Every NBA player has pressure to exceed expectations, but these five, in particular, have stakes that could prove costly if not met.
Before entering every season, NBA players compile a varying list of goals they’re looking to accomplish. Some hope to take the smaller steps like qualifying for an inaugural playoff appearance. Others are thinking a bit bigger with a championship on their mind.
No matter the hopeful endpoint, these checklists set a bar to reach. The ramifications of failure are dependent not so much on how high each individual is trying to get but are based on how obtainable their goals truly were. Nobody’s going to berate a player like Kevin Love for failing to bring the Cleveland Cavaliers back to championship contention but criticism might follow Ja Morant if his Memphis Grizzlies regress from his rookie season.
That distinction is what will make the five players who appear on this list so interesting to watch throughout the 2020-21 season. Despite desires varying in difficulty, each is within reach and can reasonably be expected, which makes it all the more important for them to go out and get it.
No player is defined by any single season, but if those listed in the following slide want this upcoming year to be deemed a success — assuming COVID-19 plays as little a role as possible — there’s no getting around what needs to be done.