2nd place, 5th place, 10th place. Who cares? You throwing a parade for almost winning now? If you don't come in first, guess what? You're still a loser rofl.
And basketball is a team sport. You can be incredible but if you don't have the right team and coach around you, and of course the luck of an easier playoff matchup, then sometimes it doesn't matter how good you are.
LeBron is considered by many to be the GOAT. Or second best ever. Certainly the greatest of his generation, right? Well he has 4 rings in 20 fucking years. Even the best to ever do it can only get one every 4 years on average.
Who just suddenly went from 5th-8th place one year to instant success which you define as winning it all? The only two I can think of are Curry and Timmy which have been ultra successful Top 5/Top 10 All-Time level stars
There are stages to success. Embiid couldn’t get to the next stages of 3rd/4th or 2nd. 1st place was 3 stages ahead of where Embiid peaked.
Let’s review the most recent winners of say the last 30 years?
I’m sure I’m even missing some ECF and WCF losses among these superstars before their 1st win
Jordan - lost in the ECF twice before winning
LeBron - lost in the Finals twice and ECF before winning
Giannis - lost in the ECF before winning
Dirk - lost in the Finals before winning
Hakeem - lost in the Finals before winning
Shaq - lost in the Finals before winning
Tatum/Brown - lost in the Finals and ECF before winning
Kobe - lost in the WCF before winning
Wade - lost in the ECF before winning
Curry - exception to the rule
Timmy - exception to the rule
Jokic - lost in the WCF before winning
Durant - lost in the Finals and WCF before winning
Kawhi - lost in the Finals before winning
This post was edited by MildSambal on Apr 14 2025 04:46pm