As the summer continues to wind down, basketball fans get closer to seeing their favorite teams duke it out for a championship during the 2024-25 NBA season. Additionally, the Western Conference is wide open for any contending team to represent the conference in the 2025 NBA Finals. The conference being this deep puts a lot of pressure on each of the teams. Also, that environment puts pressure on the star players to lead their trams to either a deep playoff run or a finals appearance. This level of pressure can confirm their star status or show that they are foundational championship pieces if they make a deep postseason run.
Three Western Conference Players Under Pressure This Season
Anthony Edwards
The Minnesota Timberwolves had a pretty quiet offseason compared to most teams who are title contenders. However, they did get some bench help by trading for Rob Dillingham during the 2024 NBA Draft. As a result, he could be their point guard of the future. Making it to a championship or not comes down to their star players, and the pressure continues to mount on Anthony Edwards. He is currently getting ready to play for a gold medal with Team USA against France later this afternoon. Playing with all of those superstar players on Team USA should help Edwards improve as a player.
Last season, he set the league on fire after playing with Team USA during the FIBA World Cup last summer. That roster did not include Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or Joel Embiid. All four are on the current Olympic team, and learning from those four players should lead to another leap for Edwards. One of the biggest things he needs to improve on is his playmaking ability.
If he can get better at spreading the ball around, the Timberwolves will be an even better team than they were last season. Despite all of the pressure on him, Minnesota will go as far as the skillset of Edwards will take them.
Kevin Durant
The Phoenix Suns season ended in disappointment last season. They did not see their “Big Three” of Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal stay healthy enough for them to develop chemistry. As a result of that, their season ended at the hands of the Timberwolves via a sweep in the opening round. Two-thirds of their trio are beginning to enter the twilight of their career, and the pressure continues to mount on the shoulders of Durant. He has championship experience, and he has enough talent left to at least get the Suns to the second round of the playoffs.
Durant, who is also a member of Team USA, should be able to share the load with Booker. If he can become more of a playmaker throughout the season, instead of just a scorer, that should build the confidence of his teammates, and they should be able to deliver come playoff time. Also, that should take the scoring pressure off of Durant. It will allow him to save himself and be a key piece in a deep playoff run for the Suns.
Klay Thompson
The Dallas Mavericks were able to sign Klay Thompson to a multi-year deal. As a result of this acquisition, they now have a potent scoring trio. Thompson is the consistent third scorer that Dallas has been missing. If he can convert the open three-point shooting opportunities created by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Dallas will be in a great position to return to the NBA Finals.
Thompson will have a lot of pressure on him after leaving the Golden State Warriors. An angry Thompson with something to prove should benefit the Mavericks. He will have a lot of opportunities to prove his doubters wrong, and once again be a contributor on a championship team.
