Ring culture has become everything in today’s NBA, and while that might not be the best way to measure a player’s greatness, being a champion is an ultimate goal, so it’s definitely a big criterion.
With that in mind, NBA analyst Alan Hahn put together his list of the five NBA players under the most pressure to win a championship right now, and it didn’t disappoint.
.@alanhahn's top NBA players who need to win their first title:
1. Joel Embiid
2. James Harden
3. Jayson Tatum
4. Devin Booker
5. Jimmy Butler pic.twitter.com/K9AaYxR72Q— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 21, 2023
At No. 5, he talked about Jimmy Butler, who’s knocked on the door of an NBA championship twice already and has talked over and over about all he wants to do is to win a ring.
Then, he talked about Devin Booker, who’s still quite young but has now had a plethora of superstar teammates tot try and get the job done, and he fell short of that goal once already.
Unsurprisingly, Jayson Tatum got the nod at No. 3, as he’s also reached the NBA Finals once in his career, and Hahn says that one never knows what can happen in the league and whether Tatum will have a long run as a star as everyone expects him to.
Likewise, he talked about James Harden at No. 2, remembering all the times he’s fell short in the postseason and how his legacy has always been stained by that lack of hardware and poor outings in the playoffs.
And last but not least, Hahn addressed Joel Embiid’s situation, which is no surprise, especially after he fell off so badly in the postseason right after being named the league’s MVP.
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