In the history of NBA , there are some players who, even though their personal performance is very good, but they have met better players of the same generation, and are always defeated at their feet in the playoffs. These Players can be regarded as the real version of "Yu Sheng, He Shengliang". After all, if they were born in other eras, they may have higher achievements. So what are the typical players like this in NBA history?
Five: James and DeRozan
As a lottery pick in the 2009 draft, DeRozan soon became the team leader of the Raptors after entering the league, and the Raptors from the big ball The team was promoted to a strong team in the league and was called the "King of the North" by fans. As a retro-style forward swingman , DeRozan used his traditional CIC art to score four All-Stars and was named to the best team twice. But so far, DeRozan has not been able to make the finals, the biggest reason is undoubtedly James' unshakable presence in the East.
Since 2016, the Raptors led by DeRozan and the Cavaliers led by James have met in the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. In these three matches, DeRozan was easily eliminated by James. end. Among them, in 2016, Ridrozan finally led the Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals, but fell at the feet of James 2:4 in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the next two years, the two sides met in the Eastern Conference semifinals consecutively, and DeRozan was easily swept by James in these two matches. The current DeRozan has been transferred to the Bulls after being traded to the Spurs, and he is no longer an All-Star player.
Four: Curry and Lillard
Lillard has played very well since entering the league and has gradually grown into one of the best point guards in the league. In addition to having extremely terrifying scoring ability and range, Lillard also has the top big heart in NBA history.Often can make a lore that is enough to write in history. In other eras in NBA history, Lillard can achieve higher achievements than the current one, but in this age of point guard prosperity, Lillard has not been able to reach the height that it should have reached, at least in the playoffs. Has not been able to go further. Among them, Curry's existence is an important reason why Lillard can't play better.
In front of the Warriors led by Curry, the Trail Blazers led by Lillard have never been able to cross this mountain. In the three-year playoffs of 2016, 2017 and 2019, Lillard faced Curry's Warriors three times, and these three times ended with Lillard being eliminated easily. Among them, in the 2019 playoffs, Lillard managed to lead the Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Finals, but in the Western Conference Finals, they were easily swept by the Warriors 4-0. If it were not for Curry and the Warriors, then Lillard may have reached the finals and won the championship, thus achieving higher achievements.
Three: Jordan and Barkley
In the era of Jordan’s reign, many superstars in NBA history have become victims of the great achievement of Jordan, and Barkley is undoubtedly one of the most tragic players. one. In the 1992-1993 season, Barkley, who switched to the Suns, played one of the best seasons of his career, won the only regular season MVP of his career, and helped the team reach the finals all the way, and their finals The opponents are Jordan and the Bulls, who have won two consecutive championships.
In the finals of the year, Barkley had done his best, averaging 27 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists per game. He was the best among the Bulls' opponents in the six finals. Good individual players, and such performances have been placed in other finals or have successfully led the team to win the finals and won the finals MVP. But standing in front of him is Jordan, who happened to be at the peak of his career. The latter eliminated Barkley with an amazing 41 points per game. Since then, Barkley has never reached the height of the finals.
Two: Olajuwon and Ewing
As the four major centers in the 90s,Both Olajuwon and Ewing have good enough careers, but in terms of personal honor, the former is undoubtedly better than the latter. And if there is no Olajuwon, Ewing's historical height will be much higher than it is now. After all, Ewing's career is the closest to a championship, and his opponent is Olajuwon.
The two were the top picks in 1984 and 1985, and they met in the 1994 finals. This season was the first season after Jordan retired for the first time. Ewing led the Knicks to seize a golden opportunity to lead the team to the Finals, and their opponent was Olajuwon’s Rockets. In the end, the Knicks were led by the Rockets with a 3:2 lead. Olajuwon, who averaged 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks per game, made Ewing miss the championship. In fact, if he can only land in the NBA in the 20th century, Ewing may have won the championship.
One: Jordan and Malone
As the top five players in NBA history, Malone has been good enough in his career. However, although he won two regular season MVPs in his career, was selected to the All-Star team 14 times, and was selected to the first team of the All-NBA team 11 times, he was unable to maintain his historical status because he never won a championship. Go further. Failing to win the championship does not mean that Malone’s lead is not good. On the contrary, the Jazz led by him and Stockton is a strong team in the league all year round, but they are all due to the existence of Jordan and the Bulls. , Malone has never been able to win the championship as hoped.
In the two seasons of 1997 and 1998, Malone performed very well and led the team to the finals. In the finals of the past two years, their opponents happened to be Jordan announced his second comeback. In the 1997 finals, Malone had already played a very incomprehensible performance, but Jordan's better performance made Malone's first trip to the finals ended in failure. The following season, the two sides met again in the finals, and in the crucial sixth game, Jordan intercepted Malone at the last minute and made a lore.Personally knocked out Malone. In these two finals, Malone has achieved the ultimate. Therefore, many fans said that if he was not born in Jordan's era, Malone would undoubtedly get more personal honor and higher historical status.
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