There are several NBA stars who are facing immense pressure heading into the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Which will come through?
At the end of the day, the NBA Playoffs are what ultimately matters the most and are usually what drive the narratives headed into the offseason. You could make the argument that every team faces pressure in the playoffs, but in this article, I'll break down eight star players that I believe are under the most pressure to perform at a high level and/or make a deep run in the 2024 NBA playoffs.
Let's start out with a few honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions: Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Bam Adebayo, and all of the Los Angeles Lakers
Joel Embiid is just returning from a long injury absence, so that gives him a bit of a built-in reprieve. However, Embiid hasn't had much playoff success so far in his career and the Philadelphia 76ers are in the middle of a disappointing end to their regular season. Something has to click for this team in the postseason.
Karl-Anthony Towns has seemingly thrived stepping into the 1B role behind the burgeoning star that is Anthony Edwards, but if the Timberwolves bow out early again then it might raise the question of whether that core can win it all. Adebayo has also faced criticisms (sometimes unwarrantedly) in the past for being too passive in the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers almost go without saying. Losing in the first round is naturally going to raise a lot of questions about the future of both LeBron James and the Lakers.