The NBA was, is and always will be a star-driven league.
There was Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the 1980s, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal in the 1990s and Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant in the early 2000s. LeBron James took over the mantle as the league’s biggest star and held on for two decades, being supported by the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. Even as players like Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic rise to prominence, the league continues to lean on James, Durant and Curry to carry the torch. However, there appears to be a changing of the guard in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. In some cases, it’s less of a changing of the guard and more of a taking of the guard.
Antetokounmpo and Embiid are no longer in the postseason but are serving as a nice bridge between the old and new. Jokic fits in this category as well. All three are still likely to be dominant as James, Durant and Curry go off into the sunset and can draw fans in while the youngsters continue to get more shine. This trio has accounted for the last five NBA MVP awards, with Jokic set to make it six in a row Wednesday evening. It’ll be Jokic’s third honor but there is unlikely to be much of a celebration for the Nuggets.
Denver, the defending champion, finds itself down 2-0 to the Timberwolves thanks to the rise of Anthony Edwards. The 22-year-old has seized his moment and taken over, averaging 32.3 points per game this postseason. The Timberwolves swept Durant’s Suns in dominant fashion before running circles around the Nuggets in Denver. Minnesota hasn’t lost yet this postseason thanks to Edwards’ play on both ends of the floor. His demeanor has reminded many in the sports media world of Jordan and Bryant, and he’s not afraid to let his emotions show on the court. It’s entertaining and more importantly, it’s winning games. Edwards isn’t the only young star who has staked his claim as the next face of the league.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a finalist for the MVP award who averaged 30.1 points per game for the West’s No. 1 seed Thunder, logged 29 points, nine assists and nine rebounds in a Game 1 win Tuesday against the Mavericks. Oklahoma City is the youngest team in the postseason but with Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, this squad has no fear and doesn’t make big mistakes in key moments. Luka Doncic, the last MVP finalist, might be down 1-0 in this series but he finally got over his arch nemesis in these playoffs as the Mavericks beat the Clippers in the first round. Both Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic are 25 years old and their second-round matchup might be the first of many thrilling series between the two. It’s likely one of these young stars will meet Edwards in the conference finals barring a stunning turn of events from Jokic and the Nuggets.
The Western Conference landscape isn’t the only one shifting. Jayson Tatum, 26, and 27-year-old Jaylen Brown have clicked beautifully for the Celtics, who were the most efficient team in the league by a wide margin and hold the overall No. 1 seed. Despite years of rumors suggesting the two needed to split, Tatum and Brown anchor a franchise that appears set to contend for championships for many years. Antetokounmpo missed the first round due to an injury but should remain a threat. Tyrese Maxey, 23, was unable to help Embiid lead the Sixers to the second round but the guard averaged 29.8 points per game in their first-round series vs. the Knicks. And then there’s the player who is taking over the league’s biggest media market.
Jalen Brunson wasn’t expected to be a superstar. In fact, the second-round pick wasn’t even expected to be a star. Despite his accolades at Villanova, Brunson was seen as a starter at best by many pundits when he was taken by the Mavericks in 2018. It became clear he was going to be a productive NBA player for a long time but there were questions about whether he could lead a franchise. The Mavericks let him go to New York seemingly without much of a challenge, and that decision has changed both franchises.
Brunson is a bit older than some of the other players mentioned but his rise to stardom has come at the same time. He helped the Knicks win their first playoff series in more than a decade last year and somehow improved on that performance this time around. Brunson has the franchise playoff scoring record and scored 40+ points in a fourth-straight playoff game when he dropped 43 on the Pacers in Game 1 of the second round. That put him in the company of Bernard King (who had the scoring record before Brunson), Jordan and Jerry West. He has scored or assisted on 321 points over the last five games, which is only behind Jokic for the most in a five-game span in NBA history. And he has made the Knicks, one of the league’s glamor franchises of the 1990s that seemingly lost its way over the last two decades, relevant again. The NBA is better when the teams in big markets are better. Brunson has done that for New York.
Even though TV ratings might not reflect this transformation just yet, this postseason will serve as a great introduction for NBA fans to the next generation of stars. Edwards, Gilgeous-Alexander, Doncic, Maxey and Brunson are just getting started. Tatum and Brown don’t appear to be going anywhere, while the MVP trio of Antetokounmpo, Embiid and Jokic should maintain their production for at least a few more seasons. Even with James, Durant and Curry out of the picture for this postseason, the league is in good hands.
We’ll see this duality more clearly at the Summer Olympics, where James, Durant and Curry will team up with Edwards, Tatum and Embiid. A gold medal in Paris might be a true “passing of the torch” moment but make no mistake: the young stars have grabbed their opportunity in this postseason and ran with it.