The Lakers, eliminated by the Nuggets for a second straight season, must regroup to forge a path through the West.
They were elephants on the big stage, moths to the bright lights. Whenever basketball was at its most visible — meaning, this time of year — they were all in.
Until now. They’re all out.
Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Three of this generation’s most accomplished and watchable players, all at home.
And we’re left wondering what message this sends, these superstars well into their 30s unable to make it to May.
This marks the first time since 2005 without at least one of them reaching the conference semifinals. Yes, that’s an impressive ratio — every year since 2006, the NBA was blessed with a human ratings-buster (or two or three) well into May and very often through June.
It makes for strange times, maybe uncomfortable and uncertain as well if only because this postseason represents change and change is often awkward.
Whether this is permanent remains to be seen — all three players are still among the league’s elite despite being of a certain age (and in LeBron’s case, pushing 40). That’s a conversation for next year.
But right here and now? Everyone can agree this situation is different.
Curry was ousted in the SoFi Play-In Tournament by the Sacramento Kings. Durant was swept in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves and their star, Anthony Edwards. LeBron’s fate was only slightly less painful, getting bounced by the defending champion Denver Nuggets in five games.
Here’s what happened, where they’ve been, the highs, the whys, the lows … and what’s next.
Curry’s dynasty might … die nasty
With the Warriors eliminated after a loss to the Kings in the Play-In Tournament, how should Golden State approach the offseason?
Hail the cherubic assassin who changed or reinvented the game (your choice), served as the centerpiece of a glorious Golden State era and became the rare superstar with no haters.
Curry was all that, a magnetic force built for spring and summer basketball and regularly dominated this time of year despite being officially listed at 6-foot-2.
The Warriors’ decades-long stretch of doldrums started disappearing once he was drafted. The fun began after he lost in the first round in 2014. The Warriors won the title in 2014-15 and, aside from a few hiccups caused by key injuries, have been playoff heavyweights since.
They won four championships on his watch and reached six NBA Finals.
That’s why this season was a stunner. The Warriors are just two years removed from their last championship but plenty happened in those two years:
Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole.
Klay Thompson, a legendary shooter stripped by injuries, became more splish than splash.
Andrew Wiggins came down hard from his 2022 postseason summit.
Curry at 36 was the only constant this season — he averaged 26.4 points per game and shot 40.8% on 3-pointers — but discovered he can only do so much, especially in a tough Western Conference. The Play-In Tournament was the limit.
He and the Warriors are in a bind. The penalties for repeat luxury tax offenders are punitive. Thompson’s contract is up this summer and the Warriors are certain to play hardball in negotiations — if there are any. The young players on the roster (Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Trayce Jackson-Davis) hold promise but don’t appear as future stars.
The Warriors are the only team Curry has ever known, and he’s signed through 2025-26. That means if the Warriors fall further behind or stagnate, he won’t see many more Mays in his future.
LeBron and the sudden need for luck
Few athletes are as great in their sport as LeBron is in basketball. Honors, championships, all-time records, longevity … it’s all there.
So there’s no mystery why LeBron and deep playoff runs became synonymous. His 287 playoff games are the most in league history. Once in the playoffs, he lost in the first round only twice: in 2021 and this season. For eight straight seasons (from 2010-18) his teams reached the NBA Finals — something unmatched in today’s hoop generation.
And now, he’s at a crossroads. It’s not that the Lakers are trending backward — that won’t happen as long as Anthony Davis stays healthy and LeBron keeps thumbing his nose at Father Time. But they haven’t kept up with the competition.
Other teams are younger, fresher, rising and refuse to be intimidated by LeBron’s group. His supporting cast outside of Davis isn’t tremendously helpful and LeBron is knocking on 40’s door.
Years ago, it wouldn’t matter. LeBron was just that good. He tug-boated marginally talented Cleveland teams deep into the playoffs and even the Finals during his first tour of duty with the Cavs. And once he did get All-Star teammates (Heat, Cavs II) he was as much a part of June as humidity.
Now he’s at the mercy of the Draft, trades and free agency. And the basketball geriatric clock. He’s a free agent this summer but all signs point to an extension to stay in L.A. Unless an incoming third star comes to the rescue, LeBron must remain healthy and get plenty of luck to see June again.
Durant running out of time, teams
Kevin Durant and the Suns are facing a key offseason.
He’s the most nomadic of the three, a franchise player who drifted from one team to another, making each of them dangerous.
But if it doesn’t work out in Phoenix — and the Suns raised many red flags this season — what then?
Durant is a complex guy. He’s a hard worker, beloved by teammates, held in high regard for his supreme shooting skills and easy-going, chill nature. He wants to hoop.
Yet even at this stage in his Hall of Fame-bound career, he’s still searching for … something. He didn’t find it in Oklahoma City with Russell Westbrook, somehow bailed on Curry and a pair of titles in the Bay Area, aligned himself with the talented but enigmatic Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, and finally green-lighted a trade to Phoenix in 2023.
It might not be his last stop — he has two years left on his contract — but perhaps this is a dead end from a championship perspective. The Suns are in salary cap hell with three max players gobbling up $150 million worth of payroll next season alone.
That makes it difficult (if not impossible) to refresh the rotation and add anyone of significance.
Meanwhile, Durant is on the other side of 35. And while he remains a problem for every team in the league, he was outplayed by Edwards in Minnesota’s sweep.
He’s quickly loading up with what-ifs:
• What if he stayed with Westbrook?
• What if he stayed with the Warriors?
• What if he didn’t rupture his Achilles in 2019?
• What if his toe didn’t touch the 3-point line in that 2021 playoff game against the Bucks, which would’ve surely pushed the Nets to the NBA Finals and perhaps a title?
• What if James Harden stayed healthy with the Nets, or stayed happy, or stayed, period?
Durant couldn’t control those last three developments, but here’s another one: What if he approved a trade to someplace besides Phoenix?
It’s all rear-view mirror stuff now. Durant hasn’t made it beyond the semifinals since 2019, his last with the Warriors. There are only two questions now: will he join another team before retirement, and if not, can the Suns salvage what’s left of his prime?
A changing of the guard?
If this is it for Curry, LeBron and Durant in terms of being a constant presence on the postseason stage, can the NBA cope? Not from a financial standpoint — the league will soon ink a media rights deal worth multiple billions — but a cosmetic one?
Eventually, it will. Things were weird after Michael Jordan retired, but there was Kobe Bryant. And eventually, LeBron and Curry and Durant. There’s always someone.
Three staples of spring and summer are done with basketball in 2024, and basketball already doesn’t feel the same without them.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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