By Zach Harper | The Athletic, 2026-04-18 09:00:58
历史地位的讨论总是让篮球辩论圈乐此不疲。我们热衷于剖析它们，热衷于见证它们的建立与成长，也热衷于将其推倒或看着它们崩塌。
随着我们进入2026年NBA季后赛，我们将见证某些球员历史地位的建立与演变。以下是九位在接下来的几周内，其历史地位很可能因季后赛表现而发生翻天覆地变化的球员。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)，马刺
即便是在威尔特·张伯伦 (Wilt Chamberlain) 统治篮球纪录册的年代，我不确定这项运动是否见过像卡里姆·阿布杜尔-贾巴尔 (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) 这样的人物。这位瘦长的巨人在大学时期极具统治力，以至于许多人认为NCAA在1967年禁止扣篮就是为了限制他那轻而易举的得分。这迫使他开发出了“天勾”，对防守者造成了更大的杀伤。这并不是第一次因为身体统治力而改变规则（你必须在罚球时双脚留在罚球线后，因为张伯伦可以从那里直接扣篮）。
当阿布杜尔-贾巴尔进入NBA赛场时，他立刻展现了统治力。在职业生涯第二年，他就赢得了创纪录的六次MVP中的第一次。更重要的是，他在密尔沃基雄鹿队建队仅第三年时就率队夺冠。这向全联盟宣告，他们需要尽快找到阻止这个“异类”的方法。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 和圣安东尼奥马刺队的进度大大提前了。去年，当文班 (Wemby) 和马刺发现深静脉血栓将终结他的赛季时，球队战绩为23胜29负。在他出战的比赛中，战绩为21胜25负。是的，他们引进了德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)；是的，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 迅速证明了他掉到2024年选秀第四顺位是多么愚蠢；是的，他们最终拿到了榜眼签，迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 加入了一群优秀的年轻球员。
但去年这甚至不是一支附加赛球队（马刺当时距离西部附加赛区还有3.5个胜场）。从那个位置一跃成为西部2号种子是不合常理的。要相信一支核心阵容几乎没有季后赛经验的球队——除了哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes)、福克斯打过的一轮系列赛以及卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 在波士顿的一些零星出场时间——能在一年后达到这种精英水平，简直是荒谬的。但这正是马刺现在的处境。尽管球队其他成员表现出色，但这都要归功于文班亚马。
历史经验并不看好马刺这样的球队能夺冠，但文班亚马改变了这项运动。他是联盟中最好的防守者，而他职业生涯至今仅打了181场比赛。他的进攻手段不断适应对方教练所能想出的各种怪异防守和包夹理论。看着文班亚马在人堆中运球，躲避抢断的手，并思考如何在切断他路线的防守者身边扣篮，感觉就像在看《侏罗纪公园》里的迅猛龙在研究如何开门。
随着文班变得越来越强，我们一直在说“这仅仅是个开始”，但我们可能还不知道这是什么的开始。文班亚马尚未经历过一秒钟的季后赛篮球，他的许多队友也是如此。然而，他改变了太多东西，以至于考虑他在六月举起拉里·奥布莱恩杯似乎并不那么荒谬。历史和排在马刺前面的球队提供了重重障碍，但文班天生就是为了跨越这些障碍而生的。
在第三年夺冠将比他那历史性的职业生涯开局更进一步加速其历史地位的升格。文班正在我们眼前打破这项运动的常规。
谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)，雷霆
在电影《阿里》中，有一个精彩的场景：乔治·福尔曼 (George Foreman) 结束了训练正在接受媒体采访，穆罕默德·阿里 (Muhammad Ali) 悠闲地走进健身房，想要宣告自己的存在并抢走风头。阿里看到注意力都集中在福尔曼身上，便走到一组邦戈鼓前，开始有节奏地拍打鼓面。“砰-砰-砰-砰-砰-砰-砰-砰-砰-砰 砰！”他大喊道：“冠军在此！”他再次敲鼓并宣布：“女士们先生们，世界重量级冠军驾到！”他在敲鼓和高喊“冠军在此！”之间交替了三次，看着福尔曼离开了房间。
虽然谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 致力于将自己塑造得沉稳、淡定、博大且高产，但我可以想象在他的内心深处，也存在着那个场景的某种版本。如果没有巨大的自尊心和自信心，你不可能像SGA那样优秀。拥有这些是件好事。几十年来，体育界愚蠢地假装自尊心是追求卓越的阻碍。然而，当那些拥有最狂妄自尊的人获得终极成功时，我们往往最推崇他们。阿里就是这样一个完美的例子。虽然他遭受了远超常人的迫害和仇恨，但他卓越的气场从未被否认，甚至他最大的黑子也会在私下里喜欢看他开口说话。
吉尔杰斯-亚历山大不太可能吹嘘自己的能力。当被问及他在寻求连任MVP时的竞争力时，他说他会让比赛来说话。他在球场上的表现或许已经是最高调的了。由于他引发的反应，这可能是NBA中动静最大的。在对待SGA的问题上，似乎没有人能保持中立。你要么被深深折服，惊叹于他像世界顶级脑外科医生一样精准地撕碎对方防守，感叹他的比赛是多么不公平；要么就在抱怨他的骗犯规、假摔以及裁判吹罚的不公。正如我们所见，他的对手在季后赛系列赛中总是怨声载道。而想要减缓他的速度，比登月任务发生的频率还要低。
吉尔杰斯-亚历山大和雷霆队有机会做到前六支冠军球队都没能做到的事情：真正卫冕成功。雷霆已经准备就绪，SGA也准备好领导他们。他的反击动作感觉像是经过剧本编写、反复排练却又不可预测，就像一部并非由M·奈特·沙马兰导演的电影中的反转。尽管吉尔杰斯-亚历山大极具争议，但他的比赛表现已载入史册。在过去的四个赛季中，他场均贡献31.4分、6.1次助攻、5.0个篮板，投篮命中率高达52.8%。这在历史上只有迈克尔·乔丹 (Michael Jordan) 在单个赛季中做到过（两次）。吉尔杰斯-亚历山大的产量和效率水平，有助于他在篮球历史地位的讨论中向“GOAT”级别迈进。
接下来的任务是持续的季后赛卓越表现，而实现这一目标的方法就是多次赢得多个总冠军。开启如此宏大抱负的唯一途径就是尽全力卫冕。对联盟其他球队来说不幸的是，冠军在此，正是为了做到这一点。
尼古拉·约基奇在赛季中期受伤后表现似乎略有下滑。(Scott Wachter / Imagn Images)
尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić)，掘金
我在看那些有城市建筑被大面积摧毁的电影时有个毛病。我会开始分心，思考这些重大事件之后的生活。在《哥斯拉》系列电影中，我总是想到那些城市里的人们生活在恐惧中，担心它随时会回来。他们有一整套现成的警报系统，用来宣告这头“怪兽”的突然回归。
在2024年被明尼苏达和2025年被俄克拉荷马城在季后赛第二轮淘汰后，本赛季的尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić) 本该扮演这种角色，但伤病似乎让警报系统沉寂了数月。阿伦·戈登 (Aaron Gordon) 的腿筋，佩顿·沃特森 (Peyton Watson) 的腿筋，卡梅隆·约翰逊 (Cameron Johnson) 的各种小病。约纳斯·瓦兰丘纳斯 (Jonas Valančiūnas)，本身也是一头怪兽，遭遇了小腿拉伤。甚至连约基奇这个看似不可摧毁的怪物，也因为膝盖过度伸展缺席了一个多月。自从他回归后，我们还没看到他打出同等水平的历史级表现。
附加赛决出名额期间的空档给了约基奇额外的休息机会，这是他在努力带领球队争取最佳季后赛排位时所没有的。文班亚马已经崛起，卢克·东契奇 (Luka Dončić) 被视为MVP的潜在竞争者，SGA在有人夺走奖项前依然稳坐王座。约基奇场均贡献27.7分、12.9个篮板和10.9次助攻。他领跑全联盟的篮板和助攻榜。他通过传球场均创造28.2分，仅靠策应球就超过了他自己的得分。然而，无论是在讨论中还是在博彩赔率中，他都被冷落了。
现在，明尼阿波利斯、圣安东尼奥和俄克拉荷马城的警报应该响起了。从亚得里亚海中浮现的是这位塞尔维亚籍的三届MVP和前冠军，他在去年五月带领一支阵容单薄、充满戏剧性的掘金队与雷霆队拼到了第七场。现在他拥有更深厚的阵容和更强大的火力来改变那轮系列赛的命运。他也可以改变两年前对阵明尼苏达时的命运，当时人们认为掘金已经开启了围绕约基奇的王朝。
一个健康的约基奇是没人想看到的。尽管他个人表现伟大，但夺回冠军并提醒所有人，在2023年面对他和丹佛时感到的那种恐惧，对他的历史地位至关重要。即便他更在乎赛马，这对于他无疑已经加入的历史最佳讨论也很有意义。这需要多个总冠军的加持。西部各地的警报应该长鸣。如果你能从这一节中学到什么，请想象一下哥斯拉像这样参加赛马。
杰伦·布朗 (Jaylen Brown)，凯尔特人
对球队的期望和标准可能会在一个赛季的过程中发生巨大变化。凯尔特人就是一个完美的例子。
一旦塔图姆受重伤，且球队送走了朱·霍勒迪 (Jrue Holiday) 和克里斯塔普斯·波尔津吉斯 (Kristaps Porziņģis)，前文提到的“过渡年”标签就贴在了他们的脑门上。乔·马祖拉 (Joe Mazzulla) 不得不利用一套廉价得多的阵容做到最好，而无法再享受他所习惯的那种才华横溢的阵容深度。这种情况几乎立刻开始改变，凯尔特人势如破竹，重塑了人们的期望和评价。随后塔图姆从跟腱伤势中回归，打出了相当不错的表现。
然而，所有这些期望和标准都是由布朗撑起的。无论是否有“65场规则”限制，他都让自己闯入了MVP的讨论。他一直是攻防两端表现最好的球员之一，那些关于他左手能力有限的笑话现在听起来就像T-Mobile Sidekick手机一样过时。布朗已经从一个非常出色的副手变成了头号球星，而且这种转变并不是以那种多年来充斥在凯尔特人讨论中、令人厌倦的“塔图姆还是布朗？”的争论方式出现的。在本赛季的波士顿，他默认成为了头号球星，直到这成为他的标准。现在，在等待塔图姆恢复到100%状态的同时，布朗带领他们拿到了东部2号种子，并且是赢得整个东部冠军的热门。
这让人想起了他在2024年夺冠历程中的表现，他在五场击败独行侠的系列赛中表现盖过了塔图姆，而在东部决赛对阵印第安纳时，他的表现同样盖过了这位入选最佳阵容的队友。布朗赢得了那两轮系列赛的MVP，人们开始思考这究竟是波士顿拥有双核心未来的预演，还是仅仅像安德烈·伊戈达拉或托尼·帕克赢得总决赛MVP那样的“矩阵漏洞”。
指望杰森·塔图姆 (Jayson Tatum) 在本次季后赛结束前恢复到最佳阵容水准是不现实的。但布朗现在太强了，即使塔图姆没能达到那个水平，这支球队依然可以竞争甚至赢得总冠军。到那时，你就拥有了两个“蝙蝠侠”，可以对联盟其余球队大开杀戒。布朗的领导力和产量已经大幅跃升，我们将在他们的东部征程中见证这一点。在本赛季之前，仅仅出现在竞争行列中就已算是一种成就。现在布朗有机会以一种没人预料到的程度改变标准和期望，并可能在此过程中赢得第二枚戒指和第二个总决赛MVP。
延伸阅读
2026年NBA季后赛预览：为什么俄城有望卫冕，而尼克斯可能折戟。第二轮可能会变得很有趣，西部决赛可能会是史诗级的。让我们来做一些预测。
安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards)，森林狼
爱德华兹总是在丰富自己的武器库。年复一年，你可以看到他在技术上的重大进步。即便在2024年带领森林狼闯入西决后，他带着那次经历以及入选美国男篮参加奥运会的经验归来，并练就了致命的外线跳投，单赛季投中了320记三分（命中率39.5%）。这是史上单赛季第七多的纪录。这种进步如此显著，以至于人们开始怀疑他是否投得太多，从而削弱了他冲击篮筐等其他优势。
在2025年西决输给雷霆后，爱德华兹发誓要在休赛期比任何人都努力。他曾是如此充满活力且天赋异禀，但在关键时刻总是功亏一篑。独行侠在2024年西决中消耗了他，因为他既要防守对方的最佳阵容天才，又要主导进攻。他在关键时刻无法同时对抗卢克·东契奇和凯里·欧文 (Kyrie Irving)。雷霆在重大时刻包夹爱德华兹，他无法在另一端匹配SGA在收割比赛时的表现。他在那些时刻甚至很难获得出手。
爱德华兹在低位技术上刻苦钻研，提高了脚步和全场的投篮手感。本赛季回归后，他成了关键时刻的怪兽。
- 2023-24赛季关键时刻数据： 投篮命中率43.0%，三分命中率21.2%
- 2024年西决关键时刻数据： 投篮命中率42.9%，三分命中率50.0%
- 2024-25赛季关键时刻数据： 投篮命中率42.6%，三分命中率32.3%
- 2025年西决关键时刻数据： 投篮1中0，三分1中0
- 2025-26赛季关键时刻数据： 投篮命中率56.5%，三分命中率37.8%
爱德华兹不仅以更高的效率投进关键球，他还将失误率减半，仅为5.3%。他现在的关键时刻数据已经可以媲美SGA在那些胶着时刻的表现。吉尔杰斯-亚历山大一直是爱德华兹追赶的目标，他想要达到吉尔杰斯-亚历山大的水平，击败他并超越他。你可以看到他付出的努力，成果也开始显现。然而，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大已经在季后赛证明过自己，并找到了带领球队实现终极目标的方法。
这是爱德华兹尚未做到的事情，今年除了爱德华兹自己，没人认为森林狼有能力达到那个高度。他那坚定的自信和垃圾话继续拔高着人们对未来的期待。他确实付出了努力，另一次深远的季后赛之旅，尤其是如果能爆冷挺进总决赛，将使他的历史地位跃升到另一个层次。
凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant)，火箭
对某些人来说，凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 的历史地位就像这位未来名人堂成员被指控的社交媒体小号一样令人焦虑。杜兰特起初是一名惊人的新秀，很快就让自己从众多历史级的建队基石中脱颖而出。当勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James) 离开克利夫兰前往迈阿密，与朋友组队追求冠军时，杜兰特被标榜为“以正确方式做事”的球星。他低调地签署了续约合同留在俄城，没有为了大城市的繁华而离开小市场。他与拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克 (Russell Westbrook) 培养出超级双人组，致力于为选中他的球队带来一两座奖杯。他曾是忠诚的化身。
随后，杜兰特在2016年加盟了那支73胜9负的金州勇士队。他被指责“走捷径”，成为了NBA最受憎恨的球星和反派之一。他的Q值暴跌，而他总是愿意在社交媒体上煽风点火，争论你应该如何看待他，或者你为什么要这么想。
在充满争议地离开金州后，杜兰特追求更多冠军的旅程并不顺利。他没能为自己的两枚戒指和两个总决赛MVP再添新功。在布鲁克林，他距离改变对阵密尔沃基的历史进程只差半个鞋码。随后他来到菲尼克斯，与德文·布克 (Devin Booker) 和克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 联手。在第二轮出局后，保罗被换成了布拉德利·比尔 (Bradley Beal)。杜兰特和太阳在那两个赛季没能赢下一场季后赛，去年甚至无缘季后赛。
这为杜兰特前往休斯顿铺平了道路，他的任务是教会年轻的火箭队如何赢球，以及如何在关键时刻得分。现在还不到一个完整的赛季，人们已经准备好将KD的存在称为某种诅咒。社交媒体小号指控再次出现，且并未被断然否认。无论真假，从外界看来，球队的化学反应和执行力似乎有所减弱。火箭似乎没有变得更好，虽然进攻有所提升，但他们在比赛末尾显得不知所措。有时，史蒂文·亚当斯 (Steven Adams) 和弗雷德·范弗利特 (Fred VanVleet) 的缺阵似乎比杜兰特的存在更重要。
杜兰特在此时此刻不需要证明任何事情。他是我们见过的最伟大的得分手之一，也是最伟大的球员之一。即便人们不喜欢他的职业选择，杜兰特的历史地位也不应受到质疑。然而，火箭队如果早早出局，会让很多人怀疑他现在究竟是一个沉重的负担，还是一个答案。
对于卡尔-安东尼·唐斯和尼克斯来说，这是一个重大的季后赛。(Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)
卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns)，尼克斯
去年，我们进入季后赛时在想，闯入总决赛对杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 意味着什么。他已经是尼克斯队史上最受欢迎的球员之一，球迷群体对他似乎有着100%的支持率。如果布伦森能带领尼克斯自1999年以来首次闯入总决赛，他的历史地位将成为一个巨大的话题。如果他们真的夺冠了？那对他NBA历史地位的影响以及他在尼克斯队史地位的提升将是不可估量的。
这个等式的另一部分在于尼克斯的大个子唐斯。他在尼克斯队史中的地位处于一个完全不同的领域。他在这里打了两个完整的常规赛，经历了一次深远的季后赛。他在2024-25赛季前夕被意外交易过来，并在那两个赛季经历了两位不同的主教练。唐斯展示的技术水平本应让他成为NBA最危险的大个子之一。在某些夜晚，确实如此。但在其他夜晚，唐斯对球迷造成的挫败感，几乎达到了一个优秀球员所能达到的极限。
唐斯很快就有资格签下续约合同，但他在球队的未来可能并不由他决定。这可能完全取决于这次季后赛的走势。关于扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo) 的传闻已经传了一阵子了，将“希腊怪兽”带到尼克斯最简单的方法就是在交易中将唐斯送回密尔沃基。但这也会给阵容构建带来问题，除非你能说服扬尼斯他是个中锋（尽管有些尼克斯球迷可能会争辩说，有时很难让唐斯相信他是个中锋）。如果唐斯能让东部各队的内线付出代价并打出深远的季后赛表现，或许能向尼克斯证明，不值得为了追求一个接近35岁、且会改变现有成熟体系的MVP候选人而去折腾复杂的交易和阵容逻辑。
唐斯在第一轮的对手是亚特兰大的奥涅卡·奥孔古 (Onyeka Okongwu)。如果尼克斯进入第二轮，他将面对尼库拉·武切维奇 (Nikola Vučević) 和尼米亚斯·克塔 (Neemias Queta)。如果尼克斯挺进第三轮，对手可能是进步巨大的杰伦·杜伦 (Jalen Duren)。如果唐斯能避免愚蠢的进攻犯规，加强防守和篮板，并在进攻端成为对手的噩梦，他将拥有巨大的优势。当然，也有可能迈克·布朗 (Mike Brown) 决定撤下唐斯，转而使用他更熟悉的方案——米切尔·罗宾逊 (Mitchell Robinson) 的进攻篮板和护筐。
这要么是唐斯在尼克斯传奇地位的伟大开端，要么就是他前往新目的地的序曲。一如既往，这在很大程度上取决于他自己。
多诺万·米切尔 (Donovan Mitchell) 和 詹姆斯·哈登 (James Harden)，骑士
将米切尔和哈登放在一起讨论是有道理的，因为骑士队正试图弄清他们在东部究竟处于什么位置。他们本该和尼克斯一起排在东部前列，争夺总决赛席位。然而，活塞队实现了反超，而凯尔特人证明了他们依然遥遥领先于克利夫兰。骑士在过去的三个季后赛中都表现平平（有时是因为借口，有时是因为尴尬，有时两者兼有）。但去年的骑士队赢下了64场比赛，看起来已经准备好登上东部王座，最终的表现却最令人费解。
米切尔的季后赛履历既有辉煌的高光，也有令人失望的低谷。去年，他看起来已经准备好打破任何负面趋势。不幸的是，他的骑士队友们还没准备好。有人在场上畏首畏尾，有人受伤，有人似乎不想拥抱那个时刻。随后，骑士决定在交易截止日前做出改变，用达里厄斯·加兰 (Darius Garland) 换来了詹姆斯·哈登 (James Harden)。
延伸阅读
骑士队的组建和薪资都是为了赢在当下。他们能达到预期吗？克利夫兰可以通过一次总决赛之旅让质疑者闭嘴。但如果再次折戟，未来将充满变数。
骑士在控卫位置上的年龄增加了十岁，但获得了一位史上最顶尖的进攻球员。哈登依然能在睡梦中完美地策划挡拆，并且能在一场又一场比赛中帮助米切尔分担进攻重任。尽管加兰很有天赋，但由于脚趾问题，他在过去一年多的可靠性并不高。唯一的问题是？哈登的季后赛表现很少能匹配他历史级的名声和常规赛表现。他的数据不错，也有过深远的季后赛征程，但被人们记住的往往是那些出局的方式。
哈登经常在生死战中表现缩水，呈现出与人们对这位传奇进攻武器的预期完全不符的、令人困惑的游离感。队友换了一波又一波，但类似的失利却一再上演。
这种存在能否纠正骑士的航向？与米切尔搭档后场能否解决他们两人在季后赛折戟的问题？我们即将揭晓，两个近期的季后赛负面因素是否能产生正正得利的效果。
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：NBA playoffs legacy watch: 9 players we might view differently once postseason ends
NBA playoffs legacy watch: 9 players we might view differently once postseason ends
Legacies make the debate world go ’round. We love to dissect them. We love creating them and watching them grow. We love to tear them down or watch them crumble.
As we enter the 2026 NBA playoffs, we’re going to see legacies created and evolve for certain players. Here are nine players whose legacies seem likely to change drastically over the next few weeks, depending on how their postseasons go.
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
Even with Wilt Chamberlain dominating the basketball record books, I’m not sure the sport had ever seen someone like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The lanky giant was so dominant in college that many believe the NCAA’s ban on dunking in 1967 was to curb just how easily he scores. It forced him to develop the skyhook, which damaged defenders even more. It wasn’t the first rule change due to physical dominance. (You have to keep both feet behind the free-throw line on a free-throw attempt because Chamberlain could dunk from there.)
When Abdul-Jabbar hit the NBA scene, he was dominant right away. In his second year, he won his first of an NBA record six MVP awards. And more importantly, he led the Milwaukee Bucks to a championship in just their third year of existence. It was an instant announcement that the league needed to quickly find answers for stopping this anomaly.
Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are way ahead of schedule. Last year, the Spurs were 23-29 when Wemby and the Spurs found out about the deep vein thrombosis that ended his season. They were 21-25 in the games he played. Yes, they added De’Aaron Fox. Yes, Stephon Castle quickly showed how foolish it was for him to fall to fourth in the 2024 draft. Yes, they ended up with the second pick, and Dylan Harper joined a great group of young players.
But this wasn’t even a Play-In Tournament team last year (The Spurs were 3 1/2 games out of the Play-In in the Western Conference). To leap from that to the No. 2 seed in the West is irrational. To believe a team with next to no playoff experience in its core — aside from Harrison Barnes, one series from Fox and some spot minutes for Luke Kornet in Boston — would be this elite one year later is absurd. That’s where the Spurs find themselves. And as good as the rest of the team has been, it’s because of Wembanyama.
History speaks against a team like the Spurs being able to win the title, but Wembanyama changes the sport. He’s the best defender in the league, and he’s only played 181 career games. His offensive game keeps adapting to every junk defense and coverage theory opposing coaches can conjure. Seeing Wembanyama handle the ball in traffic, avoid swiping hands and figure out how to dunk around defenders who have cut him off feels like watching the raptors in “Jurassic Park” figure out how to open doors.
We keep saying, “It’s only the beginning,” as Wemby is getting better and better, but we might not know what it’s the beginning of. Wembanyama has yet to experience one second of playoff basketball, nor have many of his teammates. And yet, he changes so much that it doesn’t seem so preposterous to consider him hoisting up the Larry O’Brien trophy in June. History and the teams in front of the Spurs offer up plenty of hurdles. But Wemby is literally built to step over those hurdles.
A championship in his third year would accelerate the legacy stuff even more than his historic start to his career already has. Wemby is breaking the sport in front of our eyes.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
In the movie “Ali,” there’s a great scene when George Foreman has finished his workout and is speaking to the media, and Muhammad Ali saunters into the gym and wants to announce his presence to overtake the moment. Ali sees the attention pointed toward Foreman, walks over to a set of bongos and starts rhythmically slapping down on the drum heads. “Bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum BUM” and he screams out, “The champ is here!” He raps again on the drums and proclaims, “Ladies and gentlemen, the heavyweight champion of the world has arrived!” He alternates between the drums and chanting, “The champ is here!” three more times as he watches Foreman leave the room.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has committed to portraying himself as even-keeled, unaffected and as profound as he is prolific, I imagine somewhere in his heart and soul lies some version of that scene. You can’t be as good as SGA without having a tremendous ego and confidence. And that’s a good thing to have. For decades, sports society foolishly pretended that ego was a bad thing in excelling at the thing you do. However, we celebrate those with the loudest ego the most when they’ve found the ultimate success. Ali was a beautiful example of that. While he faced more than his fair share of persecution and hatred, the aura of his excellence could never be denied, and even his biggest detractors secretly loved it when he opened his mouth.
Gilgeous-Alexander is unlikely to boast about his abilities. Asked about his candidacy as he tries to repeat as MVP, he said he’d let his game do the talking. His game on the court is maybe the loudest it can get. It might be the loudest in the NBA because of the reactions he elicits. Nobody appears to be neutral when it comes to SGA. You’re either super impressed, exclaiming how unfair his game is as he shreds opposing defenders with the precision of the top brain surgeon in the world. Or you’re yelling about the foul-baiting, the flopping and the unfairness of how referees officiate him. His opponents are very outspoken during playoff series, as we’ve seen. And slowing him down happens more infrequently than the missions to the moon.
Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder have a chance to do what we haven’t seen from the previous six championship winners: Actually defend their title. The Thunder are set up to do it, and SGA is set up to lead them. His counters feel scripted, rehearsed and unpredictable at the same time, like a twist in a movie not created by M. Night Shyamalan. As polarizing as Gilgeous-Alexander can be, his game is already historic. Over his last four seasons, he’s averaging 31.4 points, 6.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds and making 52.8 percent of his shots. That’s something only Michael Jordan has done in a season (twice). Gilgeous-Alexander is at a level of volume and efficiency that helps add to someone’s status as the GOAT when it comes to basketball discussions.
What has to come next is continued playoff excellence, and you do that by winning multiple championships multiple times over. The only way to start having such audacious aspirations is to defend your titles as much as you can. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, the champ is here to do just that.
Nikola Jokić seemed to take a slight turn after a midseason injury. (Scott Wachter / Imagn Images)
Nikola Jokić, Nuggets
I have a problem when it comes to watching movies where there is mass destruction of buildings in cities. I start getting distracted and wonder about life after these massive events. One thing I always think about in “Godzilla” movies is the living fear from the people in those cities that he’s going to come back at some point. They have entire alert systems on the ready to announce the sudden return of this kaiju.
After being eliminated from the playoffs in the second round by Minnesota in 2024 and OKC in 2025, that was supposed to be Nikola Jokić this season, but injuries have seemingly kept the alert system quiet for months. Aaron Gordon’s hamstring. Peyton Watson’s hamstring. The various ailments of Cameron Johnson. Jonas Valančiūnas, a kaiju in his own right, had a calf strain. Even Jokić himself, a seemingly indestructible monster, missed over a month with a hyperextended knee. And we haven’t seen him play quite the same level of historic basketball since he returned.
The downtime as the Play-In Tournament fleshed itself out gives Jokić a chance to get the extra rest he hasn’t had as he’s been trying to drag his team to the best playoff positioning possible. Wembanyama has emerged. Luka Dončić was talked about as a sneaky MVP candidate. SGA remains crowned until someone snatches the award from him. Jokić averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.9 assists. He led the NBA in both rebounding and assists. He created 28.2 points per game with his passing, surpassing his own scoring just by slinging the ball around the court. And yet, he fell by the wayside, both in discussion and betting odds.
Now, the alarms in Minneapolis, San Antonio and Oklahoma City should be sounding. Emerging from the Adriatic Sea is the Serbian three-time MVP and former champion who took a thin, drama-torn Nuggets squad to a seventh game last May against the Thunder. He has more depth on the roster and more firepower around him to change the fortunes of that series. He can also change the fortunes of the series against Minnesota two years ago, when it was assumed the Nuggets had begun a dynasty around Jokić.
A healthy Jokić is something nobody wants to see. And as great as he is individually, reclaiming the title and reminding everybody of the dread they felt in facing him and Denver in 2023 is important to his legacy. Even if he cares more about horse racing, it will matter for the all-time discussions he has undoubtedly joined. That comes with multiple championships. And those alarms around the West should be blaring. If you take anything from this section, please just imagine Godzilla racing horses like this.
Jaylen Brown, Celtics
Expectations and standards for teams can change dramatically over the course of a season. The Celtics are a perfect example of this.
That aforementioned “gap year” label was slapped right on their forehead once Tatum was seriously hurt and they sent Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis elsewhere. Joe Mazzulla was going to have to make the best of a much cheaper roster and not be afforded the depth of brilliant talent he was used to. That started to change almost instantly, and the Celtics were rolling and reshaping their own expectations and narrative. Then Tatum came back from his Achilles injury and started playing pretty good basketball.
All of these expectations and standards have been held up by Brown, though. He’s thrust himself into MVP conversations, 65-game rule or not. He’s been one of the best players on both ends of the court, making jokes about his limited left hand feel as outdated as a T-Mobile Sidekick. Brown has gone from a pretty good sidekick to the main guy, and not in a way that brings up the tired conversations of “Tatum or Brown?” that lazily littered Celtics discussions for years. He was the main guy in Boston this season by default until it became his standard. Now, as they await getting Tatum back to 100 percent, Brown has led them to the No. 2 seed in the East, and they’re a favorite to win the entire conference.
It brings back the memories of his play during the 2024 championship run, which saw him eclipse Tatum’s production in the five-game series win over the Mavericks after he eclipsed his All-NBA teammate’s production in the Eastern Conference finals against Indiana. Brown won MVP for both series, and people started wondering if this should be considered a glimpse of the future with Boston having two No. 1s, or if this was just one of those glitches in the matrix — like when Andre Iguodala or Tony Parker won NBA Finals MVP.
It’s not reasonable to expect Tatum to return to his All-NBA form by the end of this playoff run. Brown is so good now, though, that Tatum doesn’t have to be that for this team to contend for and maybe even win the championship. At that point, you have two Batmans, and you get to wreak havoc on the rest of the league. Brown’s leadership and production have vaulted up, and we’ll see it on display during their run in the East. Before this season, just showing up to the race would’ve felt like an accomplishment. Now Brown has a chance to change the standards and expectations to a degree nobody foresaw, and maybe earn a second ring and a second NBA Finals MVP in the process.
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Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
Edwards is always adding to his game. Year after year, you can see one major addition to what he does. Even after leading the Wolves to the conference finals in 2024, he came back from that experience, plus the experience of being on Team USA in the Olympics, and added a lethal outside jump shot, making 320 of them (at a 39.5 percent clip). That’s the seventh most in a season. It was such a remarkable jump that people actually started wondering if he was taking too many of them, detracting from his other strengths, like attacking the basket.
After losing to the Thunder in the conference finals in 2025, Edwards vowed to work as hard as anybody in the offseason. He was so dynamic and special a talent, but he kept coming up short in clutch situations. The Mavericks wore him out in the 2024 conference finals, as he tried to guard All-NBA talent and lead on offense. He couldn’t match Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving in the clutch. The Thunder swarmed Edwards in big moments, and he couldn’t match what SGA was giving on the other end to close things out. He barely even got shots up in those moments.
Edwards worked tirelessly on his post game, improving footwork and touch from all over the floor. He’s come back this season as a monster in the clutch.
- **2023-24 clutch numbers:**43.0 percent from the field, 21.2 percent from 3-point range
- 2024 WCF clutch numbers: 42.9 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from 3-point range
- 2024-25 clutch numbers: 42.6 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from 3-point range
- 2025 WCF clutch numbers: 0-of-1 from the field, 0-of-1 from 3-point range
- 2025-26 clutch numbers: 56.5 percent from the field, 37.8 percent from 3-point range
Edwards isn’t just making big shots at a much higher rate. He’s cut his turnover rate in half, only giving it up 5.3 percent of the time. His clutch numbers now resemble what SGA can do in those tight moments. Gilgeous-Alexander has been a known target of Edwards, as he wants to get to that level Gilgeous-Alexander has reached, beat him and exceed it. You can see the work being put in and the results starting to show. However, Gilgeous-Alexander has done it in the playoffs and figured out how to bring his team to the ultimate goal.
That is something Edwards has yet to do, and nobody has the Wolves as capable of getting to that point this year — except maybe Edwards, whose unwavering confidence and trash talk continue to raise the bar for what’s next. He’s definitely put in the work, and another deep playoff run, especially by shocking the world beyond a conference finals appearance, would vault his legacy into another stratosphere.
Kevin Durant, Rockets
For some, Kevin Durant’s legacy is as angsty as an alleged burner account from the future Hall of Famer. Durant started out as a spectacular prospect who quickly set himself apart from many historic franchise cornerstones. And as LeBron James moved on from Cleveland to Miami, where his friends were going to be his teammates to chase titles, Durant was hoisted up as the star “doing it the right way.” He quietly signed his extension to stay in OKC and wasn’t leaving the small-town market for bigger and brighter lights elsewhere. He was cultivating his own superstar tandem with Russell Westbrook in a quest to bring a championship or two to the franchise that drafted him. He was loyalty personified.
Then Durant left for the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in 2016. He “took the easy way out” and became one of the villains and most hated stars of the NBA. His Q rating plummeted, and he was always willing to take it to social media to stoke fires and argue about what you should think of him or why you should think it.
Since leaving Golden State under contentious terms, things have not really worked out for Durant and the quest for more championships. He hasn’t been able to add to his two rings and two NBA Finals MVPs. In Brooklyn, he was half a shoe size away from changing the course of history against Milwaukee. Then he found his way to Phoenix, teaming up with Devin Booker and Chris Paul. After a second-round exit, Paul was essentially swapped out for Bradley Beal. Durant and the Suns didn’t win a playoff game in those two seasons and missed it altogether last year.
That created Durant’s pathway to Houston, tasked with showing the young Rockets how to win and how to score when it matters. It hasn’t even been a full season, and people are ready to call KD’s presence some kind of curse. The social media burner account allegations have come back and weren’t outright denied. Whether or not they’re true, the team chemistry and execution appear to have waned from the outside looking in. The Rockets haven’t seemingly gotten any better, and while their offense has improved, the Rockets are lost at the end of games. The absences of Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet appear to matter more than the presence of Durant at times.
Durant doesn’t need to prove anything at this point. He’s one of the greatest scorers we’ve ever seen and one of the greatest players we’ll ever see. And even if people don’t like his career choices, Durant’s place in history should not be questioned. And yet, an early exit for these Rockets will leave plenty of people wondering if he’s now an albatross more than an answer.
It’s a huge postseason for Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks. (Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)
Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks
Last year, we went into the playoffs wondering what an NBA Finals run would mean for Jalen Brunson. He’s already one of the most popular Knicks players of all-time, and the fan base seems to have a 100 percent approval rating across the board. Brunson’s legacy would be a massive talking point if he could get the Knicks to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. And if they actually win the title? What that would mean to his place in NBA history and how he’s viewed as an all-time Knick would be nearly immeasurable.
The other part of this equation lies with the Knicks’ big man, Towns. His placement in Knicks lore is in a very different area. He’s been there two full regular seasons and one deep playoff run. He was a surprise acquisition right before the 2024-25 season and has had two different head coaches in those two seasons. The skill set Towns is able to display should have him as one of the most dangerous big men in the NBA. And on some nights, it looks that way. But on the other nights, Towns appears to frustrate the fan base about as much as a good player can.
Towns is eligible for a contract extension soon, but his future with the team might not be up to him. It might be entirely based on how this playoff run goes. The Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors have been there for a bit, and the easiest way to put the Greek Freak on the Knicks is to send Towns back to Milwaukee in a trade. But that also creates its own problems with roster construction, unless you can convince Giannis he’s a center (although some Knicks fans might argue that it’s sometimes difficult to convince Towns that he’s a center). A deep playoff run, with Towns making the interiors of the East pay, might show the Knicks that it’s not worth the difficult trade and roster logistics to chase an MVP candidate who is approaching his mid-30s and creates more shifts in what you already have constructed.
Towns has Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu as his big man matchup in the first round. If the Knicks get to the second round, he’ll have Nikola Vučević and Neemias Queta. If the Knicks progress to the third round, it could be the greatly improved Jalen Duren. There’s a lot for Towns to have an advantage over if he’s able to stay away from the dumb offensive fouls, play a little defense, rebound and be a matchup nightmare on offense. There’s also a decent chance Mike Brown decides to pull Towns to just go with what he knows — Mitchell Robinson’s offensive rebounding and rim protection.
This could either be the start of something great for Towns and his Knicks legacy, or the start of his departure to somewhere new. That’s kind of up to him, as always.
Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, Cavaliers
Combining Mitchell and Harden as the Cavs try to figure out who and where they are in this Eastern Conference makes sense. They were supposed to be at the top of the conference with the Knicks, battling it out for who would earn a berth to the finals. Instead, the Pistons leapfrogged the Cavs, and the Celtics have proven to still be far ahead of what Cleveland can be. The Cavs have fizzled out in the last three postseasons (sometimes with excuses, sometimes with embarrassment, sometimes with both). But last year’s Cavs, who won 64 games and looked primed to ascend to the throne of the East, were the biggest head-scratcher.
Mitchell’s playoff legacy has seen brilliant highs and disappointing lows. Last year, he looked like he was ready to buck any negative trends. Unfortunately, his Cavs teammates weren’t ready to join him. Guys froze. Guys got hurt. Some didn’t seem to want to embrace the moment. Then the Cavs decided to change things up before the trade deadline and traded Darius Garland for James Harden.
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The Cavs aged their point guard situation by a decade but acquired one of the best offensive players we’ll ever see. Harden is still brilliant at orchestrating a pick-and-roll to perfection in his sleep and is someone who could show up game after game to help shoulder the offensive responsibility with Mitchell. As talented as Garland is, that reliability wasn’t there over the last year-plus due to toe issues. The one problem? Harden’s playoff showings have rarely matched his historic reputation and performance in the regular season. His numbers are good. He’s had some deep runs. The exits, though, are what get remembered.
Harden has often shrank in the elimination games, offering up entirely confusing detachments from what you’d expect of a legendary offensive weapon. Teammates were switched out, yet the same types of losses were endured.
Is that the presence that corrects the Cavs? Does being in the same backcourt as Mitchell solve both of their problems when it comes to the postseason shortcomings? We’re about to find out if two recent postseason negatives will now make a positive.
By Zach Harper, via The Athletic