NBA Pressure Rankings: Who faces the most heat this season?

Welcome to the NBA Pressure Rankings. We're choosing from players, coaches, and front office executives to figure out the 10 people feeling the most heat entering this season.

Durant will be 38 when the season begins. He has two rings, two Finals MVPs, and a résumé that puts him among the greatest players ever. Things could be worse. But falling short in Oklahoma City , Brooklyn and Phoenix has only emboldened the critics who say he rode Golden State 's coattails to championships he couldn't win anywhere else. Winning in Houston would change that conversation. But how many more chances will he get?

Houston won 52 games despite missing Fred VanVleet all season and losing Steven Adams midway through it. Durant helped carry the Rockets through 78 games before knee and ankle injuries limited him to one appearance in their first-round loss to the Lakers . Better health offers reason for optimism. But Houston's reluctance to make a competitive offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo suggests preserving its young core remains the priority.