10 NBA players approaching their last chance in 2017-18

As we approach the 2017-18 NBA season, here’s a look at 10 notable players who could be approaching their last chance to remain relevant in the league.

More than perhaps any other sports league, the NBA is cyclical. Championship contenders normally don’t last beyond a 3-5 year window, bottom-feeders can rise to prominence with smart drafting and savvy moves in free agency, and middle-of-the-pack teams can either join the elite with a smart navigating or quickly fall off the map with a single bad investment.

It’s an endless pattern. The tanking teams of today stand a good chance of being the title contenders of tomorrow, and vice versa.

A big part of that is the natural embrace of Father Time as he turns rising superstars into living and eventually, into respected but washed up names whose talents are all but diminished before calling it a career.

Unfortunately, not all NBA players get to follow that preferred path from rising star to retiring legend. Many careers flame out long before then, while others never come close to those same heights before they abruptly find themselves out of the league.

Related Story: 15 NBA players looking to shed injury-prone label in 2017-18

Whether it’s due to injuries, getting older, young talents never panning out or crowded rotations draining their confidence, plenty of NBA players drop out of the league every year, either signing a contract overseas or unwillingly committing to retirement as they permanently fade from teams’ radars.

Heading into the 2017-18 NBA campaign, here’s a look at 10 notable players who could be approaching their last chance to be relevant players in a team’s rotation…or possibly approaching their last chance to be on an NBA roster at all.