NBA superstars are expected to step up, but who specifically has the biggest spotlight on their shoulders?
Not all NBA players are created equal, nor are the heaps of praise or criticism shovelled upon them. NBA superstars get the lion’s share of the good and the bad, the majority of which stems from the sample size most call the NBA playoffs.
The window is a very real concept: you either step through it, or forever sit in awe of the other side. Too many players are forever stranded at the kitchen table, staring at that damn window with a glass of now sour milk.
Let’s also scrap the “he deserved to win one.” That’s a garbage sentiment and it holds no water. Steve Nash was beloved by everyone — teammates, opponents, and fans alike. I’m not saying Nash is the greatest player ever to not win a ring, but he might be the most adored. Nash played the game right, he was selfless almost to a fault, had an incredible work ethic and still tragically left this game without the jewelry.
But no one “deserves” or is owed anything. Not in life, and not in this game of basketball that we all love so dearly.
That being said, winning a championship for a superstar could be the difference between, “Yeah, he had a great run for a few years” and, “Man, he was an all-time great.” LeBron James is the perfect example. James was the league’s best player from 2007-14, he was winning MVP awards, and the Cavaliers were winning games. but many members of the media refused to acknowledge him as the league’s top dog until he won a championship. Instead he was “soft,” or a “choke artist.”
Lebron James will be the guy who is so good, a lot of MVPS, but will never win a championship. #truestory
— Howdy (@Howdynb) June 13, 2012
That tweet, not coincidentally, came after Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals when the Heat found themselves down a game. (The Heat won the next four, in case you forgot.)
While James eventually beat the rap, not all players do. Ask anyone who watched basketball in the early 2000s and they’ll tell you Tracy McGrady was amazing and that he, “might’ve been better than Kobe Bryant.”
But he didn’t win. He produced elite numbers, he had people wondering if he was the best player in the world, but they couldn’t commit because he couldn’t get the 16 wins at the end of the season.
Kobe Bryant Tracy mcgrady and Vince carter were almost the same
— Jj (@nolimit_hustle) April 3, 2013
Current perception is a funny thing. It’s always generation-biased and it never paints an adequate view of the big picture. However fair or unfair, it’s how it is. It’s how society has always judged the sporting elite, why play the game if you aren’t playing to win.
Karl Malone and Dan Marino each hold a ton of records across their separate leagues, but few would ever argue either as the GOAT. You need at least one championship to be entered into that all-time great conversation. You don’t need three, or five, or 10, but it sure seems like until you win one, the sporting community has a hard time appreciating anything else accomplished.
Today’s NBA has a number of generational talents who have failed to receive earnest or honest admiration due to never reaching the pinnacle. It’s time evaluate which careers would get the biggest spike from a successful campaign in this years NBA playoffs.
Next: Wall