a massive hit.
LeBron James vs. the Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a juggernaut that won the NBA Championship last season. On their way to creating history, they dispatched the Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals. The Nuggets swept them and handed James one of the worst Conference Finals appearances in his 21 years in the league. This time, the fear is that the Nuggets are appearing to heap the same pain on the all-time leading scorer.
The excuse from last year’s Conference Finals was that, by the time they met the Nuggets, LeBron James and his teammates were battling fatigue. Moreover, the Lakers team was still not playing their best basketball. This season, however, the Lakers have had one of the best off-seasons of any team. Fixing their early season struggles, they have become one of the best teams towards the end of the regular season.
Therefore, this time, it will be inexcusable if they cannot beat the defending champions. The Denver Nuggets might have the same starting 5 as last year, however, they lack the bench production of last year. All the more a reason to knock on James’ legacy if he bows out in the 1st round. Essentially, there are no excuses this time around.
Kevin Durant staring at a playoff exit at the hands of his fan
Durant’s legacy has always had one repetitive question. Despite having superstars on all his teams, he has only won the NBA championship twice with the Golden State Warriors. Winning the title with three future Hall of Famers ensured Durant’s name goes up in the rafters. However, it has also become his legacy’s Achilles heel.
Many question why he has not been able to win titles with superstars on his other teams. The same question is the most talked about one now with the Phoenix Suns. Despite having Devin Booker and Bradley Beal alongside him, his team are already down 0-2 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In both games, the trio did not manage to come close to beating the young squad.
What makes matters worse is that Anthony Edwards leads that young squad. The rising superstar has often said that Kevin Durant is his idol. Now if the fan ends up defeating his idol despite not having the star-level firepower at his disposal, will not bode well for the 2-time Finals MVP’s legacy.
Unlike James, the criticism Durant has often faced is his leadership ability. If the Suns do end up losing in the first round, that narrative will only grow louder. After all, a great player is supposed to lead his teammates to the promised land. Therefore, a lot rides on his ability to turn the series around.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant are greats, however
There is no denying that LeBron James and Kevin Durant are two of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA. Their individual accomplishments are worthy of calling them greats. When they retire, every basketball fan who has seen them play will say that they are worthy of statues and have their jerseys retired.
But these 1st round playoff series do have the potential to make a significant dent in their legacies. They both have gone through situations in the past where they were asked to do the unthinkable. However, this time it is not that difficult a mountain to climb. It is just that their records in their respective series have made the task more difficult.
If they did play well and at least leveled the series before going into games 3 and 4, such legacy questions would not have come up. Therefore, the coming days will reveal if they can maintain their all-time great narratives.
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