With the Nets getting swept by the Celtics and the Lakers failing to make the play-in, Isiah Thomas believes that Kevin Durant and LeBron James are no more the top players.
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For the past many years, LeBron James and Kevin Durant had set the standards of basketball extremely high for the NBA. Night in and night out, these two superstars would carry their respective teams on their backs and put on a show for their millions of fans from around the globe. Each of them has some ungodly skills, because of which they have managed to add several prestigious silverware to their cabinet.
However, for the first time in 15 years, we will be witnessing a postseason without LBJ or KD participating in the second round.
Also Read: Skip Bayless expresses alarm over Kevin Durant’s ‘no regrets’ statement after being swept 4-0
Bron and his Los Angeles Lakers had a miserable regular season, to say the least. Finishing the campaign with an awful 33-49 record, LAL failed to qualify for the play-in tournament.
As for The Durantula, after a pretty solid campaign, his Brooklyn Nets got swept by the Jayson Tatum-led Boston Celtics in the first round itself.
With both the stars not present in the playoffs now, Isiah Thomas believes that we need to rethink who the top current players are.
“We gonna have to do some rethinking about who’s the top”: Isiah Thomas on LeBron James and Kevin Durant
After the Nets’ elimination from the 2022 playoffs, the former Detroit Pistons legend spoke about LeBron and Durant not being the top players of the league anymore. Zeke went on to say:
“After this playoffs season, definitely we’re gonna have to do some rethinking of who the top players are because we’ve had LeBron James and Kevin Durant like in the top. And one guy got swept, and one didn’t even make the play-in. So, we gonna have to do some rethinking about who’s the top.”
“After these playoffs, we’re gonna have to do some rethinking of who the top players are. We’ve had LeBron James & Kevin Durant in the top. One got swept & one didn’t even make the play-in so.”
Agree with @isiahthomas?
(h/t @_Talkin_NBA)pic.twitter.com/42j5uoSnGq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 26, 2022
To be fair, IT does make a pretty good point here. Sure, both these guys are two of the game’s greatest who will eventually end in the Hall-Of-Fame. However, players like Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have consistently been performing well while leading their teams to success.
Although, being the cold-blooded assassins they are, we know for a fact that KD and James will come back next season with a vengeance.