Some of the NBA’s biggest stars are no longer in the playoffs

The Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs, the Phoenix Suns were swept in round one, and the Los Angeles Lakers took just one game from the Denver Nuggets. This leaves Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James all out of the conference semi-finals for the first time since 2005.

This development has been hard for many to comprehend, as Curry, Durant, and James all being alive deep in the postseason has become something NBA fans have grown used to over the last decade. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Lakers legend Magic Johnson shared his reaction to the three legends all being eliminated from the postseason:

Many feel this is the year that the younger generation has finally overtaken the previous generation, and while that is undoubtedly the case for this particular season, it will be interesting to see how this summer plays out. The Lakers, Warriors, and Suns are all likely to make changes that attempt to bring them back into contention, but it will not be easy with the younger teams continuing to rise.

All three of Curry, James, and Durant are still elite players, but their respective teams are clearly far from contention. The pressure is now on the front offices to figure out how to put their stars back in a position to contend.

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