The NBA season has officially entered the summer “dog days” as teams and players take some well-deserved time off before the beginning of the regular season on October 22nd. All major names have been signed, the slew of free agency trades have happened and contract extensions have, for the most part, been signed, finally ending the chaotic frenzy that is NBA free agency. The landscape of the league remains mostly the same, and there is still a great amount of parity when it comes to picking out a clear champion this season. This, of course, puts pressure on players around the league to play better and lead their teams to secure the lofty goals that have been set before them. We took a look around the league and picked out the five players under the most pressure during the 2024-25 NBA season.

1. Philadelphia 76ers C Joel Embiid

Alright, this is it. No more seasons where he gets to have excuses about his team or the difficulty and talent of the opponents that he faces. When Embiid was healthy last season, there was no player more dominant than him in the league. There was a point late into the season where Joel still had more points scored than he had minutes played. Coming off an Olympic run where he played better and better as it went on and an offseason in which his team signed the top free agent in Paul George, Embiid has everything he needs to finally bring home a title. This star-studded lineup meshes better than the Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons experiment did and the ancillary pieces are better than ever. If Embiid fails to get it done this season, the complaints about him being a regular season-only player gain another season of evidence with less and less opportunity for Joel to prove them wrong.

2. Milwaukee Bucks PG Damian Lillard

After years of being called the most loyal star in today’s NBA, Lillard decided that he needed the opportunity to meaningfully chase down the championship that has eluded him for so long. One season removed from his trade to Milwaukee, people have more questions than ever about that move. Dame spoke about the jarring change that he was dealing with, being removed from his family and community, as well as trying to insert himself alongside one of the most dominant forces in the NBA in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Most are willing to give Lillard the benefit of the doubt after one season, but he is expected to return to his peak form and find more comfortability with this Bucks squad. One thing is for sure; no matter what Lillard does this season, he will go down as one of the best point guards in the last decade alongside Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook, amongst others.

3. Phoenix Suns PF Kevin Durant

When you’re securely in the top 15 conversation when talking about all-time NBA players in history, you’re expected to maintain that greatness, not get swept in the first round. That being said, there is still a massive amount of fear and respect surrounding Kevin Durant entering this season because he’s yet to see a decrease in his scoring numbers, hanging around the top of the leaderboard when looking at per game averages and shooting efficiency. Now the challenge becomes getting the players around him to buy in and come along with him so he doesn’t have to put the entire team on his back in order to make a run. Olympic experience for Devin Booker and improved health from the whole roster, especially Bradley Beal should help, but Durant is still the leader of this team. While he doesn’t necessarily need to be the vocal person in the locker room, his teammates look to him to set the tone for them on the court. 

4. Miami Heat SF Jimmy Butler

Ever since he found his way to Miami back in 2019, Jimmy “Buckets” has helped the team overachieve and be uber-competitive in the Eastern Conference. Two runs to the NBA Finals shouldn’t be overlooked even though both ended in somewhat non-competitive losses to superior teams in the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. However, the NBA has become a league dominated by the “what have you done for me recently?” question, especially when it comes to contract negotiations. Butler has noticeably taken the regular season less and less seriously over the last few years, leading to hesitation from Pat Riley when it comes to an extension. Butler finds himself in a contract year this season and needs to prove that he can still play on a high level on an every night basis if he wants to stay in Miami and secure the payday that he feels he deserves. 

5. Memphis Grizzlies PG Ja Morant

What do you get when you goof around off the court and sustain an almost season-long absence from the NBA? You get forgotten, and that is exactly what has happened to Morant over the past year and to a certain extent, the rest of his team. Ironically, this might be the best thing that could have happened to the Grizzlies as they approach this season with a re-tooled roster featuring the additions of Marcus Smart and Zach Edey down low. Expectations for Ja and Co. aren’t as high as they have been in years past, giving them the chance to take other teams by surprise, just like they did back in the 2023 season, where they were dominant before running into the Los Angeles Lakers in the postseason.  As the leader of the team, a lot of pressure faces Morant as he fights to get back to where he was on the court while also banishing his demons from off of it.