Players under the most pressure to perform in the NBA playoffs 

Playoff games simply matter more. And in the NBA, a player's legacy is often wrapped up in how they perform when the lights are the brightest and the intensity is at its peak. 

So with the NBA postseason about to get underway, these are the star players who are under the most pressure to perform. 

James Harden 

After being wrapped up in drama in recent years, James Harden enjoyed an individual season worthy of being an All-NBA selection. During the 2024-25 season, Harden moved back into his role as a primary scorer and distributor on a contending team following a miserable first season with the Los Angeles Clippers.  

Harden averaged 22.8 points, 8.7 assists and 5.8 rebounds in 79 games as Los Angeles secured the No. 5 seed in the West. 

A knock on Harden has always been his lack of postseason success. Stars are expected to step up their game in the playoffs, yet Harden's career playoff scoring average of 22.7 is actually below his regular season mark of 24.1. 

Until Harden has a monster performance that leads his team to a big playoff win, he will likely always be remembered as a great player who would shrink in the postseason. It's not even necessarily that Harden has to capture his first NBA title, but that he has to play well and up to his normal standard. 

Luka Doncic

It may be unfair to argue a player with one of the highest postseason scoring averages in league history is facing pressure to perform. However, that's just the case with Luka Doncic.  

Doncic has averaged 30.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.0 assists in 50 playoff games in his career. He even led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals just last year. 

But he's now a Los Angeles Laker after being a part of one of the most shocking trades in sports history. Lakers fans don't care what a player achieved elsewhere, they demand that same success carries over for their team. 

Doncic, 26, is just hitting his prime, but he will need a postseason moment while wearing purple and gold to ever fully be embraced by Lakers Nation. 

Karl-Anthony Towns

Much like Doncic, Karl-Anthony Towns will have his postseason play under more of a microscope now that he's in a bigger market.  

Towns was only able to experience four postseasons during his nine years in Minnesota, averaging 18.8 points and 10.2 boards in those 32 games. But even as the Minnesota Timberwolves reached the Western Conference Finals last season, Towns' production was often hit or miss. 

Towns is coming off his best season in years from his debut year with the New York Knicks, but New York expects to a deep run and will need the five-time All-Star to be at his best for that to happen. 

Donovan Mitchell 

No matter what any narrative may suggest, Donovan Mitchell has never shied away from the moment in the playoffs. Mitchell's career postseason scoring average of 28.1 tells the story of a star player increasing his normal production in big games. 

The issue for Mitchell is he hasn't enjoyed much success from a team perspective. 

From his time with the Utah Jazz and through two postseasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mitchell's teams hold a 23-31 playoff record and have only advanced to the second round three times. 

As the East's No. 1 seed, the Cavaliers are a true title contender for the first time without LeBron James on the team. It's now up to Mitchell to be their best player and the reason why the Cavs' hang another banner.