NBA Playoffs 2022: Who would benefit most from a title?
Every NBA player shares one common goal at the start of each season: Win a championship.
Now, each athlete carries his own individual pursuits through the course of a season. For some, end-of-season awards are important, while others may have contractual accruals in mind.
But in the end, winning always remains supreme.
Nick Wright is well of aware of this theme, but according to the "First Things First" host, some players need to be crowned king more than others.
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Which NBA players have the most to gain from winning the NBA Championships? With the playoffs soon underway, Nick Wright ranks his top eight.
He broke down his top eight ballers with the most to gain from a championship ring Wednesday. Here's his breakdown:
8. Memphis Grizzlies, PG, Ja Morant
Season stats: 27.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 6.7 APG | Team record: 56-26, 2nd in West
Wright's thoughts: "Does he become the face of the NBA with a title? He certainly fulfills the destiny of what Derrick Rose's best-case scenario could've been if he never got hurt. I think Ja is better than Derrick Rose, even though D-Rose won an MVP."
7. Boston Celtics, SF, Jayson Tatum
Season stats: 26.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.4 APG | Team record: 51-31, 2nd in East
Wright's thoughts: "I have an announcement to make: If the Boston Celtics make the Finals, Jayson Tatum, there's a seat in the superstar's club awaiting you my friend. Now, if you lose early, you've still got to go to the club down the street with Paul George. But if you make the Finals, you're a superstar, if you win, best Celtic since Bird?
6. Philadelphia 76ers, C, Joel Embiid
Season stats: 30.6 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 4.2 APG | Team record: 51-31, 4th in East
Wright's thoughts: "With a title, he's a lock Hall of Famer. And, total process redemption. The idea was get one franchise-changing player, you win the title, you redeem the process. You'd be one of the six greatest international players ever."
5. Brooklyn Nets, SF, Kevin Durant
Season stats: 29.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 6.4 APG | Team record: 44-38, 7th in East
Wright's thoughts: "He's the only champion on the list. A number of things would happen [if he won a championship]. One, he would win his own title where he put the team together, and he would make my tweet from a few weeks ago look all the more silly. If they win the title, he's unquestionably the belt-holder for best player alive. He's never been that in his career. He would be with a title."
4. Philadelphia 76ers, PG, James Harden
Season stats: 22.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 10.3 APG | Team record: 51-31, 4th in East
Wright's thoughts: "Career redemption opportunity. He has more to gain than Embiid, even though Embiid's the best player. He wins the title, historians will not care so much about the details of how he got out of Houston and Brooklyn. The regular-season accomplishments are already off the charts. He gets one title as a major contributor, it totally changes how he's remembered."
3. Dallas Mavericks, F, Luka Dončić
Season stats: 28.4 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 8.7 APG | Team record: 52-30, 4th in West
Wright's thoughts: "Luka's calf [injury] concerns me, but I'm deciding to ignore it as if it didn't happen, because if it did actually happen and he does have to miss time, they are totally screwed. But if he is healthy, if it was just a minor tweak, if they win the title, then forget the best-player-currently discussion. Luka will start to be on the GOAT track. This would be more impressive than LeBron in ‘07. If he wins the title with the worst supporting cast of any team that would’ve won a title in 50 years, you have to start talking about ‘sky’s the limit.'"
2. Denver Nuggets, C, Nikola Jokić
Season stats: 27.1 PPG, 13.8 RPG, 7.9 APG | Team record: 48-34, 6th in West
Wright's thoughts: "If Jokić wins the title, he is without question the best player alive. Back-to-back MVP, because I think he's going to win it, and carries that team, he would have a similar argument about supporting cast to win the title. There's a weird thing going on with him, where it's like ‘well, we can’t hold a first-round loss against him, they're the 6-seed.' But if they win the title, I look like a total idiot, and he looks like the best player alive."
1. Phoenix Suns, PG, Chris Paul
Season stats: 14.7 PPG, RPG 4.4, APG 10.8 | Team record: 64-18, 1st in West
Wright's thoughts: "Modern era point guard list if the Suns win the title: Magic, Steph, CP3. He will jump my beloved Isiah Thomas with a title. He becomes arguably one of the 25 greatest players of the last 50 years. Here's the other reason he's No. 1: He has to redeem himself for the awful hit his legacy took last year. Worst-case scenario for any player is making the Finals and losing. Better off losing in the second round like he used to. He has the most to gain."