The NBA playoffs are still in full swing, and this season's league has ushered in a turning point between the old and the new, and the old-school superstars have begun to fade out of the NBA's higher-level stage. The three stars with the highest accolades in the active roster, James, Durant and Curry, have all been out early. Curry missed the playoffs, Durant was swept in the first round, and James also suffered a first-round tour, which is also the first time since Curry entered the league in the 09-10 season that the three of them missed the second round of the playoffs at the same time. The Jankudu era is completely over, and of course, there are some old-school stars who are holding on this season, and the Clippers, where Harden, Westbrook, George and Jr. are not eliminated. However, the Clippers do have enough to break out of the first round, and their opponent Mavericks is definitely a tough one.
These traditional superstars are beginning to fall from the altar, which also means that a group of younger new generation stars in the league are rising strongly and will become the successors of the league's face in the future. Like Doncic, who was at the peak of his debut, he averaged 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game in the second season of his career, and Doncic continued to break through the ceiling this season, averaging 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game, and won the honor of the point king for the first time. Like Edwards, the player who is most likely to become the league in the future, this year he led the Timberwolves to sweep Durant's Suns, Edwards is not only physically explosive, excellent hard fighting ability, strong key ball ability, and even his appearance is very consistent with the supergiant temperament, he is only 22 years old this year.
There are also a lot of young players who have a lot of potential and are improving rapidly. There is only one choice for the most improved young player this season, and that is Philadelphia 76ers guard Maxey, who was also officially named the most improved player of the year by the NBA. In the regular season last season, Maxey averaged 20.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and this season, his various statistics are soaring, averaging 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, and he was selected to the All-Star team for the first time in his career. In addition to his personal ability itself is improving, on the one hand, the departure of Harden at the beginning of the season also gave Maxey more room to play, he directly took over as the team's second leader, which can completely replace the role of Harden, and even in terms of organizational tandem, Maxey can also contribute, showing the talent of point guard.
On the other hand, Embiid suffered an injury in the middle of the season, and Maxey was promoted again and directly became the team's boss. Although the 76ers' record was not good in the second half of the regular season, during Maxey's single-core leadership, after all, he was only 23 years old, and this experience also provided him with better opportunities for growth. In the regular season this season, Maxey scored 50+ points in a single game three times, in a game with the Pacers in November last year, he scored 50 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in a single game, and in a game against the Jazz in February this year, he scored 50 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in a single game, and in a game against the Spurs in April, he scored 52 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in a single game. There are only three players who have scored 50+ points in a single game three times this season, Embiid, Booker, and one is Maxey. His 52 points were also the highest regular season points of his career.
Some people may think that Maxi will be completely exposed in the playoffs, because he lacks playoff experience and may not be able to adapt to this kind of higher-intensity game. In the first five games, he averaged 32.4 points per game, a new career playoff high (the previous high was 20.8 points). Maxey, meanwhile, shot 50% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range in this year's playoffs, both of which also set new career playoff highs. In the last G5 game, Maxi led the team to turn the tide at the last moment, scoring 7 points in a row in the last 26 seconds, scoring 46 points in the whole game, leading the team to complete the Jedi comeback when it was on the verge of elimination. In this way, Maxi has completely gone from being the second to the boss, and Embiid is nothing in the playoffs.
Although Embiid averaged 31.8 points per game in the first 5 games, Embiid's mentality is completely incomparable to Maxie, and he doesn't have the fighting spirit to win at all, and he is only willing to make promises at critical moments, not like a star at all. On the contrary, it is Maxi who has the courage to take responsibility in desperate moments. In addition, Embiid's three-point shooting percentage is at least 5 percentage points lower than Maxey's. 52 points + 46 points! From the second to the boss! This is the reason why he can get a top salary of 210 million US dollars for 5 years. According to NBA salary expert Bobby Marks, Maxey will become a restricted free agent this summer, and he will be eligible to sign a five-year, $210 million max contract with the 76ers, with an annual salary of 40 million is definitely not a premium for Maxey, and the 76ers will definitely give it with their eyes closed. In the next few seasons, if Embiid can play like he did in the regular season, the 76ers still have a good chance to challenge for the championship.