 What's the word y'all what players are under the most pressure to win the championship that is a question I was asked on ESPN a few days ago and Stephen A Smith gave his list at the top five players under the most pressure And I saw screenshot of it on Twitter, and I hated the list. I'll be honest with you I thought the list is bad, but I did my due diligence I didn't I didn't want to just look at a screenshot and think that this was all that was to be said I've been taken out of context before whether be on this show someone taking a screenshot Or somebody taking a five to ten second clip in my podcast and saying they was bugging without giving a full context of the conversation So I went back I watched the conversation between Stephen A Smith mad dog I who else was ended up JJ ended up in there and I watched the entire segment and I'm still gonna say I hate this list I gave him the benefit of the doubt I gave it to him and I still hate the list before we get into the list I want to tell you about my newsletter the enjoy basketball newsletter It drops Monday Wednesday Friday whether you're a casual NBA fan or die-hard NBA fan There's always content for somebody you sign up for free and you get an email early in the morning before you commute before you Ride to school or whatever and it's different takes and different opinions about the NBA But all surrounding the idea of enjoying the game So join the thousands of thousands of thousands of people that have already subscribed to the newsletter and go ahead and subscribe We was just in Utah and some of my favorite interactions as Kenny. I subscribe to the newsletter and I read at average drop It made me feel great So join the crew now the reason I'm pro more than that now is is because I am again team enjoy basketball But I think conversations like this can be healthy where me and my guys have had similar conversations For example the year that Yanis went on to win his first championship before this season the preseason We had this exact conversation What players and our teams are under the most pressure to be successful and success and this conversation is winning the championship And if I remember correctly, I thought that this season Yanis was under a ton of pressure and it wasn't like oh, it's championship a bus because at that time you still relatively young It was only 2020 what I don't remember how you oh Yanis was a couple years ago He was still young entering his pride, but he'll want a couple NBA MVP's He won defensive player the years But he hadn't got to the NBA finals and I thought this season where with what the what their roster looked like This was their best chance and they went on to do it And now it's not really conversations about whether or not Yanis can do it because you think about the most pressure to win Championship a lot of it is really just like if this person does it win this ring or they end up flaming out in the playoffs What is the narrative? What is the conversation gonna be revolving it sticking with Yanis? If Yanis went on and ended up losing in the second round in the conference finals or or losing the finals People would still believe that whether his brand of basketball Whatever just doesn't equate to winning at the highest level with one singular championship all of the negative narratives or whatever go away at least for a few seasons before they They come back again. So Stephen A Smith gave his list and again, I went on I watched it I listened to it and I'm not gonna show clips of it because I don't want ESPN to take my video down I don't know how they gonna think about it. I'll give you his rationalization To his top five players under the most pressure to win a championship at five. He had kawaii Leonard Personally, I hate it personally I hate it kawaii Leonard is already a two-time NBA champion It's all already a two-time finals MVP and just recently what is wrong with the Toronto Raptors that he ended up winning That was one of the most legendary Individual playoff runs we've seen in the last 10 to 15 seasons I understand and the clippers have pressure because this is your four of them being together But kawaii Leonard individually, I can't I can see the idea behind it But I can't get behind him being top five now If you want to say he was number eight number nine then maybe but top five Definitely not when I start to tell you who I think should actually be on his list kawaii Leonard shouldn't be here But the clippers sure they traded a lot to get Paul George on the scene they got one conference finals appearance and They have the low management some plans they plan sometimes they not sometimes they're injured I understand the idea of the clippers having a lot of pressure as a team But kawaii Leonard individually whether he wins a championship this season or never again He's still gonna be seen as the guy that had a legendary run with the Toronto Raptors and a guy that went on to win a Championship with the Spurs and was the finals MVP that does not change number four in his list is Nikolay Yolkic His idea is Nikolay Yolkic might get crowned as a three-time NBA MVP this season Which is something that we haven't seen since Larry Bird and his idea is if you gonna get three in a row You got to get some type of championship and Jamal Murray's playing better mark for your juniors back These are all his words that part. I don't mind. What's whoever Nikolay Yolkic is under pressure Let's be real Nikolay Yolkic is under pressure. I've seen him have really good playoff series But I've also seen a series where again He was going against the Golden State Warriors who eventually went on to win a championship Where they put this man in a pick-and-roll and made him make this decisions as often as I've ever seen anybody where where When they got eliminated from the finals some some podcasts and some people that I really respect in the NBA world Or have a conversations whether or not he can be the the defensive center on a team that eventually goes on to win a Championship and as after he's won two AVPs and as him being one of the best offensive players We've ever seen in the game of basketball, but can his form of defense his his limitations Prevent his team from winning a ring and if he wins number three this season undoubtedly There is going to be pressure for them to do it especially considering They're the one seed now and this is the best they've looked and the Nikola Yolkic MVP caliber era But so I don't hate that was even a but I will say I hate number 300 list Which is Jason Tatum his idea was last year in the finals Jason Tatum put up a staker. I can't I can't deny that He did not have a good final series, but Jason Tatum is what 24 years old. He has been to what four conference finals He's an all NBA all NBA caliber dude. If he doesn't win a championship this season I don't think people are gonna start saying that he can't end up doing it He is he is so extremely young and it's so extremely talented That I don't think there is a ton of pressure for Jason Tatum to win a championship this season You might say that the Celtics are under pressure because again, they have been to the conference finals this many times They have one cop or one finals appearance in this current era and they haven't been able to put it together completely But I look at their team and I look at their core of being Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum and say if they don't win it this Season I feel pretty confident in the next season. They're gonna have another chance in the season after that Now the NBA isn't as simple as that. You never know who's gonna one out You never know what an injury is gonna hit, but I don't think Jason Tatum is under a ton of pressure again I don't think he's the third highest when it comes to pressure number two on the list is James Harden. I can I can agree with this portion James Harden again, you know, unfortunately for James You had the season where Chris Paul without an injury And also unfortunate for James his best time with the Houston Rockets Also happened to be when an all-time team was taking form and an all-time team was dominating the game of basketball That Golden State warrior team the heck Kevin Durant is an all-time team It's no other team when it comes to the orchestration of it. It's better Understand their teams that have better records whether it be the Bulls whether they be the Golden State Warriors of the year before that But when it comes to just pure talent of basketball There's no other team that was constructed to be better and unfortunately for James Harden He had to go against that team as often as anybody But one thing I can say for James and those those versions of those teams They were the closest to do it They they were the closest to do it But they didn't do it and the fact that they didn't do it is still a monkey on James Harden's back The fact that we haven't seen James Harden back against a wall in the playoff series really step it up and have those MVP top player of all-time performances is one of the reasons why the pressure is on for him, you know He's taking a step back. He's a number two. He's one of the he's still one of the best players in basketball I think he should have been an all-star again this season But he's playing alongside Joelle and bead and this team is built to go on a championship run It's happened. This is this is the time now They have some continuity being the second year that they've been in the playoffs together And there is a ton of pressure not just on James But also on Joelle and bead to make this Philly thing work and number one on the list is Chris Paul Cannot deny it either similar things that I've said with James Harden again that the Chris Paul injury that one season prevented I think prevented James from getting his first piece of jewelry and prevented Chris Paul from getting that same jewelry You know I'm saying that that that sucks But we all have seen Chris Paul over the last couple seasons He will have a really good run where he is an all-star suffer this season All-star send back the the clocks a little bit and looking great And he'll have some playoff series and games where he's amazing like shooting perfect from the field last season That one game against the Pelicans I think it was but then his body breaks down in him every single year every single year and Now he has Devon Booker and he has Kevin Durant on his roster now again They got 20 something 20 ish games to make it happen because it's not like they play again tonight That man Katie not soon up to next week So they're gonna have 20 or less games to make the it all work So there is something to say there, but he is an immense amount of pressure because the Opportunity to win a championship is no better than it is right now with book and Kevin Durant Especially when you look at this year He's not nearly as effective as he was last year the year before that So we don't know how many years left in a tank we have of Chris Paul being really solid So this is big especially when you consider when you look at the rumors of the Suns thinking about the era post Chris Paul And you see that they're willing or thinking about Fred van Vleet as a potential option I if they're bringing in Freddie that means that maybe Christopher is going some other place or whatever So there is a ton of pressure on Chris Paul and I hope For the sake of Chris Paul because he's my favorite of all time that it happens So parts part of this list the Chris the James the Yoke it's I understand the rationalization behind it Joellen beat has to be on this list and maybe we compare Joellen be the James hard together because they are teammates I think I did a poor job of explaining why Joellen beat is being added to the list for me personally I just talked about it in passing but in reality Joellen beat is not just on the list But he's high on the list for me personally Joellen beat is undoubtedly one of the best players of basketball You cannot dispute that the leak has determined in the last couple seasons that he was a runner-up to MVP or third in MVP He's been an all-star these years. I mean this guy is absolutely Ridiculous at the game of basketball, but I just went back and I look at the ringers top 100 players of basketball And I was just thinking to myself out of the top 10 players in hoops according to the ringer only according to the ringer I know it's not the perfect place, but I'm just using it as a reference According to the ringers top 100 players of basketball. You look at their top 10 There's only two players in their top 10 currently that has never sniffed a conference finals The first one is Segius Alexander. He's 17 years. I don't know. He's super young and then y'all was growing me Every single other player top 10 player in basketball according to the ringers list has at least got to the conference finals and Joellen Beat has not had that situation just yet some of that is because he's missed with injury or I think he had the bubble guts one series or His teammates have have missed some some games because of injuries or because a koala Leonard hit the shot So like there are a lot of factors that have prevented Joellen beat from making the conference finals and ultimately going to the NBA finals But it still stands Yeah, it's not been there And you can make an argument that this might be the best team that has been built around him specifically to make this deep run So the time has to be now Jojo if you that's that's all outside of that is kind of hard to put together a list of Players that are under the most amount of pressure Especially when you think about the rings because if we were looking at the landscape at the NBA There's a okay amount of teams that could actually win it, but there's not a ton Right, so I can't look at a team like the Miami Heat and say Jimmy Butler or Bama to buy your under immense amount of pressure to win a championship I don't think that's that's the case But I do think they are under pressure to be successful because this version of their team might have run his course like like there are Pressures for teams as far as them having to look themselves in the mirror and say okay This era might be over like I think this pressure on the Memphis Grizzlies, but it's not championship pressure It's like back up the talk pressure, you know these these are different things But pressure is pressure these these TV shows whether it be ESPN or the other networks They are under a lot They're under the most pressure to win it's no they are under a lot of pressure Because they don't have the luxury that I do we're like if there's nothing to talk about I just won't upload a video Stephen a sniff has to be on TV all day every day So it's like because of that a lot of his segments or their segments are just going to be bad I also think about players like Katie Katie's under pressure But it's not like championship or bus pressure because I do think that since Kevin a rent is under contract for these X amount of years And Devin Booker is on the team those two as a court alone should be good enough for them to be in contention for the foreseeable future So if they end up getting eliminated in the conference final second round this season I can't say oh no everything everything's coming down because they will be back next season to potentially get it done But then again, he's Kevin Durant, you know, I see the idea of pressure being around him But he's Kevin Durant. I don't know you let me know what you think about Stephen a smith's list And and you let me know what you think about my additives being Joel and B to the list Kevin kind of I guess this Westbrook have pressure again I think the clippers in general instead of using Kawai I probably would use Paul George and Stephen a Smith's things Just because Kawai has proven these things and Paul George has not I think the clippers in general. Um, anyway, what whatever?