The Top 10 NBA Finals Performances in the Last 10 Years

Shaquille O'Neal. Tim Duncan. Kobe Bryant. Dwyane Wade.

They've all risen through the NBA ranks and are among the best in the game because they've raised their play when it's mattered the most: the NBA Finals.

As the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic face off in the 2009 NBA Finals, this list looks at the Top 10 individual game performances in the Finals over the last 10 years.

They are classic performances that have set the tone of a series, made a statement, clinched a championship, defined a career.

10. Ray Allen – 2008 NBA Finals, Game 6 vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Ray Allen put on a jump-shooting clinic that would have made Larry Bird proud.

In the Boston Celtics’ championship-clinching win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals, Allen scored 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, including 7-of-9 from three, in just 32 minutes.

The Celtics led by 23 at halftime and coasted to a 131-92 win. Boston’s 39-point victory was the largest in an NBA Finals-clinching game.

Allen helped the Celtics win their first championship since 1986 and 17th overall.

9. Tim Duncan – 1999 NBA Finals, Game 1 vs. New York

In his first NBA Finals game, Tim Duncan proved he belonged and offered a preview of great things to come.

Duncan, in his second NBA season, led the San Antonio Spurs to an 89-77 win over the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the 1999 NBA Finals, scoring 33 points and adding 16 rebounds.

The Spurs would cruise past the eighth-seeded Knicks in five games, and the 23-year-old Duncan would win the first of his four NBA Championships and three NBA Finals MVP Awards.

8. Allen Iverson – 2001 NBA Finals, Game 1 at Los Angeles Lakers

It was Allen Iverson’s signature performance during his 2000-01 MVP season.

The 6”0” Iverson scored an incredible 48 points in 52 minutes in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 107-101 Game 1 overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals.

It was a typical game for Iverson: He took 41 shots to score 48 points, but he added six assists, five steals and five rebounds.

Iverson, who dropped 30 in the first half, scored seven of Philadelphia’s 13 points in overtime, two of which came on his famous crossover-into-a-jumper against Tyronn Lue on the right wing.

Iverson buried the shot and emphatically stepped over Lue, who was sprawled out on the floor in front of the Lakers’ bench.

The Lakers’ Game 1 defeat to the 76ers was their only loss during the 2001 playoffs, as they went 15-1 on the way to their second consecutive NBA Championship.

7. Shaquille O’Neal – 2000 NBA Finals, Game 2 vs. Indiana

The Diesel simply dominated in his first NBA Finals in purple and gold.

Shaquille O’Neal powered his way to 40 points and 24 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 111-104 win in Game 2 of the 2000 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

Shaq could have inflicted even more damage in the game if he was even a decent free throw shooter. O’Neal was an amazing 18-of-39 from the foul line in the game.

O’Neal was unstoppable in the first two games of the series, scoring 43 points and grabbing 19 boards in Game 1.

With a 2-0 series lead, the Lakers eventually topped the Pacers in six games, with Shaq collecting his first championship ring and NBA Finals MVP Award.

6. Kobe Bryant – 2000 NBA Finals, Game 4 at Indiana

It was Kobe’s Coming Out Party.

The Los Angeles Lakers had a 2-1 series lead over the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals. Going into Game 4 in Indiana, the Lakers looked to take command of the series.

Bryant, slowed by a sore ankle, played just nine minutes in Game 2 and sat out of Game 3.

The rest clearly helped in Game 4.

When the game went into overtime and Shaquille O’Neal (36 points, 21 rebounds) fouled out with 2:33 left, the Lakers, who held a 112-111 lead at the time, looked to the 21-year-old Bryant to carry them to the finish.

Bryant stepped up in what was the biggest game of his young career, scoring six of the team’s last eight points, including a huge follow layup with 5.9 seconds left to seal L.A.’s 120-118 win.

Bryant finished with 28 points in 47 minutes as the Lakers took a 3-1 series lead and would close out Indiana in six games.

It was the first of three-straight Los Angeles championships.

5. Dwyane Wade – 2006 NBA Finals, Game 5 vs. Dallas

After losing the first two games of the 2006 NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat battled back to tie the series at two games a piece.

Wade again wouldn’t be denied in pivotal Game 5.

Wade hit the game-winning free throws with 1.9 seconds left in Miami’s 101-100 overtime win, setting an NBA Finals game record by making 21 free throws.

Though he shot just 11-of-28 from the floor, Wade ended with 43 points in 50 minutes, going 21-of-25 from the foul line.

After three-straight wins at home, the Heat closed out the series and won the 2006 NBA Championship in Game 6 in Dallas.

4. Shaquille O’Neal – 2000 NBA Finals, Game 1 vs. Indiana

In his first NBA Finals appearance with the Los Angeles Lakers, The Diesel set the tone early.

Shaq scored 43 points and added 19 rebounds in the Lakers’ 104-87 Game 1 win over the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals.

O’Neal shot 21-of-31 from the floor and added four assists and three blocks. Kobe Bryant was the Lakers’ second-leading scorer in the game with just 14 points.

Shaq and the Lakers went on to win the series 4-2, as the franchise won its first championship since 1988.

O’Neal won his first of three-straight NBA Finals MVP Awards, averaging 38 points and 17 boards in the series.

3. Dwyane Wade – 2006 NBA Finals, Game 3 vs. Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks were six minutes from a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals.

Dwyane Wade didn’t let it happen.

The Mavericks won the first two games of the series at home and had a 13-point lead with six minutes left in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in Miami.
Wade, though, rallied his team to a 98-96 win, scoring 12 points in the second half of the fourth.

Wade finished with 42 points and 13 rebounds in the game.

It was the first of Miami’s four-straight wins over Dallas en route to a 4-2 championship victory.

Wade was crowned NBA Finals MVP, averaging 35 points in the series.

2. Shaquille O’Neal – 2002 NBA Finals, Game 2 vs. New Jersey

For one night, Shaquille O’Neal made the NBA think twice about the infamous “Hack-a-Shaq” scheme.

O’Neal bullied his way past the New Jersey Nets in Game 2 of the 2002 NBA Finals, scoring 40 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 106-83 win.

It was a classic Shaq game, but The Diesel was on fire from both the floor and the free throw line. O’Neal shot 14-of-23 from the field (61 percent) and an amazing 12-of-14 from the charity strip (86 percent).

Not bad for a career 53-percent free-throw shooter.

Shaq dominated the Lakers’ four-game sweep of the Nets, averaging 36 points and 12 rebounds.

O’Neal won his third-straight NBA Finals MVP Award during the Lakers’ three-peat.

1. Tim Duncan – 2003 NBA Finals, Game 6 vs. New Jersey

In career of clutch NBA Finals performances, Tim Duncan outdid his own Hall-of-Fame standard with a ridiculous near-quadruple-double against the New Jersey Nets in 2003.

Duncan dominated with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and eight blocks in Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals, leading his San Antonio Spurs to an 88-77 win and a 4-2 championship victory over New Jersey.

Duncan, who tied an NBA Finals game record with eight blocks, won his second of three career NBA Finals MVP Awards.

He averaged an incredible 24 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks and five assists in the series.

1. Tim Duncan – 2003 NBA Finals, Game 6 vs. New Jersey

In career of clutch NBA Finals performances, Tim Duncan outdid his own Hall-of-Fame standard with a ridiculous near-quadruple-double against the New Jersey Nets in 2003.

Duncan dominated with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and eight blocks in Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals, leading his San Antonio Spurs to an 88-77 win and a 4-2 championship victory over New Jersey.

Duncan, who tied an NBA Finals game record with eight blocks, won his second of three career NBA Finals MVP Awards.

He averaged an incredible 24 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks and five assists in the series.