In the second round of the playoffs this season, some of the top players of the league in the past have basically gone home from vacation, like Harden, Durant, James, and Curry. In the past, they all fought until the final chapter of the season journey, and Curry and James have met in the finals for four consecutive years.
The names of the league's star players have changed from wave to wave. Jokic, Edwards, Alexander and others have also played wonderful games. Harden, Durant, James, and Curry have brought impressive precious memories to the fans at their peak. Now, in the later life, they are facing the situation that the younger generation has taken away the "baton", Just as they originally challenged their predecessors, they have become idols and role models of others over the past decades.
What is the winning rate of career playoffs of Harden, Durant, James and Curry respectively? Let's take the time machine to see their spirit, ups and downs!
Harden
Playoffs: 166
Winning rate: 52.4%
Average field data: 22.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.6 steals
Harden has been in the NBA for 15 years since he entered the NBA in 2009. During this period, he has never missed the playoffs. He is the player who has been in the playoffs for the longest time in a row and can also rank the seventh in history.
Harden has experienced many transformations and achieved good results. Early in his career, he served as the sixth person in Thunder. He helped the team reach the finals in 2012, and then went to the Space City. After becoming the absolute core of the team, Harden has lived up to the trust of the management, released the top offensive energy of the league, reached the third consecutive goal, and achieved 30+points in 32 consecutive games, 30 consecutive games ranked second only to Chamberlain in NBA history.
The Rockets with Harden as the core have become one of the league's giants. During his time with the Rockets, Harden led the team to refresh the team's best regular season record to 65-17, and helped the Rockets to advance to the West Duel twice. Before that, the Rockets went to the West Duel back to the 1990s when Olajuwon was the team's leader.
In 2015, the Rockets could contribute 25.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.4 steals in the second round of the playoffs, helping the team achieve a comeback against the Clippers when they were 1-3 behind in the overall score, and finally reached the Western Conference. In 2018, Harden helped the Rockets to advance to the west. In the first two rounds of the series, Harden averaged 29 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 2.4 steals 1.2 blocks, and 28 points, 5.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 2.2 steals, making it easy for the Rockets to end the fight in five games and complete the promotion.
Harden's team has never experienced sweeping. Even after being affected by injuries such as hamstring injury, his explosive power is not as good as before and after gradually increasing as an organizer rather than a key player, Harden can still influence the game through his own play, to a certain extent, keep the lower limit of the team at a relatively high level. However, In key games, he sometimes falls off the chain, which is not seldom criticized by fans. This is the reason why the winning rate of the playoffs is reduced to 52.4%.
Harden has been a veteran in the NBA for 15 years. He is still the best player in the league and one of the organizers. Harden can often create a team with playoff strength around him. But as he gets older, it may be difficult to form a team with Harden as the core to compete for the championship.
Durant
Playoffs: 170
Winning rate: 59.4%
Average field data: 29.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1 steals, 1.2 covers
The former Durant is also known as the "genius monster" and "epoch-making player". He is 2.08 meters tall, but has extremely soft touch. He skillfully mastered the dribbling and breakthrough technical movements of a large number of outside players. When he entered the league, a number of former "defense experts" had nightmares.
In 2010, Durant, who had just entered the third year of the NBA, won the honor of the first scoring king of his career and led his team into the playoffs. This time, he was "taught" in front of another "kaleidoscope of attack" Kobe Bryant, and failed to win the series, but also "won" two games from the championship Lakers of the season. Just two years later, Durant led the Thunder to eliminate the three old league giants, namely, the lone ranger, the Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, and only lost three games in the three round series.
In 2012, there may be a large number of fans expecting Durant and Thunder to reach the championship, but they failed to do so after all. That vision may have been a bubble when Harden left the team. However, unlike in the last two years of Oklahoma City, it was difficult to advance. In 2017, Durant helped the Warriors to reach the top with a record of 16-1, and won the championship. He also gained FMVP. The record of 16-5 in 2018 was also quite good, which boosted Durant's career in the playoffs.
After his forced comeback from injury in 2019, Durant seems to be getting further away from the championship. From 2021 to 2024, Durant only played the second round as far as possible in four seasons, but twice he was swept away in the first round. The all-around forward and top scorer also gradually "cannot wield the sickle of death", watching Tatum Edwards and other young people beat their team to win the championship.
Durant's salary space in the Sun was almost "locked". It was very difficult for him to win the championship in Phoenix. Maybe he had to change teams to pursue the third championship in his career, which had to draw a question mark.
James
Playoffs: 287
Winning rate: 63.8%
Average field data: 28.4 points, 9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals 1 cover
James once led the team to become the absolute "king" of the East. From the 2010-11 season to the 2017-18 season, the team reached the finals for eight consecutive years. The Hawks, Bulls, Raptors, Celtics, Pacers and other teams took turns to play. Even after several changes of the main team rotation lineup over the years, it was hard to stop James from leading the team forward.
At the beginning of his career, James met the Celtics led by Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen, the "Big Three". The Celtics were like a mountain in front of him. James also met the Spurs who blocked him a step away from the championship with their own sweeping. Duncan, the leading player of the silver and black corps, also said, "The future is yours", which was a little "heartless" Means.
However, James came back later. In the Heat, he joined hands with Wade and Bosh, and no longer had to fear the Celtics. In 2013, James also helped the Heat beat Duncan's Spurs in the finals, completing two consecutive championships, avenging his revenge in 2007, and reaching the finals for eight consecutive years. During this period, James' victory rate in the playoffs was raised to a higher level, So that after being swept, the total score of 1-4 out can also have a career playoff victory rate of more than 60%.
Admittedly, James has continued his career in an incredible way. At the age of 35, he can still produce triple doubles in the playoffs, lead the team to win the championship, and lead the team to counter attack in the adverse situation in his own way in the 20th year of his career, enter the playoffs, and fight in the west all the way. But look at his white beard, I have to admit, James is no longer the super newcomer of the original "Flying in the Sky".
Maybe we can hardly see James perform a thunderous dunk, but it is still worth looking forward to seeing him wearing a money shirt to win the 18th championship for the Lakers.
Curie
Playoffs: 147
Winning rate: 67.3%
Average field data: 27 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.5 steals
At the beginning of Curry's career, he rebounded from the low point of injury and illness and showed an explosive performance, which was not only unexpected for Warriors. After all, they had been exposed many times that they wanted to trade Curry. When he renewed his contract with Curry in 2013, Warriors only offered a 4-year contract of $44 million. From the perspective of subsequent development, This four-year, $44 million contract can be said to be one of the most cost-effective contracts in NBA history.
Two years after signing the contract, Curry became an All Star, an MVP of the league and a guard. He grew into one of the most "feared" scorers in the league. Around Curry, the warriors developed a variety of complex tactics, and the mercury pouring down and very ornamental attacks swept the league. In 2014-15, Curry led the team to win the championship, with a record of 16 wins and 5 losses, Two years later, the team strengthened Durant, and the playoff journey was even more difficult to meet opponents. The record of 16 wins and 1 losses set the best record in NBA history.
The rapid rise of Curry and Warriors has made the big heavy interior players who once played an important role in the league "fall out of favor", making the league enter the "small ball era" - a significant mark in the history of the NBA. However, after this node in 2019, the Warriors fell into a low point. They were not eligible for the playoffs for two consecutive years. Even if Curry got rid of the injury, winning the scoring champion again in 2020-21 season could not prevent the team from being blocked out of the playoffs.
The champion of the Warriors in 2022 is almost the last highlight moment of the "Warriors of the Dynasty" with Curie as the core. In 2023, Curie shot 33.7 points in the first round of the series, G7 slashed 50 points. With such a state, Curry, the Warriors were eliminated just enough to reach the second round. In 2023-24, they didn't even enter the playoffs. However, Curry also coincidentally made the high post season winning rate achieved at the peak of the Warriors Dynasty not decline too much, still 67.3%.
For the Warriors, Curry can be said to be a "team totem". He has a good chance of "one person, one city" until the end of his career. However, it is unknown how long the two veterans, Clay and Dream Chasing Green, who won the fourth championship together with Curry, can stay in the Warriors. Today, a number of high-quality point guards in the league have risen, including Alexander, Doncic, Jamal Murray, Fox, etc, There is a momentum of "letting a hundred flowers blossom". I wonder if Curry will think of the "golden age of point guards" in the league when he was young.
Maybe not only will it be difficult to have Curry's position for a while, but also in the center of the playoff stage.
