The Finals are here, and it’s time for everyone’s favorite NBA-related discussion: legacy talk! In all seriousness, while the constant yo-yoing of who is good, who is a fraud, who is dominant and who is just a “bus rider” is exhausting, the Finals are also undeniably a chance for certain players to calcify their place in league history. Special performances on this stage, win or lose, will be remembered for a long time. And we should want the best players in the game to reach new heights when the pressure is the most intense. So here’s what’s on the line for some of the major players in this series …
Stephen Curry
Even as a three-time champion, there’s a good amount for Curry to gain in this series, particularly his first Finals MVP. Steph deserved the award in 2015, and there are certainly arguments for why he should have won in ’17 and ’18 as well. That trophy cements what anyone who has been closely watching the Warriors for the last eight years knows intimately: That Curry is one of the most important players to his team in league history…
Jayson Tatum
While Boston state media has basically already made Tatum a top-five player and a better player than KD, a championship would go a long way in legitimizing those claims. A ring would also cap an absolute gantlet of a postseason from Tatum.