2026 NBA playoff X-factors: The players who can swing a series on every team

The NBA Playoffs are here! For every team, there is one player who can swing the series, for better or worse. Let’s look at one X-factor for every team:

West: OKC • SAS • DEN • LAL • HOU • MIN • POR • PHX/GSW
East: DET • BOS • NYK • CLE • TOR • ATL • PHI • ORL/CHA

(Dillon Marshall/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Jalen Williams is back, but something is off. Last year Williams took a career-high 29% of his shots from 3, averaging nearly five attempts per game and making 37% of them. That evolution — from midrange specialist to genuine perimeter threat — was one of the reasons Oklahoma City won the championship. Defenses couldn’t sag off him anymore. But this season he made only 29.9% of his 3s with under 17.3% of his shots coming from behind the line. He has retreated inside the arc. Even his midrange jumper isn’t falling as often at 41% down from 46% last year and 49% the year prior. He is not the same player who helped close out the Finals.

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Some of this is almost certainly the injuries. Williams dealt with a procedure in the offseason on his shooting wrist and then two hamstring strains that cost him most of the second half of the season. That kind of lower-body damage affects a shooter’s base, his lift, the trust he puts into his legs when he rises up.

But at some point, OKC will need the version we saw last year. And if they don’t get it, then Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain, or Isaiah Joe better be ready to step up in the backcourt.

The Spurs have a lot of X-factors on their team. Luke Kornet could come in and play in two-big lineups next to Wemby. Stephon Castle can seemingly drop a 40-point triple double any night. Carter Bryant is a secret Swiss Army Knife that comes off the bench. Julian Champagnie is inevitably gonna have the Julian Champagnie game. And then there’s Dylan Harper, who just turned 20 and at 6-foot-5 clearly has superstar potential when you watch him power his way into the paint for layups inside. He’s so crafty in the paint, and so strong as a ball-handler, there’s really nothing you can do.

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The reason I’ve argued…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/2026-nba-playoff-x-factors-the-players-who-can-swing-a-series-on-every-team-210606026.html

Author : Kevin O'Connor

Publish date : 2026-04-16 21:06:00

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