Which players have their reputations most at stake this postseason?
Legacies can be defined, re-defined and permanently solidified in the NBA Playoffs.
That’s because leading your team to an NBA title victory puts you in a pantheon of all-time great players – as not many can say they’ve accomplished that feat – while failing to ever even reach the Finals gives you a far more dubious distinction, that of being a player who wasn’t a winner, even despite how great they may have been at their peaks.
Unfair as that may be, oftentimes, what we remember most about legends like Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Elgin Baylor is the fact that they never won a championship.
Well, the 2020-21 NBA playoffs feature a few players who could one day be seen in the above unfavorable light, but before they do get permanently branded as non-winners, this postseason will give them another fantastic opportunity to improve their reputations forever.
Below, check out the nine players we believe have their reputations most at stake in the upcoming playoffs.