{"id":10230,"date":"2025-06-23T12:31:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T12:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=10230"},"modified":"2025-06-23T12:31:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T12:31:44","slug":"top-nba-storylines-thunder-repeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/top-nba-storylines-thunder-repeat","title":{"rendered":"Top Storylines to Follow in the NBA This Summer: Will the Thunder Finally End the Repeat Drought in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>For <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/league\/nba-103\">NBA<\/a> teams, it would seem the Achilles heel to winning a championship is the literal Achilles tendon rupturing in your franchise player in the playoffs. This year was a disaster for that as Damian Lillard (Bucks), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), and Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers) all suffered that serious injury during a playoff game. Maybe we need to retire \u201c0\u201d as a jersey number as it\u2019s evidently cursed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Every player who tore their Achilles these playoffs wore number 0. <br><br>That jersey is cursed. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FYDkg79PAL\">pic.twitter.com\/FYDkg79PAL<\/a><\/p>&mdash; BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BricksCenter\/status\/1936948763727397322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Haliburton\u2019s injury is obviously the most damaging as it happened halfway through the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and after he looked ready for the moment with three made 3-point shots. It was devastating, and the Pacers came up short in their bid for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-finals-game-7-picks-thunder-pacers\">NBA\u2019s all-time underdog run<\/a> to a championship, which the highly favored <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/team\/oklahoma-city-thunder-1330\">Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> won instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s one thing to lose a hard-fought playoff series. But when you throw that injury on top of it, that could compromise next season for these teams like the Pacers, Celtics, and Bucks as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throw in some real unrest with how the 76ers feel about Joel Embiid, how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/giannis-antetokounmpo-53487\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> feels about staying in Milwaukee, how the Knicks\u2019 coaching search has gone, and what the Lakers and their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/who-is-new-lakers-owner-mark-walter-wealth-history-explained\">new rich owner<\/a> want to do with their money \u2013 having a healthy roster and stability at the top of the organization could be extremely valuable in the 2025-26 NBA season \u2013 even more than usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s also why the Oklahoma City Thunder are already a strong favorite (+220 at FanDuel) to repeat and win the 2026 NBA Finals. Even the Boston Celtics were only +300 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-finals-recap-future-doncic-celtics\">this time one year ago<\/a> after beating Dallas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2025-26 NBA FINALS ODDS ARE UP \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udea8<br><br>What\u2019s the play? <br><br>(Via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FDSportsbook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FDSportsbook<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PgcZxtrPa4\">pic.twitter.com\/PgcZxtrPa4<\/a><\/p>&mdash; br_betting (@br_betting) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/br_betting\/status\/1936992495914586558?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Knicks, Rockets, and Cavaliers are all tied for second with +850 odds, but don\u2019t go placing any bets just yet. The NBA moves quickly as the 2025 draft is this week, and free agency is just around the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look at the top storylines to follow this summer as we wait until October for the next NBA season to get here. After last night\u2019s devastating finish with the Haliburton injury, we all probably feel a little robbed of seeing something great at the end after what was the best postseason in a long time for the NBA with so many great moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#will-the-thunder-go-on-a-dynasty-run\">Will the Thunder Go on an NBA Dynasty Run?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#kevin-durant-traded-to-houston-rockets\">Five NBA Teams: Kevin Durant Traded to Houston Rockets<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-2025-nba-draft-cooper-flagg-to-dallas\">The 2025 NBA Draft: Cooper Flagg to Dallas?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#nba-coaching-changes-who-will-the-knicks-hire\">NBA Coaching Changes: Who Will the Knicks Hire?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#nba-legends-on-the-move-or-not-all-eyes-on-giannis-antetokounmpo\">NBA Legends on the Move (Or Not): All Eyes on Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"will-the-thunder-go-on-a-dynasty-run\">Will the Thunder Go on an NBA Dynasty Run?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I see we\u2019re back to throwing the \u2018d-word\u2019 out there in sports media, and I can tolerate it when you\u2019re talking about the Kansas City Chiefs. That\u2019s a modern dynasty. But the Florida Panthers trying to claim it after one NHL repeat is premature, and the NBA media were already using the word for Oklahoma City even before Game 7 tipped off. That\u2019s crazy, but what else do you expect from NBA media that comprises of Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, and Kendrick Perkins?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fact is people see dynasty potential for the Thunder here thanks to their youth and talent as most of the core is very young, and players like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren shouldn\u2019t have reached the peak of their capabilities yet. Williams has all the potential to be a Scottie Pippen-like sidekick to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/shai-gilgeous-alexander-64164\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, who has gotten better every year and he just became the fourth player to win the scoring title, MVP, and Finals MVP in the same season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coach Mark Daigneault is only 40 years old and seems to have a good vision for the game. This team also isn\u2019t a one-year fluke or flash in the pan as the Thunder were 57-25 and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference a year ago too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Granted, were they really the \u201cbest margin of victory in NBA history for a season\u201d level of great this year? They set that record, but I\u2019d argue they weren\u2019t exceptionally great at shooting (any depth level), passing, or rebounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>As I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/2025-nba-wcf-preview-okc-minnesota#what-is-the-secret-sauce-for-the-thunders-historic-season\">tried telling everyone in May<\/a>, the Thunder\u2019s secret sauce is dominating turnovers like no other team in NBA history on both ends of the court. They protect the ball very well and they pressure you and out-hustle you into mistakes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yes, they get away with quite a bit of contact too \u2013 especially Alex Caruso and Luguentz Dort \u2013 while getting their share of favorable whistles on the other end for touch fouls, something the rest of the league will want looked at if this turns into a dynasty. I\u2019m not sure why SGA is allowed to elbow people to create space with such impunity, but that\u2019s how he won this championship, especially in Game 4 when the Pacers were about to take a 3-1 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we had numbers this postseason that showed the Thunder were very good at deflecting passes and creating disruption with turnovers in 2023-24 as well, but they just took things to another level this season, and it absolutely won them the championship in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, Indiana led by one point at halftime in Game 7 even after the devastating Haliburton injury. The Thunder were not able to pull away until the third quarter, and sure enough, that\u2019s when the Pacers had 7 turnovers and got very careless with the ball. The Thunder finished with 32 points off 21 Indiana turnovers, and that won the game for them on a night where they barely shot 40% and SGA scored 29 points on 27 shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was the turnovers. It was always the turnovers with this team, and while you might think they\u2019re due for some regression to the mean in this area next year as maybe more of those deflected balls will go the other way, that may not be the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without doing a formal study on it, I feel that turnovers in the NBA are more consistent (solid correlation; teams are more likely to repeat success or struggles from previous season) than in the NFL where they have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nfl-turnover-regression-in-2025\">proven to be very random<\/a> and prone to regression to the mean on both sides of the ball (especially defense).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure, the Thunder will unlikely improve their turnover numbers in 2025-26, but they\u2019re still going to put pressure on the ball and force officials to whistle them for fouls. This part of their game isn\u2019t just going to go away unless they are somehow satisfied with the one ring and not hungry for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While I would still argue Boston\u2019s strategy of high-volume 3-point shooting on top of playing great defense \u2013 the Golden State method basically \u2013 is more sustainable to winning multiple championships than being Turnover Merchants like OKC, this is something they can keep doing while hopefully their young players (Williams and Holmgren) get better and more consistent at scoring and rebounding. Holmgren\u2019s blocked shots and rebounding were also huge in Game 7, and Williams finally got those two steals <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-finals-game-7-picks-thunder-pacers\">I kept picking him<\/a> to get every game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the Thunder have the right team composition to get this done. <strong>But the elephant in the room is that the NBA\u2019s crowned seven new champions in seven seasons since 2019 \u2013 the second-longest streak in NBA history behind 1970-86 when no one repeated until the Lakers did in 1987-88<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The last repeat was the 2017-18 Warriors, and this is a league that loves repeat champions. But as we studied last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-playoffs-more-nba-star-players-injured\">injuries to star players come playoff time<\/a> are at an all-time high, and that (combined with the volatile 3-point shot and load management arguably making bench play more important) has a lot to do with the postseason results from the last decade being so filled with upsets and one-off runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can the Thunder repeat? Absolutely. Will they do it? Well, if you can promise me SGA or J-Dub won\u2019t pop their Achilles next spring, then I might buy into it. But it wasn\u2019t the easiest path for them this year as this team was staring a 3-1 hole in the face in both Denver and Indiana before pulling out both games and eventually winning Game 7 at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not sure that leads itself well to a dynasty run, but someone will have to beat them, and this is a league that\u2019s still celebrating the likes of LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant (see next section) when they are very close to retirement rather than adding any more championships to their resumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Thunder are the team to beat, and it\u2019s also a matter of just staying healthy for the whole playoff run \u2013 something almost no team is able to do anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"kevin-durant-traded-to-houston-rockets\">Five NBA Teams: Kevin Durant Traded to Houston Rockets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The NBA Finals weren\u2019t the league\u2019s only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/45561747\/sources-suns-trading-kevin-durant-rockets-blockbuster-deal\">big news<\/a> on Sunday. Kevin Durant is getting traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th pick in the 2025 draft, and five second-round picks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Durant turns 37 in September, and this will be his fifth team. He\u2019s still scoring a lot and shooting the ball efficiently, but this won\u2019t make the Rockets better defensively for coach Ime Udoka. However, Houston\u2019s offense was maddeningly frustrating last year despite a 52-30 record that was good enough for No. 2 in the Western Conference, and that\u2019s where the Rockets needed the most help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A big source of that frustration was the young and inconsistent Green, who had a 38-point Game 2 against the Warriors in the playoffs before scoring 9-8-11-12-8 points in the final five games of that first-round loss. Your leading scorer cannot be that impotent for five games in a playoff series, so I think the move is very justified, and losing Brooks is no big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But is Durant enough to take down the Thunder or even finish ahead of the Nuggets or similar teams? Not sure about that. He hasn\u2019t had many deep playoff runs outside of the Golden State years and durability\/injury is always a concern with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it does add an interesting layer to the Western Conference this year as maybe Durant can shine with his new team as a way to slow down the repeat attempt of his original team. Check that, the Seattle SuperSonics (#NeverForget) were his original team, so let\u2019s just say the team he played the most games for in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Durant is the first major domino to fall in player movement this offseason. Expect much more to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-2025-nba-draft-cooper-flagg-to-dallas\">The 2025 NBA Draft: Cooper Flagg to Dallas?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we get into more free agency news, it\u2019s the 2025 NBA Draft this Wednesday and Thursday. It\u2019s one of those classes where there is one big prize at the top in Duke\u2019s Cooper Flagg, and the Dallas Mavericks somehow ended up winning the draft lottery to get the rights to that No. 1 pick despite having 1.8% odds to do so. Many were saying it was rigged or a hush-hush deal after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/basketball\/player\/luka-doncic-53106\">Luka Doncic<\/a> trade to LA, but the Mavericks get a shot to take the most deserving player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, I think it would have been far more interesting if Flagg took his defensive skills and potential for promising offense to the Charlotte Hornets where he could stay in North Carolina and help that team get back on track. The Utah Jazz also would have been a fitting pick for obvious reasons. A famous white player from Duke? Yeah, that\u2019s Utah through and through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in Dallas, you\u2019re talking about potentially having Flagg next to Anthony Davis, or a \u201cdouble big\u201d that ESPN\u2019s Doris Burke could only dream about. That duo could do some damage to OKC\u2019s Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But you\u2019re going to need a good guard to get something out of that, and Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March. He was set to be a free agent this summer, but with that kind of injury usually taking a 9-month recovery period, it\u2019s possible he just stays in Dallas, returns during the season and tests the waters next offseason. But a trio of Irving-Davis-Flagg could be interesting. However, you\u2019re talking about a rookie Flagg and a post-ACL Irving, so don\u2019t expect much in 2025-26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mavericks are +3200 at FanDuel to win the championship, which is 13th among all teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you\u2019re looking for a headline beyond Flagg in the draft, don\u2019t sleep on Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, the favorite to go No. 2 to the Spurs. That could be an interesting addition with Victor Wembanyama, De\u2019Aaron Fox, and Stephon Castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">3 days untill dylan harper is a spur! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GqMnPdC6EO\">pic.twitter.com\/GqMnPdC6EO<\/a><\/p>&mdash; saylor (@wemgoat) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wemgoat\/status\/1936981315561066707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe the Spurs could make it three straight Rookie of the Year winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"nba-coaching-changes-who-will-the-knicks-hire\">NBA Coaching Changes: Who Will the Knicks Hire?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>NBA coaches sometimes don\u2019t last as long as my articles, so let\u2019s not spend too much time on them. But it\u2019s a little wild that the Nuggets (David Adelman) and Grizzlies (Tuomas Iisalo) both prematurely fired their coaches late in the season before making the playoffs, then promoted the interim coach to the full-time job. The Kings also promoted interim coach Doug Christie, so that\u2019s three teams going that route. Let\u2019s hope it works better than in the NFL where it\u2019s usually a terrible move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But then you also have the Spurs replacing the legendary Gregg Popovich with Mitch Johnson after too many health issues have ailed Pop. Johnson is also a promotion as he\u2019s been an assistant since 2019 with the Spurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for a team who actually went out of the building to make a hire, the Suns fired Mike Budenholzer after one year and replaced him with Jordan Ott, who was an assistant in Cleveland this past season. But he won\u2019t have Kevin Durant to use on offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That just leaves the New York Knicks, who fired Tom Thibodeau after five years and after getting the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals. Maybe he wasn\u2019t the right guy to get the team over the hump, but boy, it sure looks a little premature in an Eastern Conference where the Pacers and Celtics could be compromised with those Achilles injuries for Haliburton and Tatum. They may not be back until the playoffs, if their teams are even going that far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throw in the way Joel Embiid is always hurt in Philadelphia and can\u2019t get past the second round regardless. Throw in the fact that Giannis might leave Milwaukee, and that really leaves the Knicks with a nice path to the NBA Finals in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, who do they hire? They keep requesting to interview active coaches like Jason Kidd and Ime Udoka and have been denied. They are reportedly interested in the likes of Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins, but there\u2019s seemingly no rush to make this crucial hire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look, I\u2019d hire Michael Malone, who shouldn\u2019t have been fired by the Nuggets. He\u2019s got experience of deep playoff runs, overcoming adversity, he knows how to develop home-grown talent, good leadership, and he\u2019s got a nice situation set up to win big in Year 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we\u2019ll see what the Knicks actually do here as the final piece of the coaching puzzle, assuming they don\u2019t try to steal Rick Carlisle away from the Pacers after losing to him in the playoffs two years in a row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hey, maybe that\u2019d be a great idea if Indiana was crazy enough to allow it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"nba-legends-on-the-move-or-not-all-eyes-on-giannis-antetokounmpo\">NBA Legends on the Move (Or Not): All Eyes on Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, we can talk about free agency where negotiations can begin June 30, 2025. It\u2019s not the deepest class as someone like Brandon Ingram (Raptors) has already signed an extension, and we already talked about Kyrie Irving\u2019s injury probably cooling his market considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this is the first NBA free agency after the shocking Luka Doncic trade in February, so we\u2019ll see if \u201canything goes\u201d is truly on the table for NBA teams after that bit of madness from GM Nico Harrison, who may end up winning in the end if Cooper Flagg is as good as advertised. Not that he deserves to win for that trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some heavy hitters with player options and the ability to change teams this summer, but not many teams have the cap space to make it work without trading away some major assets and shaking up the chemistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can we chill with the super team stuff? The last three champions (2023 Nuggets, 2024 Celtics, and 2025 Thunder) have all shown you can develop your own players and make modest free-agent moves to build a championship team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alas, players like LeBron James and James Harden could be on the move, but will either really want to play for a team that can afford them like the Brooklyn Nets? They\u2019re not ready to be a contender, and we know LeBron only cares about getting that fifth ring, and Harden would like just one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both can still contribute heavily to a top team, but age is catching up on them. There\u2019s also an argument that staying in Los Angeles is the best decision for both, and that may be what ends up happening, keeping this free-agent period even weaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otherwise, you\u2019re looking at a player like Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors) looking to cash in with a new team. Maybe Clint Capela (Hawks) is a top center option for a rebounder, and Myles Turner (Pacers) may leave Indiana after a decade. Julius Randle may or may not be back in Minnesota where he went from having a great postseason to reminding us why he\u2019s been bad in the playoffs for most of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Miami Heat<\/strong> could be a team that\u2019s on the move for a new star after trading Jimmy Butler to the Warriors. Who could they get? That\u2019s the spot that could be most interesting for <strong>Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/strong> if he really wants to leave the coaching instability behind in Milwaukee, a team that also has Dame\u2019s Achilles injury to deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Giannis is under contract through 2026-27, and it\u2019s a tough super-max contract to move. A team like Miami would be expected to give up a player like Bam Adebayo and possibly more (Tyler Herro?) in addition to multiple high picks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why there is sentiment that Giannis won\u2019t be moved this summer, and contrary to popular belief, the new Lakers owner, billionaire Mark Walton, can\u2019t really spend an infinite amount of money like he\u2019s done with the Los Angeles Dodgers in MLB to buy the best team. There are stricter penalties in place with the NBA\u2019s soft cap, including a first and second apron system where you can\u2019t go above a certain amount without the harshest penalty like loss of draft picks and considerable fines and luxury taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, you can\u2019t just field a team with LeBron, Luka, and Giannis in 2025-26 even if that\u2019d be so interesting to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While a Giannis move would be the most interesting player to change teams this season, maybe with the state of the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee just tries to bring him another good teammate and make the most of what they have this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this summer, the NBA and every NBA star should look into doing whatever exercises they can to strengthen the calf and Achilles, or making it more flexible, or producing a shoe that will give the most protection from that type of injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Achilles is unfortunately having way too much of an impact on the legacies of today\u2019s NBA players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-finals-game-7-picks-thunder-pacers\">NBA Finals Game 7 Picks: Will the Thunder Save Their Season, or Will the Indiana Pacers Complete the NBA\u2019s All-Time Underdog Run?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-finals-game-6-picks-thunder-pacers\">NBA Finals Game 6 Picks: Do the Thunder Win Their First Championship or Do the Pacers Have a Miracle Left?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-finals-game-5-picks-pacers-blow-shot\">NBA Finals Game 5 Picks: Did the Indiana Pacers Blow Their Upset Shot Friday Night?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-finals-game-4-picks-pacers-upset\">NBA Finals Game 4 Picks: Pacers Halfway Home to the NBA\u2019s Greatest Upset<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/2025-nba-finals-game-3-picks-pacers-okc\">2025 NBA Finals Game 3 Picks: Are the Pacers Already in Big Trouble Against the Thunder?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/2025-nba-finals-preview-pacers-thunder\">2025 NBA Finals Preview: How Can the Indiana Pacers Upset a Historically Great Season from the Oklahoma City Thunder?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/10-greatest-nba-conf-finals-knicks-pacers\">The 10 Greatest NBA Conference Finals Series of All Time and Picks for Pacers-Knicks Game 5<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/2025-nba-ecf-preview-knicks-pacers\">2025 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Who Has the Edge Between Knicks and Pacers?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/2025-nba-wcf-preview-okc-minnesota\">2025 NBA Western Conference Finals Preview: How Can the Timberwolves Stop the Thunder?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wnba-2025-season-preview-liberty-repeat\">WNBA 2025 Season Preview: Liberty Defend Title Against the Arrival of Paige Bueckers and the MVP Chase for Caitlin Clark<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/knicks-celtics-series-preview-who-will-win\">Knicks-Celtics Series Preview: Who Will Win?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/2025-nba-playoffs-preview-nba-finals-odds\">2025 NBA Playoffs Preview and NBA Finals Odds: The Thunder Are Historically Great But Can They Finish?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/lakers-odds-2025-finals\">They\u2019re In: Lakers\u2019 Odds to Win 2025 NBA Finals<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/2025-nba-finals-odds-update-all-star-break\">2024-25 NBA Finals Odds Update: Celtics and Thunder Still Lead the Way at All-Star Break<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/storylines-from-the-2025-nba-trade-deadline\">Storylines from the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline: Who Got Better and How the League Changes<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/2024-25-nba-season-preview\">2024-25 NBA Season Preview: Top Storylines and Best Bets for NBA Finals and Player Awards<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-opening-week\">NBA 2024-25 Opening Week: What to Expect<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/nba-playoffs-more-nba-star-players-injured\">NBA Playoffs: Are More NBA Star Players Injured Than Ever Before?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For NBA teams, it would seem the Achilles heel to winning a championship is the literal Achilles tendon rupturing in your franchise player in the playoffs. This year was a disaster for that as Damian Lillard (Bucks), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), and Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers) all suffered that serious injury during a playoff game. Maybe we &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":10153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3677,1271,2128,43,238,933,239,389,1207,1034,1208,808,758,44,1366,1248,1270,3161,477,475,829,1252,394,866],"class_list":["post-10230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-achilles","tag-bucks","tag-cooper-flagg","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-heat","tag-james-harden","tag-joel-embiid","tag-kevin-durant","tag-knicks","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-lakers","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nba","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-finals","tag-nuggets","tag-oklahoma-city","tag-pacers","tag-rockets","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-suns","tag-thunder","tag-tyrese-haliburton","article_type-discover","article_type-news","entity_type-athlete","entity_type-match","inspiration-365s-articles","inspiration-planned"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10230"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10240,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10230\/revisions\/10240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}