In a season in the NBA, only 1 team out of 30 teams can stand out and stand on the top podium, the playoffs have less room for mistakes than the regular season, and the deeper the series, the higher the requirements for the players' performance.
Players have to face the challenge of multi-angle and detailed analysis of the opposition team, and at the same time, the defensive players are becoming more and more familiar with the opponent's playing habits, and it is not easy for players to play well, especially when it comes to the critical moment of "win or go home", and it is sometimes difficult to maintain regular performance under heavy pressure, which is often a test of star quality.
In today's league, Edwards led the Timberwolves to defeat the defending champion Nuggets through a tie-break to return to the Western Conference finals after 20 years when the opponent took the lead in getting the match point, and more and more voices believe that Edwards has the potential to become the face of the league.
Looking back on the history of the NBA, Jordan, Kobe, and James, the three top stars, have also been regarded as the "face of the league", and they have staged a moment of "saving the building" when the team is facing a desperate situation in their careers, and how did they score in the playoffs? Let's take a look!
Jordan
Playoffs "Do-or-Die" Win Rate: 46.2%
Averages per game: 31.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1.3 blocks
As a fledgling, Jordan suffered back-to-back first-round exits in the playoffs, from 1984-85 to 1986-87.
In the first round of the playoffs in 1985, Jordan, who played the playoffs for the first time, was already facing the situation that the team was 0-2 behind in the total score after the first two games of the series, and he would be eliminated if he lost again, G3, Jordan scored a team-high 35 points and 7 assists to help the Bulls win by 2 points.
But in the next game of tighter defense, Jordan used the breakthrough to win a lot of opportunities to go to the free throw line, and scored 29 points in the game, but the performance of shooting 6 of 16 from the field was not enough, and the connection with his teammates was also limited by the opponent, with only 5 assists in the game, but 4 turnovers, and the Bulls finally lost, and went out with a total score of 1-3 under the game at that time.
In the 1986 and 1987 playoffs, Jordan's Bulls were eliminated by the Celtics twice in the first round, and when the overall strength was better and the bench depth was better than their opponents, the Bulls seemed to have few options, and handing the ball to Jordan was one of the "best solution ideas", and Jordan also handed over a single-game 63 points such a record playoff scoring record, but it was still difficult to find a win.
Jordan, who played a highlight performance in the early stages of the series, often faced tighter defense later, even though his performance in the playoffs against the Celtics in the 1986 and 1987 playoffs improved from 19 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists to 30 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, but the ending was the same, they were all swept.
In the 1988 playoffs, Jordan tasted the "battle of life and death" for the first time in his career to turn the tide and lead the team to win, the first round against the Cavaliers, the first four games of the series were tied 2-2 with a total score of 2-2, under the system at that time, the team that won the first 3 games will advance, G5, Jordan scored a game-high 39 points to help the team defeat the Cavaliers to advance, and finally crossed the first round in the fourth season of his career, but the Pistons became a new "mountain" to climb.
In the second round of the playoffs in 1988, the Eastern Conference finals in 1989, and the Eastern Conference finals in 1990, Jordan and the Bulls lost in front of the Pistons in a row, and the "Jordan Rule" seemed to be difficult to crack, but every year it was a little closer to success, from 1988 when the Pistons were eliminated with a total score of 4-1, to 1989, the Bulls won one more game, and in 1990, they forced the Pistons to tie seven.
In 1991, Jordan finally took the Bulls across the Pistons, "gnawed this hard bone", and completed a beautiful sweep, and after defeating the Lakers led by another "MJ" and "Magic" Johnson with a total score of 4-1 in the finals, Jordan won the first championship of his career.
Since 1991, Jordan and the Bulls have only lost 1 round in the 22-round series of 6 playoff games, and only the Knicks in 1992, the Magic in 1995 and the Pacers in 1998 can make Jordan and the Bulls face a "life-and-death battle" in the series.
In the second round of 1992 against the Knicks led by Ewing, the Bulls fought with them to tie seven, G6 shooting was not good, Jordan in 9 of 25 shots slashed 42 points in G7, leading the team to win a 29-point victory, and successfully advanced, in the 1998 East Finals, it was Jordan who was confronted by Reggie Miller to complete the three-point series of the game, Jordan faced a suffocating defense after the team was entangled by the opponent to tie seven, but he used the breakthrough to make the opponent foul, disrupted the rhythm of the Pacers, and scored 28 points alone to lead the team to victory.
In the 7 playoff trips from 1991 to 1998, Jordan's only round of the series lost was in 1995 when he left the league for more than a year to return to play the second round of the playoffs and the Magic series, the first five games of the Bulls and Magic played a total score of 2-3, G6 faced a "win or out" situation, Jordan got 24 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks of comprehensive data, but failed to prevent a defeat from coming, regrettably lost.
Jordan has played a "life-and-death battle" 13 times in his playoff career, and Jordan has a record of 6 wins and 7 losses, but his personal performance is still a combination of offense and defense, averaging 31.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, filling the data column.
Bryant
Playoffs "Do-or-Die" Win Rate: 47.4%
Averages per game: 22.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals
Kobe Bryant was not directly placed in the core rotation at the beginning of his career with the Lakers, and gradually gained the trust of the coaching staff by relying on his performance in the game and got the main position. After forming an excellent chemistry with O'Neal, the "OK Combination" showed strong dominance in the playoffs, winning three consecutive championships from 1999-00 to 2001-02, and rarely playing "life and death", such as the 2001 playoffs, with a magnificent record of 16 wins and 1 loss.
Of course, during the three consecutive championships, the Lakers did not encounter strong opponents, the Kings are one of them, they fought with the Lakers in the first round in 2000 to "tie five", in 2002 the two sides in the Western Conference finals seven games to determine the winner, in 2000, gathered Avitas Sabonis, Pippen, Rasheed Wallace and other powerful players of the Trailblazers also dragged the Lakers into the tie-break, and during this period, Kobe Bryant opened a gap for the team on the outside became the key to the Lakers' victory.
Looking back at the 1997 playoffs, the young Kobe Bryant also had a moment when he threw three consecutive shots in the series "life and death battle", and at that time, the Lakers also became one of the "stepping stones" for the Jazz to enter the Finals. By 2006, Kobe, who was already the number one star of the Purple and Gold Army, staged a "double kill" against the Suns in the playoffs, but there was also the embarrassment of scoring 50 points but failing to prevent the opponent from getting the match point.
In the stage when the contradictions between the "OK combinations" intensified, and during the period when Kobe Bryant led the team back to the playoffs as the team's "big boss", he suffered a wave of "life and death" four consecutive defeats.
In the series of the 2012 playoffs with the Thunder, in the last playoff trip of his career, Kobe Bryant also presented the final scoring performance, series G5, the opponent has a match point, Kobe Bryant slashed 42 points in the whole game, the highest score in the "win or out" game of his career, unfortunately did not get a victory.
James
Playoffs "Fight to the Death" Win Rate: 53.6%
Averages per game: 33.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1 block
In terms of the average data per game of the "life and death battle", James's average points, rebounds, and assists per game have achieved a "full encirclement" of Kobe and Jordan, showing a historic all-round skill, once the team is in a desperate situation in a series, James is often the most trustworthy player.
Of the players in the NBA who have played in at least 10 playoff games, James has the highest scoring average per game, and he also has a record high of 20 30+ games.
I believe that many fans have an impression of James's "Pupil of Death" in the 2012 playoffs, when he went to the Celtics' "devil's home" TD North Shore Garden Arena with a total score of 2-3, James shot 73.1% shooting, and scored 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the team to a 19-point victory, dragging the series into a tie-break, and finally won, and it was in this season that James won the first championship of his career.
In 2016, James led the team to stage the only time in NBA history that the Finals were 1-3 behind, after the Warriors took the lead to get the match point, James scored 41 points in G5 and G6 in a row, and G7 got a triple-double of 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, allowing the Cavaliers to complete the comeback in one fell swoop. Whether James, who is already 39 years old, can perform more magic, we can only wait and see.