When the Denver Nuggets were eliminated in match 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he marked the unofficial change of guard in the NBA.
The Boston Celtics have lost Jayson Tatum for the season – and all next season – opening the way to New York Knicks to make the final of the Eastern Conference. The Indiana Pacers was again hot at the right time, easily throwing Milwaukee Bucks from Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games each.
The Minnesota Timberwolves took care of business against Lebron James and Stephen Curry on their way to the Western Conference final.
Before the NBA 2025 qualifiers, it certainly seemed that the “Face of the League” label was to be won. Now, one of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards or Tyrese Haliburton will have a real crack by winning their first NBA title.
I had the impression that the stars were aligned for the Lakers to make the NBA final. Luka Dončić’s trade came out of nowhere at the 11th hour of the season, but he allowed Los Angeles to associate two best players in the League on the same list. It didn’t work.
Likewise, the Golden State Warriors have sacrificed their future to try to continue winning significant basketball matches in the Curry era when they added Jimmy Butler to the mixture of Miami Heat. Did not work either.
The heroes of the regular regular season such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons also proved to be regular seasonal merchants – simply not talented enough to advance in series of seven very competitive games.
But it’s healthy for the league. At one point, LeBron will no longer play. Curry is probably not too far behind him. We have seen what happened to Kevin’s Superteam’s attempts in recent years.
The NBA will soon face the same problem as when Michael Jordan was officially completed. He needs a new face of the league. He needs a new Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal.
We can surely plan some of these stars in preparation. An NBA championship in the rear pocket of Gilgeous-Alexander, Brunson, Edwards or Haliburton would certainly help their torch when James, Curry and Durant would have all disappeared.
Even further, you could see realistic paths for unicorn players like Victor Wembanyama and the defensive player of the year Evan Mobley to dominate this league.
Although these NBA qualifying series had their fair share of eruptions, there is a change of guard that occurs just before our eyes. It is a young man’s league. These four remaining teams prove it.
