These NBA stars have the most to gain this postseason

The NBA playoffs start Saturday, and the stakes have never been higher. Here are the players with the most to gain should they lead their team to a championship or valiant playoff run.

LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers 

It's safe to say his legacy is already secure. But if he were to lead the extremely short-handed Los Angeles Lakers to a first-round upset over the Houston Rockets at 41, that would be quite a feat and make his free agency this summer even more interesting.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Oklahoma City Thunder

He is seeking to do something no player has done in more than a decade: collect rings, MVPs and Finals MVPs in back-to-back seasons (the last to do it was James in 2011–12 and 2012–13). The Thunder went 64-18 and are heavy favorites to win it all (+100 according to DraftKings). Accomplishing that feat before his 28th birthday would put him on a higher all-time trajectory than any guard to enter the league since Stephen Curry.

Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets

He has been the best player on the planet for about five years, but the longer he goes without a second ring, the stranger his apex will look years from now. He'll have to really earn it this postseason, as he'll likely have to go through a Timberwolves-Spurs-Thunder gauntlet just to get to the NBA Finals. A second championship would place Jokic in the pantheon alongside (and perhaps even ahead of) the greatest modern big men — Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal.

Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs

He is 22, his Spurs won 62 games and he will likely finish third in MVP voting in just his third season. A title this spring wouldn't just accelerate his timeline — it would obliterate it. If Wemby leads San Antonio to a championship in his third season, with this young, inexperienced supporting cast, we're talking about a Michael Jordan-LeBron James career trajectory. Heck, he might even have a higher ceiling than both of them. Remember: Neither won his first title until age 27.

Jaylen Brown | Boston Celtics

He already has a Finals MVP trophy. But let's be honest: The 2023-24 Celtics were Jayson Tatum's team. Brown was the second-best player on an elite roster. This time around is much different — Tatum is back from a torn Achilles, the supporting cast is weaker and inexperienced and Brown (28.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 5.1 APG) is Boston's undisputed alpha. The Celtics are the two-seed. If Brown leads this group deep, the narrative flips permanently and we start looking at him as one of the best wings of this century.

Kevin Durant | Houston Rockets

His career is one of the stranger odysseys in NBA history. Here he is, 37 years old, still playing All-NBA-level basketball, second in the league in minutes played — we should all be marveling at his longevity and craft. Instead, we're wondering why he's on his third team since leaving the Warriors, perpetually unhappy and involved in a Twitter/X burner-account mess. 

Anthony Edwards | Minnesota Timberwolves

He put up a career-best 28.8 PPG this season and made subtle improvements to his game. Unfortunately for Ant-Man, an injury caused him to miss time just as the T'Wolves were starting to hit their stride. Thus, they're stuck as the six-seed, which means a first-round date with Jokic and Denver. While the world obsesses over SGA, Wemby, Jokic and Doncic, you'd best not forget about Ant-Man. If he finds a way to drag the T'Wolves to a third consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance, the "best player on the planet" conversation gets a fifth chair at the table.

Karl-Anthony Towns | New York Knicks

He has made the conference finals in each of the past two years — Minnesota in 2024, New York last season. Yet, when his team falters, he ends up as the scapegoat. Can he rebut that narrative this postseason? 

After another solid regular season — KAT averaged 20.1 PPG and 11.9 RPG — in which he helped New York to a three-seed in the East, the opportunity is certainly there for him. He is a matchup nightmare for the Hawks in the first round and should also have a significant offensive advantage against (presumably) the Celtics in the second round. If he finally puts it all together these playoffs and consistently brings it every game, Anthony-Towns could cement his legacy as one of the best offensive bigs of this era and become the toast of the town.

The Cleveland Cavaliers' core

Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and  Jarrett Allen must deliver this postseason. Period. If they falter again this spring, the noise is going to get deafening in Cleveland and everything will be on the table this offseason. 

Mitchell has an opt-out after next season and could demand a trade; Mobley could be used as bait in a Giannis Antetokounmpo deal. Plus, LeBron might return. 

It'll be catnip for content-crazed basketball fans, but a potentially disappointing and sad end to this era of post-LeBron Cavs basketball. A trip to the Eastern Conference Finals or NBA Finals could change all of that and keep the rumor mill vultures at bay.

Cade Cunningham | Detroit Pistons

He just led the Pistons to 60 wins and the one-seed in the East. Three years ago, the Pistons set a record for futility, losing an NBA-record 27 consecutive games at one point. Now, they're atop the Eastern Conference, and it's mostly because of Cunningham, who averaged 23.9 PPG and 9.9 APG this season. He quietly has a chance to challenge Edwards as the best American player alive if Detroit makes a deep run this postseason.

Jalen Johnson | Atlanta Hawks

He casually averaged 22.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG and 7.9 APG this season. The only other players to ever average 22 PPG, 10 RPG and seven APG in a season are Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic. That is rarified air for Johnson. 

Now comes the hard part — can he do it in the postseason when defenses are keyed in on him? The Hawks are the six-seed facing New York — one of the league's best defenses. If he can take his game to the next level and get Atlanta past New York, we'll start seeing his name pop up in all of the superstar conversations next season.