Which NBA Player Faces The Most Pressure In The Playoffs? Kendrick Perkins Thinks It's This All-Star Guard

In the NBA, it’s one thing to pick up regular season wins and it’s another thing to thrive in the playoffs. Far too often, talented stars come up short under the bright lights of the postseason.

For Kendrick Perkins, there’s one elite player who has the most to prove when the 2026 playoffs begin on April 18. “All the pressure is on Donovan Mitchell,” Perkins said on “NBA Countdown” this week. “Matter of fact, he’s under the most pressure out of any other player in the NBA.”

What makes Big Perk so sure? Facts, apparently. “A Donovan MItchell-led team has never, ever made it to a conference final,” Perkins pointed out.

In his first five seasons in the league, Mitchell was only able to lead the Utah Jazz as far as the second round of the playoffs. He did this on two occasions, only to be thwarted by the Houston Rockets and the LA Clippers. When Spida came over to Cleveland, the second-round ceiling appeared to have followed him; over the past two years, the Cavaliers have lost their Eastern Conference semis matchups against the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers.

Last year was particularly painful, as the Cavaliers entered the playoffs as the no. 1 seed, boasting a high-octane offense that banked on Mitchell and Darius Garland. It will be recalled, however, that Garland couldn’t shake off a toe injury that compromised his performance against the Pacers, who eliminated Cleveland in five games.

Should Mitchell, then, bear the brunt of the blame for his teams never making it to the conference final? The thing is, the numbers indicate that he has more than held up his end of the bargain on both ends of the floor. Whether it’s traditional stats like scoring or advanced metrics like PER and defensive win shares (DWS), Mitchell has constantly ranked among the highest in his teams come playoff time.

There are, of course, many other factors that come into play as far as playoff success is concerned: quality of the overall roster, the tactical warfare of coaching, and the caliber of the opponents on your side of the bracket. Mitchell can’t control any of these, however, and all he can do is play his game. And, while he’s at it, look past the pressure imposed by others.