The torch is being passed, but it is actually being ripped out of aging hands by a new generation. The 2024–25 NBA season has delivered a harsh, unrelenting message: the era of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and their star-studded peers is nearing its end. While we’ve clung to these legends for longer than most sports allow, this year has brought a series of unmistakable signs.
- LeBron James Facing 3–1 Hole In First Round Of Playoffs
- Kevin Durant Out Of The Playoffs
- Kyrie Irving Ruptures ACL
- Damian Lillard Tears His Achilles
- Anthony Davis And Klay Thompson Banished In Dallas
- Jimmy Butler Battling Physical Injuries
- Russell Westbrook Relegated To A Bench Role
- Paul George Podcasting More Than Playing
- Chris Paul Close To Turning 40 Years Old
We can talk about LeBron’s Lakers facing a 3–1 hole, Durant’s Suns already eliminated, or Kyrie Irving’s heartbreaking ACL rupture in Dallas. Everywhere you look, the old guard is cracking under the weight of Father Time.
The 2025 postseason has turned into a passing of the guard for the generation that ruled the 2010s. Damian Lillard tore his Achilles. Chris Paul is barely clinging to a roster spot as he approaches 40. Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis are marginalized. Paul George is seen more on camera than on the floor.
Even Jimmy Butler, one of the few still in elite physical condition, looks worn, battered, and human. It’s a reality check: the NBA’s most iconic names are no longer untouchable. The next era is here, and let’s go through the list of why.
LeBron James Facing 3–1 Hole In First Round Of Playoffs
At 40 years old, LeBron James is still putting up staggering numbers in the playoffs, 26.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 9.5 rebounds per game, but even his brilliance can’t save the Lakers from reality. Down 3–1 to Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers’ flaws have been brutally exposed: lack of frontcourt size and a reliance on LeBron and Luka Doncic to be superhuman far too often. James is still capable of vintage moments, but the days of dragging flawed rosters through playoff wars are behind him.
For the first time, it feels like even LeBron knows the end is near. His body language, the resigned tone in postgame interviews, it’s all different this time. If this is the final chapter of his playoff greatness, it’s a bitter one. Whether he opts for one last run in L.A. alongside Luka and Austin Reaves next season, the clock is ticking for The King to win his 5th NBA championship.
Kevin Durant Out Of The Playoffs
The Phoenix Suns’ superteam gamble officially collapsed embarrassingly. Despite Kevin Durant’s strong season (26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists per game on 52.7% shooting), Phoenix was bounced early, undone by thin depth, shaky chemistry, and a glaring lack of defense.
For all Durant’s individual brilliance, he couldn’t paper over the cracks that formed around him, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker. Another year, another postseason disappointment.
For Durant, who turns 37 in a few months, the questions are louder than ever: how much elite basketball does he have left? He’s still a lethal scorer, but the days of him being able to carry a broken team are over. The Suns will likely trade Durant this summer, and the superstar might find himself on an up-and-coming team as a result.
Kyrie Irving Ruptures ACL
Kyrie Irving’s renaissance in Dallas had been one of the feel-good stories of the season until tragedy struck. Averaging 24.7 points and 4.6 assists with dazzling efficiency and leadership growth, Kyrie had reestablished himself as a playoff-caliber star alongside Luka Doncic last year as they made the Finals.
Obviously, with Luka gone, Kyrie had to form a new partnership with Anthony Davis, and there were high expectations. But a devastating ACL tear in March shattered those expectations and cast a massive shadow over his future.
At 33, Kyrie’s recovery will be grueling, and history suggests players rarely come back the same from such an injury. It’s a heartbreaking twist for one of the league’s most polarizing, gifted players. For Dallas (and especially Nico Harrison), it’s a crushing blow to their championship window. For Kyrie, it could sadly mark the beginning of the end.
Damian Lillard Tears His Achilles
If you blinked, you missed Damian Lillard’s real chance at a deep playoff run, and it ended before it even began. Lillard, who fought through a serious blood clot issue and recovered quicker than anyone could have imagined, tore his Achilles, and that has the Bucks staring at a 3-1 hole. He finished the year averaging 24.9 points and 7.1 assists, but it was clear he wasn’t the same force of nature from his Portland days.
The Achilles injury is devastating for a 34-year-old guard who relies heavily on quick bursts and deep pull-up shooting. Milwaukee’s grand experiment pairing him with Giannis crumbled in cruel fashion, and the future looks grim. Achilles injuries have ended careers before, and while no one doubts Lillard’s heart, his body may have finally betrayed him at the worst possible moment.
Anthony Davis And Klay Thompson Banished In Dallas
Remember when Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson were considered elite co-stars? Dallas sure doesn’t because the former has constantly been injured, and the latter is no longer the same Hall of Fame-caliber marksman.
Davis put up 24.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, often looked hobbled, and only appeared in nine games for the Mavericks, while Klay, shooting just 41.2% from the field this year, was little more than a spot-up shooter.
It’s a stunning fall from grace. Davis’s injury concerns have eroded his superstar aura, and Thompson looks like a player whose best days are long behind him. For Dallas, it’s a brutal reminder that names don’t win games, but production does. It has to be said that the Mavericks franchise might be missing Luka Doncic a little more than ever.
Jimmy Butler Battling Physical Injuries
Jimmy Butler has always worn his body like armor: bruises, bumps, and all. But in 2024–25, the armor started to crack. Butler held out with the Miami Heat until his trade to the Warriors, and he has made a massive difference when he has played. The Warriors held a 25-9 record when he joined in the regular season.
However, the 35-year-old is hobbled. A nasty fall in Game 2 against the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2025 Playoffs has made the superstar player slightly less effective. You can still count on Butler to fight through pain and compete at an extremely high level in the postseason, but it is still obvious the swingman is suffering from attrition.
Russell Westbrook Relegated To A Bench Role
The pride of Russell Westbrook was never going to go quietly, but this year continues to make it clear: the Westbrook “MVP” era is over. Reduced to a bench role with the Nuggets, Russ averaged just 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.9 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per game, respectable numbers, but a galaxy away from his MVP days.
His explosiveness has dulled, and opposing defenses routinely sag off him, daring him to shoot. Still, Westbrook embraced his role with surprising professionalism. He brought energy, hustle, and occasional flashes of brilliance off the bench.
But make no mistake: he’s a role player now. A famous one, a respected one, but a role player nonetheless. And for a once-unstoppable force, that adjustment has been both humbling and inevitable.
Paul George Podcasting More Than Playing
Paul George’s play when available was underwhelming, 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists per game in only 41 appearances. The problem, as always, will remain availability. Multiple injuries limited him this season, and it felt like George was making more headlines for his popular podcast appearances than for anything happening on the court.
The 76ers hoped the Joel Embiid-Paul George duo could deliver postseason success this season. Instead, it delivered long injury reports and unmet expectations. Now pushing 35, George is a secondary star whose biggest impact might soon be in the media landscape rather than on playoff stages.
For a player once billed as a two-way franchise cornerstone, it’s a quietly disappointing fade for a man known as “Podcast P” right now instead of the self-dubbed “Playoff P”.
Chris Paul Close To Turning 40 Years Old
Chris Paul’s fight against time has been one of the great stories of the past decade, but 2024–25 feels like the final chapter. Playing 28.0 minutes for the San Antonio Spurs as a mentor to Victor Wembanyama, Paul averaged a modest 8.8 points and 7.4 assists this year. The court vision is still there, but the legs simply aren’t.
Paul turns 40 in May, and it’s clear: the end isn’t coming, it’s already here. He can still contribute in stretches, but the days of CP3 dictating playoff series or engineering late-game magic are over. He’ll retire as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, but Father Time, undefeated as ever, is writing the last few pages of his career.
