That noise you heard coming from the NBA was the sound of a page turning. Of one chapter ending. A new one beginning.
With the ousting of LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the first round, and Stephen Curry failing to make the playoffs, this feels — decidedly, emphatically — like a changing of the NBA guard. The league’s two most popular players of the 21st century — James and Curry — won’t be playing in May. Exciting young players are stepping into their places.
This doesn’t mean the old era is completely over, but the competitive landscape has changed. Yet, Curry’s Golden State Warriors might be better positioned to make the transition into the new future than some of the other competition built around aging icons.
For only the second time since 2011, James, Curry and Durant will not be playing in a conference finals. For the first time in almost two decades — since 2005 — the conference semifinals will take place without any of those three. They have been the dominant faces of the league for most of the 21st century, the sellers of millions of jerseys, the faces of countless sponsors.
Now, they are all missing.
In their place is an exciting new generation. It’s hard to call Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid or Jayson Tatum “new,” as they’ve been league staples for many seasons, leading their teams on deep playoff runs and — in the case of Jokic and Jamal Murray — to a title. Those leaders of the next era now are joined by Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton and others. Will Ja Morant eventually rejoin that group? Will Giannis Antetokounmpo reclaim his spot in the lead group?
Many of the newest and youngest stars are the anchors of dynamic teams in non-destination markets. They are proving the age-old adage that good drafting, wise trades, continuity and patience are the correct ways to build exciting, competitive teams.
What doesn’t seem to work: constructing a “super” team around a few big names, trying to squeeze a few additional players around those superstars, hiring a head coach who has to answer to those stars, and not having a Plan B when it all falls apart.
That was what the Phoenix Suns tried to do, with a flawed roster featuring Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. After crowing that they would be the best team in the league, the Suns never really gained traction. The superteam track is the same path James has taken more than once in his career. His pairing with forward Anthony Davis brought a bubble championship and a brief trip to the Western Conference finals last year but no sustained success.
The Warriors, in contrast, have their homegrown superstar who has not wanted to take his talents elsewhere. Curry will be the focal point of whatever happens next for the Warriors. And thanks to him, the Warriors, unlike the Lakers or Suns, have continuity and culture going for them. They know who they are. They know who their star is. They know who their head coach is. They will be making changes but not reinventing the entire recipe.
By the end, the Suns reportedly were rolling their eyes at head coach Frank Vogel. The roster made no sense. The Lakers’ Darvin Ham has faced speculation about his future all season, though many also fault general manager Rob Pelinka. Both head coaches reportedly have lost their teams and likely will be gone. Neither team has had any continuity or connectivity in recent years and it looks like neither will again in the near future.
Some are suggesting that a solution for the Warriors would be to find a way to bring in one of the old guard, to join forces with Curry for one last hurrah. That seems like a pipe dream but not completely out of the question. After all, the Warriors already inquired about James in midseason. Could they try to reunite with Durant?
It seems unlikely, but one thing has become undeniably true: leaving the Warriors was not a good move for Durant. Since his departure in 2019, he has won two first-round series. In Brooklyn, his “super” team lost in the 2021 second round and was swept out of the first round the next year, before breaking up. Phoenix won a first-round series last season, but was just swept again in the first round, booed off its own floor.
All the old players — James, Curry and Durant — will join forces in Paris this summer for the Olympics, along with another old guy, the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, though it’s hard to imagine Leonard being healthy enough to play. They’ll be teaming with the next generation, players like Tatum, Embiid and Edwards.
The biggest stars of the 21st century at least should be well rested. Because their seasons — and maybe their chapter of dominance — just ended.