The Finals Countdown: The Ten Most Well-Played NBA Finals of the Past 50 Years

Heat vs. Spurs. Duncan vs. James. Parker vs. Wade and Popovich vs. Spoelstra (okay, maybe that last one isn't as epic, but you get the point). After 82 regular season games and three playoff rounds, each coming with their own fair share of drama, the only part of the NBA season which really matters in deciding a champion is upon us. The NBA Finals is where legends (excluding Barkley, Ewing, Reggie, Malone and Stockton) cement their legacies, and is (along with cloth, silver and diamonds) the stuff that banners and flashy rings are made of. 

This list is meant to commemorate the best of the best: the most well-contested, well-played, closest championship series in professional basketball history. This doesn't take individual matchups into consideration (that's why you won't see Hakeem vs. Shaq or LeBron vs. Durant on this list). This isn't all about storylines, either, although they do play a part in some instances. These Finals are on the list because they consist of (for the most part) close and memorable games. These Finals possess substance over style or, in the best of cases (like our Number One selection) both. 

Enough with the introduction, you came for the list. We'll start with those that juuuust missed the cut...

Honorable Mention: Three That Were Close to Making the Cut

2010—Lakers def. Celtics, 4-3: Much like movies starring Adam Sandler, people will watch Lakers-Celtics regardless of who else is involved. A series in which the Lakers and Celtics do battle is always noteworthy, especially when the series goes to a penultimate seventh contest. However, Bryant/Gasol vs. Pierce/Garnett was a matchup we'd already seen two years ago. The battle also didn't really have the same ring as Magic/Kareem/Worthy vs. Bird/McHale/Parish or Russell/Sam Jones vs. West/Elgin Baylor once had. Other than the exciting Game 7 (which was a sloppy affair that saw Kobe get most of his points from the charity stripe), the closest game was decided by six points, and was another contest which got close thanks to free-throw shooting.

1962—Celtics def. Lakers, 4-3: This series certainly involved several all-time greats (Russell, Cousy, Heinsohn and Auerbach for the Celtics; the lethal West-Baylor duo for L.A.). The series featured a game-winning steal and layup for West to win Game 3, and it went down to a seventh game in which Cousy left Laker guard Frank Selvy wide open for a potential last-second dagger jump shot. Selvy missed, the game went to OT, and the rest is history. Trust me, however, when I say that this list already has enough Celtics/Lakers battles (you'll see two more in the top ten). Also, any series in which the most memorable play is a missed shot loses some possible points (no pun intended). 

1978—Bullets def. Sonics, 4-3: This series went to a seventh game as well, as Wes Unseld and underrated 1970's star Bob Dandridge finished off a favored Seattle team on the road. The Bullets went only 44-38 during the regular season, though, and Game 7 is most remembered for future Celtics great Dennis Johnson's 0-for-14 shooting from the field for Seattle. Again, we're looking for series defined by plays that were made, rather than those changed by missed opportunities.

10. 1970: Knicks Def. Lakers, 4-3

This series is remembered for two iconic moments. The first is Lakers legend Jerry West's mid-court heave in Game 3 to send the game into overtime (a game which the Lakers eventually lost 111-108). The other is Knicks center Willis Reed, severely hobbled by a knee injury suffered in Game 5, coming out of the Madison Square Garden tunnel just before the start of Game 7.

What many forget about Game 3 is that, counting West's long-range basket, three baskets were scored in the final 15 seconds of the contest (preceded by another West bucket and a would-be game-winning bank shot by the Knicks' Dave DeBusschere with three second left). The Knicks' win prevented West from sealing two victories with big shots, as West iced a two-point win in Game 2 with two huge free throws.

30-plus point efforts from both West and Elgin Baylor keyed an overtime victory for the Lakers in Game 4. After Reed went down in Game 5, the Knicks came from behind to win by a 120-113 tally, a victory they would desperately need knowing that they'd have to play at least Game 6 without Reed, their leader and captain. Though Walt Frazier had an absolutely ridiculous Game 7 (a 36-point, 19-assist, 7-rebound clinic), Reed would win Finals Most Valuable Player honors by virtue of this moment.

9. 1994: Rockets Def. Knicks, 4-3

There was Hakeem vs. Ewing, a rivalry which had been building up since the two faced off in the 1984 NCAA Championship game (Ewing and Georgetown defeated Hakeem's Houston Cougars, 84-75). There was the coaching battle between the upstart Rudy Tomjanovich and the pedigreed, experienced Pat Riley. There was the O.J. Simpson car chase which forced much of Game 5 to be shown on split-screen.

And yet, the close play between the two teams transcended all of the storylines. The games were well-contested, but not flashy. Both teams relied on defense and aggression to mask their relative lack of top-notch scorers outside of their respective big men and streaky shooters. For Houston, this was Vernon Maxwell; for New York, it was John Starks. Both men were known for their mouths as much as their shooting, but both came up big when it mattered. 

After Starks put up 27 points in Game 6 as the Knicks looked to seal up the series, Olajuwon (who outscored Ewing in each of the seven games) scored 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while blocking a final three-point attempt by Starks in the final seconds to preserve an 86-84 victory. This set the stage for a Game 7, which saw an Olajuwon assist to Maxwell in the final two minutes to help the Rockets to a 90-84 win. Every game in this series was decided by single digits.

8. 1969: Celtics Def. Lakers, 4-3

In case you couldn't already sense a theme here, West's Lakers dealt with more than their fair share of heartbreak in Game 7's during the 1960's and early 70's. The heavily favored Lakers, with Wilt Chamberlain patrolling the lane and Elgin Baylor still on the court, were expected to walk all over the Celtics in this series. 

The Lakers won Game 1, 120-118, thanks to a late basket by Chamberlain. Baylor scored the last 12 points for the Lakers in a 118-112 victory in Game 2. The Celtics, however, pulled out a six-point win in Game 3 thanks to the heroics of an injured John Havlicek, who scored 34 points despite being poked in the eye earlier in the game (don't worry, the link doesn't show that happening). 

Game 4 is remembered for Celtics great Sam Jones' off-balance, 18-foot jumper which hit both ends of the rim before falling through, giving Boston a thrilling, 89-88 win and new life in the series. After losing again in L.A., the Celtics protected their home court and sent the series out West for a decisive Game 7.

With thousands of balloons waiting in the rafters for the supposedly inevitable Game 7 Laker triumph, Boston went up by double digits in the second half. With West carrying the Lakers back, Chamberlain rolled his ankle during the final quarter and never returned to the game. Laker coach Butch van Breda Kolff said that the team "didn't need him", and eventually the Celtics and their player-coach Bill Russell, playing in his final game, made him pay for the decision.

Future Mavericks and Warriors coach Don Nelson hit a jumper which bounced high off the rim and through the net, ensuring that the planned celebration in Los Angeles wouldn't happen. Jerry West became the first (and still only) player to be named Finals MVP despite playing for the losing team. The honor was well-deserved: West averaged nearly 38 points a game, adding 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. Despite his Clark Kent-like efforts, West would have to wait three more years for his first (and only) ring as a player.

7. 1976: Celtics Def. Suns, 4-2

The Suns, who went 42-40 in the regular season, rode star Paul Westphal and standout rookie Alvan Adams all the way to the finals after a seven-game victory over the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the 1976 Western Conference Finals. There, they faced the heavily favored Celtics, buoyed by Hall-of-Famers Dave Cowens and John Havlicek. 

After double-digit wins by Boston in the first two games of the series, Phoenix's Ricky Sobers (who had also gotten into a fight with Golden State's Rick Barry during the previous round) got into an altercation with Boston's Kevin Stacom. The Suns still went on to win the game, then won Game 4 by two points, setting up what would go down as one of the greatest games in NBA history. 

Game 5 saw the Celtics start with an early lead, only to have the Suns outscore them 50-34 in the second half to send the game into overtime. The Celtics' Paul Silas called timeout near referee Richie Powers, who could have whistled Silas for a technical foul since the Celtics had no timeouts left. Instead, the game continued on, and Phoenix was not granted any technical free throws. Havlicek missed a potential game-winning jump shot in the first overtime. And in the second overtime, Boston held a three-point lead with less than 20 seconds to go. Since the NBA didn't have the three-point line yet, many thought the game was over, including the delirious Boston Garden faithful. 

After a jumper by Dick Van Arsdale cut the gap to one, Westphal stole the ball from Havlicek. Phoenix's Curtis Perry then missed a jumper, but had the ball deflected back to him. He didn't miss the second time, putting Phoenix up by a point. Avoiding his potential status as goat of the game, Havlicek then drove the ball downcourt and scored a running one-hander as Boston fans stormed the court in jubilation. 

The ball passed through the net before the final buzzer sounded, however, and caused the referees to put a second back on the clock. Several fans whipped into a frenzy (with one Boston supporter attacking a ref) but a second was put back on the clock. Needing to make a full-court pass with just a second on the clock, Westphal called a timeout. Phoenix didn't have any left, however.

This led to a technical free throw for Boston to put them up 112-110, but Phoenix was able to move the ball to midcourt. From there, Suns forward Gar Heard caught the ball and hit a shot from the top of the key to send this never-ending classic into a third overtime. 

From there, the Celtics eventually won the game 128-126, and went on to win the series in Phoenix the following game. NBA experts still refer to Game 5 as one of (if not the) single greatest games of all time, playoffs or not. The entire game can be viewed on YouTube, for young fans curious of exactly what went down that night on the parquet floor of the Boston Garden.

6. 1985: Lakers Def. Celtics, 4-2

The Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry had been followed by all basketball lovers since 1979, when the two put college basketball firmly in the national spotlight as their Indiana State and Michigan State teams, respectively, made it to the NCAA Championship game. After Bird beat Magic in the 1984 Finals to earn his second title, many thought that Bird had wrestled the crown away from Magic in the rivalry.

Game 1 of this series didn't change those critics' minds, as Boston destroyed Magic and the Lakers 148-114 in a game now commonly referred to as the "Memorial Day Massacre." Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored just 12 points and had only three rebounds in that game, came back with 30 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists in the Lakers' Game 2 victory over Boston in the Garden. 

Back in L.A., it was the Lakers who scored the blowout win in Game 3, 136-111, as Magic came one assist shy of recording a triple-double (17 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists). The Celtics' Dennis Johnson was the hero of Game 4: he scored 27 points, had 12 assists and hit a jumper at the buzzer to give Boston a thrilling 107-105 victory.

The Lakers came back to win 120-111 in Game 5 to send the series to Boston, where home-court advantage would supposedly kick back in for the defending champion Celtics. The lights would not go out on "Showtime", however, as Kareem scored 29 points to cement his Finals MVP performance (he averaged over 30 points and 11 rebounds over those six games) and the Lakers finally beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals. 

5. 1998: Bulls Def. Jazz, 4-2

This Finals will go down in history because it featured Michael Jordan's last game as a Bull. We all know what happened in Game 6: Down three points in the waning moments of a game which would have sent the Finals into a seventh game (a situation which Jordan had never encountered in his previous five Finals), Jordan sprung into action. 

His Airness hit a jumper to bring the game to within a point, then stole the ball away from Karl Malone, came back down the court and hit another jumper in an ending befitting of the greatest player the sport (and possibly the sports world) has ever seen. Forgetting those two years with the Wizards, of course.

Between 28 points from John Stockton and 21 points and 14 rebounds by Malone, the Jazz got the first win of the series in overtime, 88-85. Jordan responded with 37 points in a Game 2 Bulls win, though, and in Game 3 the Jazz were held to an all-time Finals-worst 54 points. Game 4 saw yet another Bulls win, as Dennis Rodman hit two key free throws down the stretch and Stockton was held to seven points. 

Jazz reserve Antoine Carr was a surprise hero in a close Jazz victory in Game 5, giving the Bulls an unexpected loss in the last game Jordan would play as a Bull in front of a home crowd at the United Center. The Bulls, however, would win the next game to seal the Finals. Seeing the Finals end in the way it did was a better conclusion than millions of Bulls (and MJ) fans could've possibly hoped for. It is important to note, however, that it wasn't just Game 6 that made this series great.  Four of the six games were decided by four points or fewer. 

4. 1974: Celtics Def. Bucks, 4-3

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would have plenty of chances to square off against the Boston Celtics in the Finals as the center of the "Showtime" Lakers in the 1980's, but back in 1974 he was the center of a Milwaukee Bucks team trying to win one more title for aging great Oscar "The Big O" Robertson. The Celtics, meanwhile, also had an aging star they were trying to win for: John Havlicek, who would actually win with the Celtics again in 1976.

The Celtics won Game 1 by double digits in Milwaukee, but Game 2 saw the Bucks respond in a big way. Abdul-Jabbar tipped a last-second shot attempt by Boston's Dave Cowens away in regulation, sending the game into overtime where Milwaukee would eventually win 105-96. Kareem's 36 points and 15 rebounds inspired hope throughout Wisconsin that the Bucks could win the series, but Boston won Game 3 at home to retake the series lead.

Behind 34 points and 14 boards from Kareem, the Bucks won Game 4, 97-89. Milwaukee shot exactly 50 percent from the field in this game, as they were able to slow down the tempo to help the grizzled veteran Robertson. The back-and-forth nature of the series continued as the teams returned to Milwaukee for Game 5: Havlicek scored 28 points and pulled down nine rebounds, Cowens equaled Havlicek's scoring output and Paul Silas grabbed 16 boards off the bench. 

Milwaukee refused to go away, however, making Game 6 a showdown which would go down in basketball lore. Havlicek tied the game with jumpers in regulation and in the first overtime period, sending the game into a thrilling second overtime. Despite "Hondo"'s 36-point performance, it was Abdul-Jabbar who hit a sky hook with under three seconds left in the second OT to get the last laugh. 

For the time being, that is. Back in Milwaukee for Game 7, Cowens picked the Celtics back up with 28 points and 14 rebounds, as Boston won the game 102-87 to claim the series. Havlicek was named Finals MVP, and despite being a key participant in the triple-OT game two years later against Phoenix, he said that Game 6 was the best game he ever took part in.

3. 1988: Lakers Def. Pistons, 4-3

Some playoff series are more than just the action on the court: they are as much about the stories behind the people involved in the games. These series come to represent a moment in time in the sport. 1984 saw Larry vs. Magic in the Finals for the first time, while 1991 was the year in which Magic and his Lakers passed the metaphorical torch to MJ's Bulls. Last year, we saw the present (LeBron and the Heat) vs. the somewhat inevitable future (Kevin Durant and the Thunder). In this series, the established Lakers looked to capture their fifth title of the decade against emerging superstar Isiah Thomas and the burgeoning "Bad Boys" from Detroit. 

After the Pistons shot an astounding 60.3% from the field while winning Game 1, the Lakers received a superstar-type effort from perceived "sidekick" James Worthy (26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists) to take Game 2. L.A. took Game 3 as well thanks in large part to a 24-point, nine-rebound effort from Worthy (who would go on to win Finals MVP and earn the nickname "Big Game James"). 

Detroit won the next two games, however, behind 27 points from Adrian Dantley in Game 4 and 25 more from "AD" in Game 5 to put the Pistons up on the defending champs three games to two. The series turned in Game 6, however, thanks to one fateful and unlucky "twist."

Midway through the third quarter of a closely contested game, Isiah went down with a severely sprained ankle. Thomas, amazingly enough, not only stayed in the game, but proceeded to take over the contest. Hobbling up and down the court, Thomas scored a Finals-record 25 points in one quarter, giving Detroit a two-point lead to begin the final period in an elimination game for the Lakers.

Magic and Worthy needed to step up to maintain their reign as champions, and they rose to the occasion. After a Thomas jumper made the score 100-99 in favor of the Pistons with just over a minute remaining, Dumars added two free throws on the following Detroit possession to put the Pistons up by three points. After a jumper by Byron Scott, the Lakers took the lead as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was fouled and made both free throws. Scott then plucked a key rebound in the final moments away from the Pistons' Dennis Rodman, sealing the win for the Lakers. 

This series' Game 7 is perhaps the best seventh game in NBA history. Down 52-47 at halftime, the Lakers scored 36 points in the third period to the Pistons' 21. Worthy recorded the only Game 7 triple-double in Finals history (36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists), and the game was punctuated when, after a late Bill Laimbeer three-pointer brought the game within a point for the Pistons, Magic hurled a long pass to A.C. Green for an easy layup and a three-point lead. Isiah couldn't get up a desperation three-ball, and the most exciting Game 7 in NBA Finals history came to a close.  

2. 1997: Bulls Def. Jazz, 4-2

It could be argued that the rematch between the Bulls and Jazz was even better than this series. This one, however, featured a juicy storyline as well as classic games. Despite MJ's 29.6 points per game, which led the league, Karl Malone of the Jazz won MVP honors for the regular season. 

Sunday night's Game 1 saw the Jazz (who had the best regular season record at 64-18) take a one-point lead late in a game which was close the entire way through. Jordan made one of two free throws in the final minute, but Chicago's Dennis Rodman fouled Malone with just under 10 seconds remaining in the game.

The Bulls' Scottie Pippen walked over to Malone before "The Mailman" could shoot his free throws and told him "The Mailman doesn't deliver on Sundays." Playing in his first career Finals game in 12 seasons in the NBA, Malone missed both free throws. Jordan, as was almost expected of him at this point, hit the game-winning jumper as time expired to give Chicago an 84-82 win.

The teams split the next two contests, and the Jazz took the second game in Utah as well, holding the Bulls to a playoff-low 73 points. Before Game 5, Jordan fell ill with the flu, and he almost couldn't take the court due to nausea and a consistent fever. Jordan scored 17 points in the second quarter, though, and with the game tied at 85 and 40 seconds remaining in regulation, hit one of the biggest shots of his career from behind the three-point arc to put Chicago up 88-85. Jordan's 38 points, seven rebounds and five assists completed a performance which led to Game 5 being referred to as "The Flu Game." Coach Phil Jackson would say after the game, "[It] was the greatest game I've seen Michael play."

Game 6 was another contest which went down to the wire. With the game tied and under 10 seconds to play, Jordan took the ball. As several Jazz players went over to cover him, Jordan spotted an open Steve Kerr. MJ gave Kerr the ball, and the point guard hit a jumper to put the Bulls up with five seconds to go. Pippen stole the ensuing inbound pass to seal the series, the Bulls went on to win 90-86 to earn their fifth championship in the Jordan-Pippen-Jackson era. 

1. 1993: Bulls Def. Suns, 4-2

 This series had everything: style, substance and a series-clinching basket from the unlikeliest of sources.

It's easy to forget, but there was a time in which the great Michael Jordan wasn't the absolute unanimous "best player on the planet". In the summer of 1992, as the Dream Team invaded Barcelona and won the gold medal at the Olympics, the Olympic village and thousands of Spaniards (and countless other global citizens) fell in love with a superstar: Charles Barkley, new signee of the Suns by way of the Philadelphia 76ers.

It was Barkley, not Jordan or Magic or Larry, who led the Dream Team in points during the Olympics with 18 points per contest. Barkley carried that momentum into the 1992-93 regular season, where his per-game average of 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists gave him the MVP award over Jordan, who had won the award the previous two seasons (and three of the past five years). 

Chicago won the first two Finals matchups (including a Game 2 block by Scottie Pippen on a game-tying three-point attempt by Phoenix's Danny Ainge), and as the series headed back to Chicago, many assumed that this Finals clash of titans wasn't worth the hype. Game 3, however, was so epic and hotly contested that Slam Magazine dedicated a tribute article to it one generation later. With the Suns holding an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Bulls came back behind big shots from B.J. Armstrong and Jordan. Horace Grant's missed tip-in at the buzzer would have sealed a comeback win for the Bulls, but instead the game went to overtime.

Neither team could get much of anything going in the first overtime, but Jordan hit two big shots in the second overtime to give the Bulls a four-point lead with time ticking down. Barkley and Dan Majerle would respond with jumpers for the Suns though, with Majerle's score coming in the waning moments of the second OT.

Majerle hit a three-pointer from what seemed like Evanston in the third overtime (the Suns have appeared in both 3-OT games in history, as well as Paul Westphal, who was the coach of this Suns team), and Barkley intercepted a Stacey King pass and went coast-to-coast for an easy bucket to put the 129-121 win on ice for the Suns. Game 4 was all MJ, though, as Jordan scored 55 points and made countless huge shots late to put the Bulls up 3-1, with a 111-105 final. 

The Suns earned a trip back home, however, in their Game 5 victory, 108-98, as Barkley put up a 24-6-6 stat line, and Majerle added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Game 6 saw the Suns struggle early, but come back in the fourth quarter to take a four-point lead. After a basket by Jordan to make it a two-point game once again, Majerle short-armed a jumper, and the ball found its way into Jordan's hands once again following a Chicago timeout. The Bulls' Grant then found John Paxson open behind the three-point arc and, instead of going for the tie, Grant kicked the ball out to Paxson who drilled a three-pointer with under four seconds left. The Suns last attempt fell short, and the Bulls' first three-peat was complete.

Yes, there were other series that went to seven games, and yes, MJ won numerous titles besides this one. But no less than three classic games (each decided by three points or less), plus the superstar showdown between Jordan and Barkley on the heels of that magical summer and regular season, makes this 1993 NBA Finals the greatest championship series in basketball history.