How much patience is required to build a championship contender?

The most simple yet complex questions of the playoffs: who is going to step up? Sometimes it’s a role player like Gabe Davis or Robert Horry. Sometimes it’s a good player like Jimmy Butler ascending even higher. Right at the top are players like Lebron James, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar—stars who somehow become even more in the postseason.

The playoffs are a time to prove things are different from the past. As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue, the remaining teams pull upon the levers necessary for success: star performances, depth scoring, goaltending, and luck. Is the past applicable to the present?

Professional sports are about finding the perfect equilibrium between body and mind. Certain athletes (Bryson DeChambeau, Tiger Woods, Sam Girard, Jordan Binnington) are currently fighting the physical component, while others (Rory Mcilroy, Mito Pereira) are battling the mental. What does it look like when body and mind come together?

To win a championship, a team must be willing and able to play in a variety of ways. What can be learned from the championship arcs of the Golden State Warriors and Tampa Bay Lightning?

Seven different Game 7s (Bruins-Hurricanes, Lightning-Maple Leafs, Kings-Oilers, Penguins-Rangers, Stars-Flames, Bucks-Celtics, Mavs-Suns) were played over last weekend. What separated the winners from losers?

One of the most satisfactory aspects of fandom is following the arc of an athlete whose ceiling appears undefined. Over the last three seasons and change, Cale Makar has transformed into the best defenseman in hockey. What is his ceiling?

The playoffs are where legacies are defined. The playoffs are also where the margins are tiniest. In a strange way, the championship aspirations of many teams boil down to injuries and referees.

There is nothing the sports world despises more than a star player with zero team championships to their name. What is the definition of a playoff player and who qualifies?

When things are going well, the future always seems to extend to infinity. But just as quickly as a championship window opens, it can shut. Ask the 2002 Kings. Or the 2012 Thunder. Or the 2021 Jazz. How much pressure is on teams like the Phoenix Suns and Colorado Avalanche to win the championship this year?