Before the start of the 2021-22 season, almost all authoritative media forecasts listed the Nets and Lakers as the biggest favorites for this year's championship, which is both a bullish look at the luxurious lineups of the two teams and a full trust in the two superstars of LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
However, the reality is lamentable, a few months later, the Nets were swept in the first round, and the Lakers did not even qualify for the playoffs, which belonged to an era in the NBA and was quietly coming to an end.
It's exciting: a new generation of young stars is thriving, playing their own wonderful games, making people look forward to the future of the league. This article starts with the first round of this year's playoffs to see which supernovae are most likely to be the front of the league in the "post-Zhan Dynasty".
(Note: Because the discussion is about the post-Zhan Emperor era, stars over the age of 30 will be automatically filtered)
Awkward Mesozoic
Discussing the NBA façade figures in the post-Zhan Huang era certainly cannot bypass the most popular stars in the league at this stage. The three main contenders for the regular season MVP this season, who happen to have similar backgrounds, face the same embarrassment:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Many people have compared Alphabet Brother with James, and with the achievements achieved at the same age, he seems to have the best chance of succeeding Zhan Huang and becoming the next signature star of the NBA.
Like James in his youth, Brother Alphabet has an absolute advantage in physical talent and has also played a dominant performance. At the age of 27, he has become the first player in NBA history to hold four awards in NBA history: regular season MVP, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Fastest Improving Player. In terms of personal strength and comprehensive achievements alone, Brother Alphabet actually has the qualification of the first person in the competition league.
However, the prestige and popularity of Brother Alphabet are far from matching his on-court performance. The reason for this, in addition to the identity of foreign players, the market size of Milwaukee and the charisma of his personality, is that the age and career trajectory of Brother Alphabet are in an awkward position of not being able to go up and down - just in time for the tail of the super giant peak of his predecessors, which makes him naturally stand against many fans who have long been affiliated, becoming a "villain". In this context, unless he can achieve an overwhelming achievement, it is difficult to win the love of most people.
To some extent, whether the Bucks can successfully defend the title this year directly determines whether the alphabet brother has a chance to step into the throne of the first person in the league. And from the first round of the playoffs, we can't find a definitive answer.
In the series against the Bulls, Alphabet Brother averaged 28.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, which was excellent, but considering that the opponent simply did not effectively resist his defensive strength, such a result does not explain too much.
And in the inherently flawed link, the alphabet brother still did not show significant progress. His three-point performance in this series was a poor 2-of-13, and his average of 3.6 turnovers per game also shows that his ability to handle the ball against the human defense is still unsatisfactory.
Joel Embiid & Nikolai Jokic
This year's three MVP candidates have a lot in common, they are similar in age, they are all seven feet long, and they are all from outside the Continental United States.
In terms of individual performance alone, this season's Alphabet Brother, Embiid and Jokic can be said to be on par, each good at winning. However, in terms of past achievements and future development potential, there is still a significant gap between the latter two and the alphabet brother.
Basketball is a giant sport, but the last time a center player was able to represent the league was in the 1970s. The level of talent of Embiid and Jokic is probably not enough for them to regain the glory of the "Sky Hook" of the year and have an advantage in the competition with the smaller ones, especially if they are not supported by a good enough record.
In the last two seasons, Jokic and Embiid have basically represented the ceiling of individual performance in the regular season, Jokic was last year's MVP, and this year's most likely to prevent him from winning is Embiid.
But in the playoffs, it's a different picture. Jokic and his Nuggets have been out of the first round for the second consecutive year, and this year in the face of the comeback Warriors, Jokic is brave, but his team has no success. Murray and Porter's injuries are certainly an important reason, but even if the Nuggets are all healthy, this is still not a championship-level team.
More critically, the Nuggets' salary space has been basically locked, and in Jokic's peak years in the remaining years, they can reach the playoffs every year, but if they want to go out of the West and even win the championship, they can only look forward to the favor of The Goddess of Luck.
Compared with Jokic, Embiid at least retains the theoretical hope of competing for the championship. In the first round against the Raptors, the Emperor averaged 26.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, although slightly reduced compared to the regular season, but in the context of injury combat and the team's successful promotion, such a performance is also decent.
However, health problems have once again become a stumbling block to Embiid's progress, in addition to tearing the ligament of his right thumb, he was also hit by an opponent's elbow in the final game of the series, resulting in a fractured eye socket and concussion symptoms, and it is unclear how long he will be absent. Combined with the 76ers' overall, they will struggle with the Heat (and possibly the Celtics and Bucks) next.
Hope the main force
Compared with the above three players, the following few, although their qualifications are still shallow and the accumulation of personal honors is not enough, they have a better chance to become the NBA façade figures in the post-Zhan Huang era.
Jason Tatum
From the moment he turned to the basket at the last second of the first game of the Nets series, Jason Tatum had officially issued a declaration of power to the world.
In this first-round most watched series, facing two senior superstars, the young Tatum fully proved what it means to be feared, averaging 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, leading the Green Army to a 4-0 sweep against the championship-winning favorite Nets.
It's particularly gratifying that Tatum, who used to be only good at individual scoring, has shown more possibilities in the future in the series with the Nets - he has successfully completed the frontal defense of Durant on many occasions, including some key rounds that determine the outcome of the game, and his ability to use personal offensive threats to create scoring opportunities for teammates has also improved greatly.
Tatum, who only entered the league in 2017, has just turned 24, and in the first 5 seasons of his career, he has played in the playoffs every year, and his experience in 54 playoff games so far has surpassed that of the older Embiid and Jokic. These experiences are the most precious treasures on the road of kings.
If the Celtics continue to maintain their current hot form and carry out the victory to the end, then after the end of the season, Tatum will officially enter the ranks of the league's top superstars and become one of the main candidates to succeed James.
Luka Doncic
If Tatum is like a mirror image of Durant, then Luka Doncic is a replica of James. Like his idol, Doncic is known for his basketball IQ and all-rounders, and on the big stage in the playoffs, he and his individual attacking ability are no less than those of the top scorers in history.
In the 16 playoff games he has played so far, Doncic has averaged 32.7 points per game, second in history behind Michael Jordan. In addition, Doncic averaged 9.1 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game.
In terms of individual ability alone, Doncic should be the most promising of the new generation to inherit the mantle of James, but as an international player, he faces natural obstacles on the road to the league façade, and the only way to break this obstacle is to achieve a double harvest of personal honor and team achievements as soon as possible, leaving other competitors far behind in the "hard indicator".
In the first round of this year's playoffs, although Doncic missed three series games due to a calf strain, he averaged 29 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game after his return, which is still an MVP-level performance. In the end, the Lone Ranger eliminated the Jazz by a 4-2 aggregate score, and Doncic reached the division semifinals for the first time in his career.
However, the next opponent in the way of Doncic will be the regular season champion Suns, and for him and his team, that is the real test.
Devon Booker
As the young core of this year's regular season best team, Booker's name also has to be mentioned. Despite the limitations of the first round of injuries in the playoffs, his performance was not outstanding.
Booker is the NBA's youngest Mr. 70 pointer, but at the beginning of his career, he seemed insulated from victory until chris Paul joined. If Last season's Booker was still a chick under Paul's wings, then after the baptism of the finals, this season he has really begun to spread his wings and soar.
The Suns won the regular season with an eight-win lead over second place, and São Paulo certainly contributed, but in the month since Paul was sidelined due to injury after the All-Star, Booker single-core led the team to still play 11 wins and 4 losses, which is enough to prove his maturity.
Booker has an excellent image, plays to attract fans, and is a native American star, with an impressive record as a support, which will naturally become the focus of the league's training and publicity. He's proven his superpower potential more than once — including 31 points at halftime before his second injury with the Pelicans — and if he can continue to prove himself in the following series and win a championship ring, he will certainly make his status soar rapidly.
Although it has been 7 years since entering the league, Booker is still only 25 years old, and his future still has a lot of room for imagination.
The future is infinitely beautiful
Youth is the most valuable asset, and the following two players represent the highest level of talent for the new human beings in the league, although they can also make mistakes, but still give people unlimited hope.
Ja-Morant
Morant, who made his first playoff appearance last year, performed disappointingly in this year's first-round series with the Timberwolves — averaging 21.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game, but shooting only 49.6 percent from the field and averaging 4.2 turnovers per game.
Still, Morant's performance in the final quarter of the fifth Battle of King Mountain was a testament to its astonishing potential. In that game, Morant blew a counter-attack horn with a ridiculous next-ditch dunk before the end of the third quarter, breaking the team record with 18 points in the fourth quarter, including a man who handled the team's last 13 points and a final 1-second pull-up layup.
Morant has all the conditions needed to become a superstar, although there are still some common problems of young players - such as over-dependence on the body, not enough stability, but this unstoppable energy that erupts anytime and anywhere is the biggest difference between ordinary stars and league superstars.
Anthony Edwards
Edwards once said that if he grew two inches taller, he would be Michael Jordan. Although this sentence is a bit arrogant, it also shows the sharpness that young players should have. He may never be able to become the second Jordan, but he has the opportunity to create his own glory.
It was the first time in His career that Edwards had stepped onto the playoff stage, and it turned out that he was built for big scenes. In six series games against the Grizzlies, the Timberwolves were the leading side for most of the time, exceeding the expectations of the vast majority of people before the game, and Edwards' excellent performance was the most critical reason for this.
In this series, Edwards averaged 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, shooting 45.5% from the field and 40.4% from three-point range, which was significantly better than in the regular season. With Towns in deep foul trouble and Russell's cold hand, Edwards, the youngest of the three Wolves, has become the team's most reliable number one star.
In the final tiebreaker of the battle against the Grizzlies, Edwards received a lot of criticism for a defensive mistake that allowed Morant to complete the layup. Don't forget, he's only 20 years old, and before that adventure, he just tied the score with a big heart three-pointer, giving the Timberwolves a long hope of winning.
Edwards, who has only been in the league for two years, has not yet been selected as an All-Star, and it seems premature to discuss the façade of the league. But the more he gets to the critical moment, the more he dares to fight, but it makes people see the potential of superstars.
In addition to the above eight, there are also some players, for different reasons, that have become the beads of this article. These include: Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell, who have played well in the past but have played abnormally in the playoffs this year and face many obstacles in their future development; Brandon Ingram, who has played well on the playoff stage for the first time but has been left behind by his peers a lot; and Ingram's teammates, Zion Williamson, who failed to appear in this year's playoffs due to injury, and so on.
The brilliance of the NBA lies in its talent, from McCann to Russell, Chamberlain, Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar, from black and white to Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron, there will always be someone who takes the torch from the hands of the predecessors and passes it on. Therefore, we do not have to regret the end of an era, but we should be thankful that we are witnessing the opening of a new era.