"The Steph and LeBron era is over" - Colin Cowherd says this year's playoffs will be a big pivot in the NBA

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LeBron James and Stephen Curry have been the faces of the NBA for at least the last decade. However, according to Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd, seeing their teams both land in the play-in tournament is a sign that their era might be over.

“Are you ready for the big pivot?” asked Colin. “And according to the ratings, you are not. But the Warriors have to go 2-0 in the play-in games for the right to see No.1 seed OKC. And they probably won’t beat them; they don’t have the depth. LeBron… they need to win just one of two games in the play-in for the right to play the world-champion Nuggets, and they’re not beating Denver four times.”

“I think what it is signaling, starting tomorrow in the play-in games, is that the Steph and LeBron era, is over. The big pivot is here,” he said.

Lakers and Dubs limping to the play-in

Either LeBron or Steph has been in 11 out of the last 13 NBA Finals. Since 2015, Golden State has won four championships, while LeBron won one in Cleveland and another in Los Angeles. However, things have looked different this year.

Neither the Warriors nor the Lakers earned an outright playoff spot through the regular season. The Purple and Gold finished as the eighth seed in the West, while the Dubs secured the No.10 spot.

Golden State needs two play-in wins to get the eighth seed. Meanwhile, the Lakers have two chances to get in—either as a No.7 or a No.8 seed. That said, these two could also easily end up fighting for the last playoff spot on Friday.

“The Warriors today though are incredibly Steph Curry reliant. The No. 2 scorer on the Warriors at 18 a game is Klay Thompson. He often came off the bench. The Lakers are good and long but not a lot of shooters and playmakers, no chance they’ll beat Denver four times. So for the next two months, are you ready for the new NBA?” added Cowherd.

New kids on the block

While the old dogs are struggling, the new kids on the block in the West are thriving. The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the regular season with the best record in the Western Conference at 57-25. With an average age of 23.4 years, they are the youngest No.1 seed in the NBA playoffs since the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns—their average age was 25.2 years,

The second-seeded Denver Nuggets are led by 29-year-old Nikola Jokic and arguably the best starting five in the NBA. Then there are the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are led by the 22-year-old superstar Anthony Edwards and a deep team. The fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks are also bannered by 25-year-old Luka Doncic.

There’s no doubt that the Lakers and Warriors can still make the playoffs. Still, there’s a chance that at least one of them won’t. But even if they both get there, they’ll face the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the conference, so advancing to the second round won’t be easy. That’s why Colin may be right; we could be witnessing the end of an era.