LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard are four of the biggest names in the NBA. One could argue that they’re among the 5 best players in basketball, and all 4 of them have won the biggest prize in the sport at some point in the last 5 years. KD won a championship alongside Steph in 2018, and Curry would, of course, win another one in 2022. Leonard, meanwhile, won the Raptors their first title in 2019, while LeBron and the Lakers emerged victorious in 2020.
Despite seemingly being in the postseason every year, Legion Hoops pointed out that the four of them haven’t been involved in the same postseason since all the way back in 2017!
2017: The last time LeBron, KD, Steph and Kawhi all played in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/jQksoTMi4C
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 4, 2022
It’s crazy to think how it’s been so long since we saw all of these guys together in the playoffs. Leonard was the first one to miss out, as he was injured for the 2018 playoffs, having missed a majority of that season with a right quad injury. LeBron would be next in 2019 as he missed the playoffs in his first season with the Lakers as he, too, dealt with some injury issues. Durant and Curry would split in 2019, and they both missed the playoffs in 2020 with the Nets and Warriors, respectively, with injuries being the main factor once again.
We got very close to seeing all 4 of them in the 2021 playoffs, but Curry’s Warriors would be eliminated in the final play-in game by the Memphis Grizzlies. This past postseason, of course, saw Kawhi miss out due to injury once again, and LeBron missed the playoffs with the Lakers.
We can only hope that we see these four in the playoffs next season, but that is in some doubt, too, after Durant requested a trade from the Nets. The team, however, won’t trade him until they get the offer they feel is right, and there is a possibility that he will remain in Brooklyn. That, in turn, means KD might end up sitting out for a majority of the season like his now teammate Ben Simmons did with the Sixers, and that could lead us anywhere.
As we saw with all 4 of these guys, injuries are putting them out of action with more regularity as time goes by, and there is a chance that we never see all 4 of them together in the playoffs again. Here’s hoping that is not the case.
