Most of the NBA discourse in the mid-to-late 2010s revolved mainly around three players: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant. At the time, all three stars were still in the peak of their powers. At the time, Curry and Durant were teammates for the Golden State Warriors, while LeBron was with the Cleveland Browns. Since then, all three players have gone different paths, with Durant joining the Phoenix Suns, Curry staying in Golden State, and LeBron going to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Out of the three sure-fire Hall of Famers, which one is closest to winning the championship soon? Well, it might hurt Warriors and Lakers fans, but Shannon Sharpe declared that Durant and the Suns were the ones closest to a chip. (video via ClutchPoints)

“”I would give Kevin Durant in his situation… I think the way Steph Curry is, & the way [the Warriors are]… I don’t really think they have a very good chance.””

Even just a cursory glance at the current NBA standings will tell you all you need to know. The Suns are fifth in the West and have generally been solid this season, and they still have room to be better due to their talent. The next closest to them between Steph's Warriors and Bron's Lakers are the latter, but they're at ninth place with a three-game gap and serious inconsistency woes. The Warriors are at tenth place, but there's also a three game gap between them and LA.

Still, that doesn't mean that the Suns are going to be the ones to make a deep playoff run. Both the Warriors and the Lakers have shown that when they do make it to the final dance, they tend to play deep into the season. In fact, the Lakers went from zero-to-hero last season by crashing their way to the Western Conference Finals. It's likely that Phoenix will face one of these teams in the postseason, especially if they end up with a higher seed than fifth.

At the end of the day, predictions are just that: predictions. It's still up to the Suns to make their own destiny. Can they make Unc Shannon's prediction come true?