When the NBA playoffs roll around, we’re often asking which players have the most pressure on them or have the most to lose with a disappointing exit. Today, we are daring to ask: Which fan base will be the most upset if their favorite team flames out early? Here are the fans who have the most on the line this postseason, ranked from “Isn’t this lovely?” to “If I see our GM on the street it’s on sight.”
16. Kings
Everything is gravy for Sacramento, which is in the postseason for the first time since 2006. And even as the third seed, nobody nationally really expects the Kings to do anything. Every win is a big, fat “I told you so!” De’Aaron Fox lighting the beam after that thrilling Game 1 win over the Warriors is already a memory that will last a lifetime. Nobody has better vibes than this city right now.
THE BEAM IS LIT.#PLAYOFFMODE IS ENGAGED.
— NBA (@NBA) April 16, 2023
And this is only day 1 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/dAzRvAG0x7
15. Cavaliers
This team is young and only in the first year of its build with Donovan Mitchell on the roster. It’s also the first shared playoff experience for this group. Cleveland is very good and an early loss would be a bummer. At the same time, their chief rivals in the conference also needed years to break through to the later rounds. (Some—cough. Philly, cough—haven’t even made a conference finals yet.) It’s also the Cavs’ first non-LeBron playoff run in 25 years. They’ll be fine.
14. Nets
Brooklyn’s angsty moment this season occurred around the trade deadline, when the team traded away Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. This is not really a fully formed roster right now. Nets fans just want to see some building blocks laid for the future. It does sting a little to have to go up against the Sixers with Ben Simmons out, though.
Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports
13. Hawks
The fans here are probably a little concerned overall with the direction of the franchise and the future of Trae Young, whose name has started to pop up in some trade rumors. Nobody is giving Atlanta a chance against Boston, however. The angst can be put off until the summer, when the Hawks will have to make big decisions.
12. Bucks
The Giannis Antetokounmpo injury in Game 1 changes things a little bit, but the Bucks have won a title recently, and they have arguably the best player in the world committed to the team long term. Obviously, the expectations for a talent like the Greek Freak are to win every year. Still, the Bucks are generally well positioned and don’t really have to worry about any roster drama. No legacies are on the line. Other teams in the East are at much more of an inflection point.
11. Heat
Miami is another team entering the playoffs with low expectations. (Even lower now following Tyler Herro’s broken hand Sunday.) And yet the fans are always a little on tilt here. The Heat’s Game 1 win vs. the Bucks slightly complicates matters, too. If Giannis misses more time, shouldn’t Miami be expected to win? There also has to be some fear about wasting Jimmy Butler’s greatness. Ultimately, the Heat are mostly playing with house money after a middling season. The pressure won’t ratchet up until the summer, when the front office needs to figure out how to maximize its star talent.
David Richard/USA TODAY Sports
10. Knicks
We’re now getting to that range when an early exit would make people pretty disappointed. This team and its fans have had a very “Why not us?” mentality this season, and it’s fair. The Knicks have had some stretches on both sides of the ball during which they’ve looked genuinely contender-ish. I don’t expect a rational response if New York loses in the first round and say someone like Julius Randle struggles. This city is desperate for a series win. A first-round out with this group would be a legitimate blow to the collective ego.
9. Timberwolves
Minnesota can’t really afford an embarrassing playoff loss after swinging out of its shoes in the Rudy Gobert trade. How did that work out in Game 1 against the Nuggets? Denver blew out the T-Wolves, and Nikola Jokić was far and away the best big man on the floor. Although Minnesota has also generally been starved for meaningful playoff basketball, the fans are entitled to be a little restless if the wheels come off in Round 1. What would that mean for Gobert? Does Anthony Edwards want to commit to this? Last year the Wolves were promising. This year push is coming to shove.
8. Grizzlies
This team talks a metric ton for one that is only in its third playoff run together, and one that’s yet to make the third round. The thing is, that attitude plays in Memphis. The city and its brash roster are on the same page. Yes, the fans here have lofty expectations and are desperate to no longer be the little brother to the likes of the Warriors. But the Grizz are also just young enough that they haven’t experienced true playoff heartbreak. The core isn’t full of true vets yet. Next year Memphis may top this list. For now, they belong in the middle, especially after Ja Morant’s injury in a Game 1 loss to the Lakers.
7. Clippers
The Paul George injury takes a little bit of the edge off here. Because otherwise Clippers fans have to be sick of how the PG–Kawhi Leonard pairing either can’t stay on the floor together or can’t get it done in the postseason. The stakes have dropped a bit even though the Clips were preseason title faves. The thought of having Kawhi play at the level he’s at and not getting it done is incredibly frustrating, though.
Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports
6. Warriors
O.K., we are starting to get a little spicy. The Dubs have plenty of trophies, so the pressure to win isn’t quite as high. Also, the front office kind of bungled last offseason, and the fans here are smart enough to understand why this was never a normal title defense. What’s lurking are the futures of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. In the back of every Golden State fan’s head is a seed of a thought that this could be the last ride for this group. Going out to the Kings would be embarrassing. And many fans are praying for the Dubs’ downfall. Even if Steph, Klay and Dray are GOATed no matter what, people love to see empires fall. And that won‘t be fun for the fans.
5. Lakers
The angst meter is always touching the red in Los Angeles. The faithful here expect greatness, and LeBron James’s playoff record outside of the bubble has been incredibly spotty since he moved to Hollywood. Meanwhile the expectations are back after the trade deadline makeover actually rendered this team competent. With the clock ticking on James and Anthony Davis’s checkered injury history, Los Angeles can’t afford to waste any postseasons.
HIM. pic.twitter.com/vBsQWx2clm
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 16, 2023
4. Celtics
The Celts have come very close with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown but haven’t gotten over the hump. The Tatum-Brown duo have had some ahead-of-schedule losses in the conference finals, and then last year couldn’t close a 2–1 lead in the Finals. This year, Boston was the only team to finish in the top five in both offense and defense. This is another fan base that’s always a little on edge, thinks very highly of this team and also somehow dominates media attention. A loss before the Finals at the very least would probably lead to a lot of phone calls to the local radio station. (And no, it does not help that Brown went on a mini media tour discussing his issues with the organization and city before the final year of his deal.)
3. Sixers
Joel Embiid has never made the conference finals. It’s as simple as that, really. This year, Embiid is going to get the MVP he so desperately covets. If he can’t follow it up with playoff success—and with some strange “James Harden may want to return to Houston” rumors in the ether—everyone is going to come down hard on Philly and its favorite son.
2. Suns
Phoenix’s last two playoff series losses involved blown 2–0 leads. Once in the Finals, and once in the second round despite being the No. 1 seed in the entire league. Now they have Kevin Durant, and they already trail 0–1 to a shorthanded Clippers team. I’m not sure how many more excruciating defeats this fan base can handle. And Chris Paul and KD aren’t getting any younger. It’s title or bust. And bust could have some serious ramifications.
David Zalubowski/AP
1. Nuggets
Fair or unfair, this postseason is a referendum on Nikola Jokić. And for the first time since 2020, his team is healthy entering the postseason. If the Nuggets go out before Round 3, a significant portion of the basketball internet will use that as evidence Jokić was not deserving of back-to-back MVPs. With the West as wide open as ever, the Nuggets will not have an excuse not to make a deep, convincing run. These playoffs for Denver are about proving skeptics—and there are many of them—wrong. If the Nuggets can’t get it done, Jokić’s legacy takes a major, major hit. And a tiny seedling of doubt may enter their fans’ heads, wondering whether the Joker can truly be the best guy on a title team. All that combined with the fact Denver has never won an NBA championship means the stakes can’t get much higher for those riding with the Nuggets.
