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NBA: What Player Legacies Can Sway The Most This Season?

By Nicholas Gonzalez

May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (left) instructs guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second quarter in game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (left) instructs guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second quarter in game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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An NBA player’s legacy can change in the blink of an eye. So what players have the most to gain or lose this upcoming season?

Whether it’s an NBA MVP season, the best one of your career or an NBA Finals ring, a player’s legacy can change in an instant in the NBA.

Sometimes it might even be for the worse, by a poor playoff performance or exit. Piggybacking off that though, we explore which players have the most to lose and gain when taking the court this NBA season.

Most To Gain

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Russell Westbrook – I don’t think this one was super obvious, but I do think it’s one that should have been expected. Russell will now be on a team that still has playoff talent all by himself. Don’t get it twisted, OKC is no longer a contender but they still have a good enough roster to make the postseason.

Russell has the world supporting him as the NBA’s new underdog and hero story. If Westbrook can win an MVP and make a semi-deep run in the playoffs, he could cement his legacy and prove he didn’t “need” KD.

LeBron James – He had to make this article. Coming off of his first NBA title in Cleveland, something that was thought an impossible feat is nothing to forget. He also beat the NBA’s greatest regular season team ever in the process to that ring. He will now be the underdog in the NBA, an underdog to the NBA’s best on paper super team of all-time.

Make the finals once again and defeat the team with 2 MVP candidates and four All-NBA caliber players? Build a statue of him in every city besides Oakland.

Most To Lose 

Stephen Curry – Coming off a very poor Finals performance, the two-time reigning unanimous MVP has a lot to keep at bay. He needs to reassure everyone that he is here to stay even with KD possibly taking up some of his looks and points.

He also needs to show the blown lead in the Finals isn’t something that in his head permanently.

On top of all that, his team is expected to blow by every team this season. Dare he come up short of anything other than a ring, the criticism will ensue. Let him provide another poor Finals performance and lose, his legacy could be cemented as a “choker”.

Kevin Durant – Just like LeBron, this one was a lock. Steph’s new teammate has so much at stake this season…it’s unreal.

Kevin Durant ring chased to the max this offseason, joining the NBA’s best ever regular season team – the same one that was one minute away from going back-to-back.

Winning 73 games again will be hard again no matter how good the roster is, so that won’t impact him much. If the Warriors were to lose in anything but seven NBA Finals games, though, the debate will be that KD made them WORSE. If would perform the latter and lose, Durant would be cemented in history as a loser for not being able to capture glory no matter how good his roster is.

must read: Ranking Every NBA Team's Starting Frontcourt

What player’s legacy is at stake the most this season?

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