With the new season on the horizon, a lot of players are feeling the heat as time runs out to snag that elusive ring. Players like Chris Paul, 39, are still out there grinding, hoping to clinch a title before they hang up the kicks. But let’s be real—the chances look slim since they’re clearly past their prime. Then you’ve got players like Joel Embiid and Damian Lillard, who’ve been in the league for years and are still in their prime. These talented ballers, still chasing that championship, are under mad pressure this season. But the real question is: who’s feeling the most heat to finally break through?
Even though we don’t have a solid answer, former Celtics legends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce debated the issue in the ‘‘KG Certified’ Podcast. Pierce threw a curveball by saying it’d be Luka Doncic, which might surprise some folks. As soon as Pierce dropped that, KG fired back. “You thought Luka was gonna come in the league, win a championship in his first 5 years?”. And When Pierce said yes, KG shot back, “Then, you delusional, cuz he didn’t have a championship team.”
Though KG made a valid point, Pierce wasn’t backing down on naming Luka. “I mean, he went to the conference finals, didn’t he?” Pierce reminded everyone. And yeah, Luka’s been there—twice. Plus, he even made it to the finals last year. So Pierce doubled down, saying, “So now just coming of the finals, I feel like he in that conversation.” With that kind of success, people are gonna have crazy high expectations for Luka and Dallas next season. And with Klay Thompson now in the mix, the pressure’s only gonna rise.
But as mentioned before, what about the pressure on players like Embiid? He’s definitely feeling it—maybe even more than Luka. The host pressed Pierce with a tough question: “So you are taking that over someone like Embiid who has been in the league over a decade, has won MVP, he has a lot of expectations and great teammates every year, so you’d take Luka over someone like that? “ Even KG was nodding along. When you break it down, it’s hard not to see Embiid carrying more weight. With his age and experience, people expect way more from him. He’s been grinding for over 10 years, and with that MVP title and a stacked squad, the pressure on him to deliver is through the roof. But it didn’t stop there—Pierce had more to say in response.
“He not even 30” – Kevin Garnett disagrees with Paul Pierce on his take
“I mean if we are anointing him [Embiid] like how we anointing Luka and we are saying like he could possibly be the face of the league, I mean, we ain’t talking about face of the league, we don’t bring up Embiid do we?” Pierce said. And honestly, he’s got a point. Luka’s already getting looked at as the future face of the league, right alongside players like Anthony Edwards. With that comes crazy pressure.
Even though Pierce makes a solid point, age is a huge factor here. “He not even 30,” Garnett said about Doncic, implying that Luka still has time. So, if Luka doesn’t grab a championship in the next couple of years, there won’t be as much pressure on him—he’d still only be 27, with even more experience and a solid support system. But that’s not the vibe for Embiid. The clock’s ticking, especially with Philly’s stacked lineup this year and Paul George coming on board. For Embiid, the expectations are sky-high, and that window is closing fast.
You might think the debate ended there because it made sense, but “The Truth” wasn’t backing down. He said, “The guys’ that y’all talking about is been on teams that get hurt every year and that’s losing in the first round every year, that’s getting swept every year, the teams that y’all talking about but these other teams, they making deep runs. Embiid, he on and off hurt every year in the playoffs. I mean he got 50 on one leg, every year is something with them, so I am like I don’t have no expectations for that no more. ”
And he’s got a point—the last time the Sixers made the Eastern Conference Finals was back in 2001! Meanwhile, the Mavs were in the NBA Finals last season. This ties back to his earlier argument. Plus, Embiid’s injury struggles are real; he’s missed like three seasons’ worth of games, including last year. So, it’s fair to say Pierce is losing faith in him to deliver. What’s your take on this?
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Joel Embiid vs. Luka Doncic—Who's the real MVP in this heated NBA debate?