Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar... All NBA greats who have made their mark in the competition's biggest stage: the NBA Finals. A best-of-7 series that determines the absolute king of basketball land. Show up in the Finals and your name will forever be written in the NBA's history books.
It's nearly impossible to pick the 10 best moments of a sporting event of this magnitude, and one that's seen so many superstars play in it. Nevertheless, Flashscore has dug through the best moments in NBA Finals history and ranked them from 10 to 1.
Find out the 10 best moments in NBA Playoffs history by reading our article HERE >>>
10. Willis Reed's miraculous return (G7, 1970 NBA Finals, Knicks vs Lakers)
When New York Knicks superstar and NBA MVP Willis Reed exited Game 5 of the 1970 NBA Finals with a torn muscle in his right thigh, no human on Earth could've anticipated what 'The Captain' did in the most important game in New York Knicks history.
Reed left Game 5 after having scored 134 points in 199 Finals minutes and with the series tied at two games apiece. The torn muscle in his thigh should've kept him out for the foreseeable future, but nothing could've kept Willis Reed off the court for Game 7 against Wilt Chamberlain's Los Angeles Lakers.
Madison Square Garden erupted when Reed unexpectedly exited the players' tunnel, giving the entire city of New York a massive confidence boost. Fellow Knicks star Walt Frazier underlined this: "When I saw that, something told me we might have these guys."
And they did: Reed scored the Knicks' first four points - his only points of the game - as they stormed to a first-ever NBA championship with a 113-99 win.
9. Hakeem Olajuwon blocks John Starks (G6, 1994 NBA Finals, Rockets vs Knicks)
Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the most dominant players we've ever seen in the NBA. 'The Dream' was a 7ft monster on both sides of the ball, something that helped the Houston Rockets win two NBA championships with the Nigerian superstar on the team.
The 1994 NBA Finals between the Rockets and Patrick Ewing's New York Knicks went all the way to Game 7, but the champions-to-be Rockets were inches away from never making it there at all. John Starks, who hit five threes earlier in Game 6, received a late inbound pass and found his way past Vernon Maxwell to take a potentially winning three.
Starks forgot to take one thing into account: Hakeem Olajuwon. 'The Dream' hustled his way over and tipped Starks' shot, giving it no chance of reaching the net and sealing a life-saving Game 6 win.
8. Magic Johnson's "junior, junior" sky hook (G4, 1987 NBA Finals, Lakers vs Celtics)
When the great Larry Bird calls you the "best basketball player I've ever seen" after the latest chapter of the fiercest rivalry of the 1980s, you know we're talking about an all-timer.
Magic Johnson lived up to his magical moniker in Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. After Bird, whose rivalry with Johnson has gone down as one of the best in NBA history, hit a potentially game-winning three-pointer, Magic Johnson responded in iconic fashion.
After receiving the inbound pass from Michael Cooper with 7 seconds on the clock, Johnson danced around future Hall of Famer Kevin McHale and hit an old-school "junior, junior" sky hook to win the game for the Lakers 107-106 and take a giant leap towards a fourth NBA championship.
7. Allen Iverson sinks and steps over Ty Lue (G1, 2001 NBA Finals, 76ers vs Lakers)
Kobe and Shaq's Lakers against AI's Sixers - the 2001 NBA Finals were bound to have some of the finest basketball moves we'd ever seen. The indomitable Allen Iverson sprinkled some of his magic sauce over the series early and left it for an early pivotal moment.
Game 1 went to overtime with the score tied at 94. With 48 seconds remaining and the 76ers up two, Allen Iverson hit a clutch jumper over Tyronn Lue. Lue tripped, causing AI to hit one of the most iconic moves in NBA history by stepping over his fallen foe. The two-pointer swayed the game definitely in the Sixers' favour, as Philadelphia took Game 1 with a 107-101 OT win.
6. Magic Johnson plays center and seals title (G6, 1980 NBA Finals, Lakers vs 76ers)
Magic Johnson was a revolutionary player for the Los Angeles Lakers, and perhaps his greatest performance came in the second year of his storied NBA career.
Johnson, an All-Star point guard, was just 21 years old when coach Pat Riley started him at center in place of the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals against Dr J.'s Philadelphia 76ers. The 6'8 Johnson put up an absolute masterclass, dismantling the Sixers with 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block in the Lakers' title-clinching 123-107 win.
5. Jerry West's 63ft miracle shot for OT (G3, 1970 NBA Finals, Lakers vs Knicks)
Jerry West is a man known for several things. For starters, he is the player in the NBA logo, giving him the nickname 'The Logo'. But most prominently, West was one of the most lethal players of his time, giving him his other nickname: 'Mr. Clutch.'
West's clutch gene was ever-present in the 1970 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, who were led by the likes of Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, and Dave DeBusschere. The latter had just scored what looked like the winning shot, which left the Lakers without timeouts and just three seconds on the clock to force overtime as they trailed 102-100.
Jerry West received the inbound pass and let it rip from 63 feet. Miraculously, the shot hit, sending Game 3 to overtime as the NBA did not have three-pointers just yet. A one-in-a-million shot from Jerry West, and you'd wonder why they made him the logo.
4. Michael Jordan's "Flu Game" (G5, 1997 NBA Finals, Bulls vs Jazz)
There aren't many single-game performances more famous than Michael Jordan's 'Flu Game' in the 1997 NBA Finals. One year after having won his fourth championship with the Chicago Bulls, 'Air Jordan' returned to the biggest stage to face the Utah Jazz.
With the series tied at two games apiece, Michael Jordan was hit with what looked like a bad case of the flu, later revealed to be food poisoning, leading up to Game 5 in Salt Lake City. 'His Airness' woke up during the night before the game in sweat, shaking profusely as he experienced vomiting and diarrhoea. The Bulls' athletic team gave him no chance of playing against the Jazz, but there was no stopping MJ, both off and on the court.
On no sleep, without any food in his body and hooked up to an IV drip, Michael Jordan played a mythical game, scoring 38 points and recording 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, as he played the second-most minutes on the Bulls (44) and more than anyone on the Jazz in the Bulls' 90-88 win over Utah.
3. Ray Allen's baseline 3 for OT (G6, 2013 NBA Finals, Heat vs Spurs)
Two years after he took his talents to South Beach, LeBron James and the Miami Heat were in the NBA Finals for the second year in a row. After beating the OKC Thunder a year earlier, the San Antonio Spurs of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili were the big adversaries in 2013. It was promising to be a series for the ages, and boy, did it deliver.
The series yo-yo'd from the very start, with the Heat and Spurs exchanging wins in the rhythm of the finest metronome. Then came Game 6 in the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, and it was San Antonio with the advantage. Down three with less than 10 seconds on the clock after Kawhi Leonard hit a free throw, LeBron James attempted a three-pointer but missed.
Chris Bosh was there to pick up the rebound and found three-point wizard Ray Allen in the corner. Allen got the ball and hit a step-back three that left 5.2 seconds on the clock. A sea of white shirts exploded in the stands as Allen lit a fire under the Heat, who would go on to win Game 6 and end the series in San Antonio in Game 7.
2. Michael Jordan finishes the Last Dance (G6, 1998 NBA Finals, Bulls vs Jazz)
Was it a push-off? Was it legal? Should Michael Jordan's last points as a Bull have counted? However you look at it, the series-clinching sequence of play in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz is about as iconic as they come.
Down two in the final minute of regulation, Michael Jordan swatted the ball out of Karl Malone's hands and took it the other way. Bulls coach Phil Jackson trusted his superstar and refused to call a timeout, allowing Michael Jordan to work the type of magic only one of the greatest of all time could create.
Jordan took his time to scan the court, weighed his options, and chose the direct route - 'Air Jordan' crossed reigning MVP Malone, lined up for the jumper and hit it to give the Bulls a 1-point lead with 5.2 seconds on the clock. It were the last points MJ would ever score for the Bulls, who won a sixth ring in eight years and saw Air Jordan head off into the sunset.
1. LeBron James and the Cavaliers seal 3-1 comeback (G7, 2016 NBA Finals, Cavaliers vs Warriors)
When the Cleveland Cavaliers went down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, they were written off. Who could ever upset the 73-9 Warriors down two games in the Finals?
Leave that to the Cavs, led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. The superstar duo put up performances for the ages after Game 4, combining for 82 points in Game 5, days before James went for 41 in the second-straight game in Game 6. Against all odds, the Cavaliers forced a deciding Game 7 in what already looked like the best NBA Finals series of all time.
In Oakland, the NBA title went down to the absolute wire. Game 7 saw a total of 20 lead changes, and after Klay Thompson hit a two-pointer with 4:39 on the clock, the Warriors and Cavaliers were tied at 89 points apiece until 53 seconds before the buzzer. There would've been at least 21 lead changes, were it not for the most iconic block in NBA history - Andre Iguodala charged at the Cavaliers' basket and threw the lay-up, but was viciously blocked by a storming LeBron James.
Less than a minute after Mike Breen uttered the famous words "Blocked by James," Kyrie Irving was iso'd by Steph Curry and hit a deep clutch sidestep three-pointer that earned Cleveland its first pro sports championship since 1964.
FAQ
What is the highest-scoring game by an individual in NBA Finals history?
Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 61 points in Game 5 of the 1961 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Which player has the most career points in the NBA Finals?
Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers leads the all-time NBA Finals points list with 1,679 points, which he scored across nine NBA Finals series.
Has there ever been a Game 7 buzzer-beater to win the championship?
No.
Why is Michael Jordan's 1998 shot considered the "perfect ending"?
Michael Jordan retired after the 1998 season and won his sixth and final NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls by scoring the championship-winning points in Game 6 against the Utah Jazz.
What was the Win Probability of the Miami Heat before Ray Allen’s shot in 2013?
The Miami Heat had a 1.5% chance of winning the NBA Finals before Ray Allen hit the three-pointer that forced overtime in Game 6.
Who is the youngest player to win NBA Finals MVP?
Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers was the youngest-ever NBA Finals MVP when he won it at 20 years and 276 days after the 1980 NBA Finals.