The NBA has entered a new era of parity, and the 2025 NBA playoffs are a perfect example. The superstars of the past generation no longer dominate the league like they once did. There are new teams on the rise, and new faces to celebrate. A new crop of stars has proved that their time isn’t the future, but now.
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LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are a few names that NBA fans have grown comfortable seeing deep in the postseason. But none of them made it past the second round, and the league’s trend points to that possibility becoming increasingly difficult.
This trio of stars can’t play basketball forever, which means their window to win is closing by the day. The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors made significant trades to give James and Curry a fighting chance. The Warriors added Jimmy Butler, while the Lakers acquired Luka Dončić. Unfortunately, neither team could capitalize.
Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards slayed both of the NBA giants en route to leading Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals. As a result, Hall-of-Fame forward Paul Pierce cites Edwards and the Timberwolves as one of the culprits for shifting the NBA into a new era.
“This is the signal of the end of an era,” Pierce said on Ticket & The Truth. “These young dudes are like, ‘Bron, Steph, KD, appreciate y’all. OKC, Minnesota, New York, Indiana, they’re like, ‘It’s our time now, fellas.'”
Pierce’s co-host, Kevin Garnett, acknowledged the turning of the tide and his opinion on the shift. “We’re in it and I love it,” Garnett proclaimed.
The narratives surrounding the playoffs have geared toward the young stars of the league. Once polarizing prospects such as Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson have grown into superstars and are responsible for claiming the spotlight. Subsequently, this is a drastic change from the chokehold James, Curry and Durant had on the league.
From 2011 to 2022, the NBA witnessed at least one of James, Durant and Curry in 11 of the 12 NBA Finals matchups. The only year that didn’t feature any of them was in 2021 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns. The 2025 NBA Finals will be the third consecutive season with no appearance from any of them.
Many people wondered how the NBA would fare once these generational stars call it quits. However, one thing the 2025 NBA playoffs have shown is that the league is in great hands for the foreseeable future.
