Heat vs. Thunder: 10 NBA Finals That Deserved Higher Ratings Than Game 1
Since ABC acquired the right to broadcast the NBA Finals, no Game 1 has managed to drum up this level of interest.
The first game of the should-be-epic series between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder recorded the highest overnight rating since 2002-2003, with a rating of 11.8, up 10 percent from last year's 10.7.
With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all battling it out, this should come as no surprise.
The series features the two best players in basketball, a ton of other entertaining athletes and the best beard in the game. That should earn the ratings.
However, these 10 NBA Finals from the past deserved higher ratings than this series opener.
1969 NBA Finals
1 of 10Teams: Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics
Result: 4-3 Celtics
Notable Stars Involved: John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain
Top-100 Individual Performances: Jerry West in Game 1 (No. 48), Jerry West in Game 7 (No. 15)
Just sit for a moment and look at the number of stars in this epic series that came too early in NBA history to generate the same level of viewership as Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals.
As star-studded as the current finals may be, this one had even more, even bigger names.
The series was close throughout and went to Game 7 back in Los Angeles, where Jerry West and the hometown Lakers were expected to close out the series. Owner Jack Kent Cooke was so certain of this that he set up victory balloons in the rafters, accidentally providing the Boston Celtics with all the motivation they needed.
Despite 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists from West, a Don Nelson jumper won the series for Boston, giving Bill Russell his 11th title and setting the stage for his retirement three months later.
West performed so admirably throughout the series that he was named the MVP, even though he was on the losing side.
1970 NBA Finals
2 of 10Teams: Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks
Result: 4-3 Knicks
Notable Stars Involved: Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West
Top-100 Individual Performances: Walt Frazier in Game 7 (No. 5)
While the 1970 NBA Finals will always be remembered for Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel and starting Game 7 off with two quick buckets after tearing a muscle in his leg during Game 5, it contained so much more than that.
In Game 3, Reed scored 38 points, but the game was close throughout. Jerry West tied the game on a jumper with 15 seconds left, but Dave DeBusschere's free throws closed it out in regulation, at least in the mind of Wilt Chamberlain.
As Wilt inbounded the ball and walked off to the locker room in frustration, West took advantage of the three seconds left on the clock and hit a remarkable 63-footer for two points to send the game to overtime. Remember, there was no three-point shot in 1970.
The Knicks won in overtime, but the Lakers responded in Game 4 with an overtime victory of their own before Reed was injured in Game 5, setting the stage for his and Walt Frazier's heroics in Game 7.
1976 NBA Finals
3 of 10Teams: Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics
Result: 4-2 Celtics
Notable Stars Involved: John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Gar Heard, Alvan Adams, Paul Westphal
Top-100 Individual Performances: Dave Cowens in Game 1 (No. 37)
While Dave Cowens' triple-double got this series of to a great start, it was Game 5 that truly makes this series stand out.
This is where I highly recommend that you stop reading what I'm writing and watch this video.
1980 NBA Finals
4 of 10Teams: Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers
Result: 4-2 Lakers
Notable Stars Involved: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Darryl Dawkins, Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones
Top-100 Individual Performances: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 5 (No. 10), Magic Johnson in Game 6 (No. 1)
If you're looking for a series with spectacular moments, look no further than this one.
Spectacular moment No. 1: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 40-point Game 5, specifically when he dominated the fourth quarter on a bum ankle.
Spectacular moment No. 2: Dr. J's scoop under the basket.
Spectacular moment No. 3: The greatest individual performance in postseason history, in which Magic Johnson started at center and took over the game to win the MVP as a rookie.
1984 NBA Finals
5 of 10Teams: Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers
Result: 4-3 Celtics
Notable Stars Involved: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy
Top-100 Individual Performances: Larry Bird in Game 5 (No. 57), Cedric Maxwell in Game 7 (No. 21)
This list would be utterly incomplete if it didn't have one showing from Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the premier individual rivalry of the 1980s.
Magic and Bird were matched up against one another for the first time in the playoffs, which makes this one of the most important series in NBA history. After all, it was their rivalry that sparked the sudden growth in popularity of the league; no series helped that process along more than this one.
Games 2 and 4 both went to overtime, with the Boston Celtics taking advantage of late-game struggles by the Los Angeles Lakers. Then, in Game 5, which was played without air conditioning, Bird took flight for 34 points and 17 rebounds.
A surprising showing from Cedric Maxwell—24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists—sealed the deal for the team in green once Game 7 rolled around.
1988 NBA Finals
6 of 10Teams: Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers
Result: 4-3 Lakers
Notable Stars Involved: Joe Dumars, Adrian Dantley, Isiah Thomas, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy
Top-100 Individual Performances: James Worthy in Game 7 (No. 8), Isiah Thomas in Game 6 (No. 7)
It was the up-and-coming Detroit Pistons against the evil empire of the Los Angeles Lakers in these 1988 NBA Finals.
The series was entertaining enough during the first five games, but Games 6 and 7 just took it to a whole different level.
First, in the penultimate game of the series, the Pistons' Isiah Thomas would drop 43 points, three rebounds, eight assists, six steals and a block in the loss. However, his line comes nowhere close to telling the whole story.
It was the third quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers were running away with this game, much to the chagrin of Zeke. So, he took over and scored 14 points in a row before rolling his right ankle on a pass to Joe Dumars.
Despite collapsing to the ground, Thomas stayed in the game while limping and continued his scoring binge to finish with 11 of his team's final 15 points in the third quarter, enough to complete his NBA-record 25-point quarter.
In the ensuing Game 7, James Worthy almost matched the performance of Thomas. As you can see up above, Worthy's Game 7 falls one spot shy of Thomas' Game 6 in the rankings.
Worthy put up 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to record the one and only triple-double of his career while helping ensure the Lakers of back-to-back championships.
1997 NBA Finals
7 of 10Teams: Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls
Round: NBA Finals
Result: 4-2 Bulls
Notable Stars Involved: Karl Malone, John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman
Top-100 Individual Performances: Michael Jordan in Game 5 (No. 2)
If there's any one performance that everyone should watch, it's Michael Jordan's in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
The replay recently aired on NBA TV and I just felt privileged to watch it again. Seeing Jordan hunched over against the shoulder of Scottie Pippen after nailing the crucial three-pointer just gives goosebumps every time.
While this was a wonderful series throughout, everything else pales in comparison to that one game.
1998 NBA Finals
8 of 10Teams: Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls
Result: 4-2 Bulls
Notable Stars Involved: Karl Malone, John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman
Top-100 Individual Performances: Karl Malone in Game 5 (No. 89), Michael Jordan in Game 6 (No. 20)
Hindsight is 20/20, and if we had truly known that this was going to be Michael Jordan's last series in a Chicago Bulls uniform, everyone who had any modicum of interest in basketball would have tuned in to witness Jordan playing.
We all know how this one ended: the push-off and resulting jumper in Game 6 over Bryon Russell.
While that shot was undoubtedly the highlight, Jordan was fantastic throughout the series, as he frustrated a dominant Karl Malone and the rest of the Utah Jazz once again.
2005 NBA Finals
9 of 10Teams: San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons
Result: 4-3 Spurs
Notable Stars Involved: Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili
Top-100 Individual Performances: None
This series wasn't too glamorous, as it prominently featured two gritty, defensively-oriented teams, but the tough nature deserved far more viewers. Too often, defense goes unwatched, as the highlight-reel dunks and fast breaks take over on SportsCenter.
The inclusion of the 2005 NBA Finals is my appeal for that to change.
Only Game 4 saw a team reach triple-figures, as the Detroit Pistons dropped 102 points in a 31-point win, but the most memorable moment of the series belonged to Robert Horry.
As Horry is known to do, he hit the decisive overtime three-pointer in Game 5 and put the San Antonio Spurs in position to hold off a charge from the Pistons in a tough Game 7 victory.
2010 NBA Finals
10 of 10Teams: Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers
Result: 4-3 Lakers
Notable Stars Involved: Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol
Top-100 Individual Performances: None
The stars were out in full volume for this epic NBA Finals battle between two longtime rivals.
With Kobe Bryant leading the charge in this retro-flavored series that made many fans reminisce about the glory days of the Boston-L.A. rivalry, the Lakers were able to hold off a late Game 7 charge by the Boston Celtics after completing a comeback from 13 down in the third quarter.
The entire series was closely contested, with neither team winning back-to-back games.
When he was named MVP following a 6-of-24 performance from the field, Kobe would say:
"This one is by far the sweetest, because it’s them. This was the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. My guys picked me up.
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Because of the historic aspect of this series and the fact that it went the distance, this one deserved much higher ratings than any Game 1.
