Ranking the Top 25 Moments of the 2014-15 NBA Season

Sit back and take a deep breath. 

If you've closely followed an insane NBA season from start to finish, you deserve to relax for a little bit.

It's been a breathless, hectic, fast-paced, highlight-filled affair, featuring plenty of breakout performances and legendary outings from the sport's marquee stars. We've seen so many memorable dunks, milestones, single-game showings, buzzer-beaters and more. And all the while, the basketball-watching world has tried to figure out a nightly see-saw affair between as many as six legitimate MVP candidates. 

Rest is deserved at this point, at least until the playoffs begin and drum up even more energy. But while you're taking a breather, you may as well look back at the moments from this season that will live on in the memories of NBA fans everywhere. 

Perhaps more so than any other campaign in recent memory, there are a lot of them.

These rankings are admittedly highly subjective, based on how much each stands out and how fondly it'll be remembered down the road.

So what would take the cake for you?  

Honorable Mentions

Khris Middleton Buzzer-Beaters

Khris Middleton's breakout season featured plenty of strong performances, but two plays still stand out above the rest.

First came a banked-in buzzer-beater against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 15—one of many shots that didn't go Phoenix's way at the horn. Impressive as it was that he spun off contact to create enough space for his leaning release, there was certainly a bit of luck involved. Just as there was in the moments leading up to his more traditional buzzer-beater on March 24 in a stolen victory over the Miami Heat, as you can see above.

Blake Griffin Tortures the Phoenix Suns

The Suns must have upset the karma gods, because they were the unlucky victims of some remarkably lucky bounces. Making Middleton's buzzer-beater in December all the more painful was the shot that Blake Griffin hit just seven days earlier.

A step-back triple in overtime that hit the front of the rim, bounced straight up and then kissed off the backboard before falling through the twine for a one-point Los Angeles Clippers win? That's some crazy stuff.  

Steve Nash's Retirement

We knew for quite some time that Steve Nash's career was over, but his official announcement on March 21 in a letter to his fans triggered all the feelings. It was suddenly time for nostalgic looks back at his prime days and overall career. 

A two-time MVP, Nash was largely responsible for so many millennials falling in love with this sport. He may not have stepped foot on the court during the 2014-15 regular season, but he was still important enough to produce one of the year's most memorable moments. 

25. Derrick Williams Brutalizes Bismack Biyombo

Will Derrick Williams ever live up to his lofty draft position?

Probably not, as he's completely failed to meet the expectations that accompanied the No. 2 pick the Minnesota Timberwolves used on him in the 2011 NBA draft. But for one play, he made everyone gasp in wonder.

Well, everyone but Bismack Biyombo, who was the brutal recipient of this posterizing slam against the Charlotte Hornets on March 20.

24. Dirk Nowitzki Passes Hakeem Olajuwon

"The debate over where Dirk Nowitzki ranks among the best foreign-born NBA players will rage on long past the end of his career," Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway wrote after Dirk Nowitzki made history yet again. "What won't change—at least for a long while—is him sitting ahead of the pack as the best non-American scorer in history."

The shot itself—a 19-foot jumper against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 11—wasn't too special. But the historical significance was, as the bucket gave the German 7-footer his 26,947th point, which moved him just past Hakeem Olajuwon as the highest non-American player on the NBA's career scoring leaderboard.

Nowtizki has since surpassed Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone, rising all the way to No. 7 in the all-time standings, but it is this leapfrog moment that stands out most. 

23. Paul George Returns

April 5, 2015 will always be a special day for Paul George. 

After his heartbreaking leg fracture in a Team USA scrimmage last summer, the Indiana Pacers superstar was supposed to sit out for the entire 2014-15 campaign. His injury was too severe, and that's saying nothing of the mental strength it would take to venture back onto a basketball court for live action. 

But against the Miami Heat, George made his return far earlier than expected, and he thrilled the hometown crowd by drilling a tough jumper on his very first attempt. 

22. J.R. Smith's Reverse-Dunk Craziness

We've known for a long time that J.R. Smith is capable of ridiculous feats of athleticism, and he proved it once more with this mind-boggling reverse slam on Feb. 22. It was crazy enough that he brought the ball down between his knees before completing the alley-oop with a flush, but context makes it crazier still. 

This was Smith's first game against the New York Knicks since the team traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in the season. Better yet, it took place in Madison Square Garden, and the feed came from Iman Shumpert, who had made the New York-to-Cleveland journey right alongside Smith. 

Not only was this a reverse alley-oop slam with a double clutch. It was a revenge-fueled reverse alley-oop slam with a double clutch. 

21. Andrew Wiggins Baptizes Omer Asik

Posterizing anyone in the NBA isn't exactly an easy task.

But to throw this type of thunderous slam down against a shot-blocking, rim-protecting specialist like Omer Asik? That's just on a different level, and it's the reason this is the second-ranked in-game dunk in the countdown.

Andrew Wiggins must have springs in his legs, as well as some jet packs that allow him to hang in the air long after he makes initial contact. On April 13, he proved exactly that at the expense of the New Orleans Pelicans' starting center.

"From 'The Stifle Tower' to Asik to a shot-blocker near you, Wiggins seems intent on taking advantage of his height, length, springs, body control and developing strength to make sure that no more opponents, fans or pundits make the mistake of doubting his smooth style again," Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine wrote after the play.

20. Mo Williams Gets 52

Mo Williams, who once made an All-Star squad with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2008-09, had never scored more than 44 points in a single game before the start of this season. In fact, he'd only broken past the 40-point barrier twice, and both performances came during that All-Star campaign.

But in a Jan. 13 contest against the vaunted defense of the Indiana Pacers, Williams caught fire and simply couldn't miss. He exploded for 52 points, four rebounds and seven assists, shooting 19-of-33 from the field, 6-of-11 from beyond the arc and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe in the close victory for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Based on his typical output, that outing came in at No. 3 when I subsequently ranked the most unlikely scoring outbursts of the last decade, trailing only Terrence Ross' 51-point outing in 2014 and Kobe Bryant's 81-point burst of offensive insanity.

19. Anthony Davis Comes Close to Quad-Dub

Quadruple-doubles come around once in a blue moon. Only four players in NBA history have recorded one (Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain may have if blocks and steals were tracked during their playing days), and the NBA has been devoid of any since David Robinson joined the club in 1994.

Anthony Davis didn't manage to make it five with his March 15 showing against the Denver Nuggets, but he came pretty darn close. 

Thirty-six points, coming on 16-of-28 shooting from the field. Fourteen rebounds in his nearly 50 minutes of action (yes, this game wasn't decided in regulation). Seven assists. Nine blocks. Oh, and one steal for good measure. 

Davis fell short of the necessary qualifiers, but this was still one heck of an outing. Allow it to serve as a microcosm for all of the memorable lines that the league's 22-year-old phenom threw up during his third go-round in the pros.

18. James Ennis with the Early Dunk of the Year Nomination

The 2014-15 season was still in its infancy when James Ennis submitted the first realistic submission for the unofficial Dunk of the Year award. 

Poor Rasual Butler. The Washington Wizards guard was just trying to make a play in his Oct. 29 appearance against the Miami Heat, and he ended up on a poster for all the wrong reasons. 

Ennis' elevation, sheer athleticism and stretchiness were on display during this one-handed throw-down. And while plenty of other slams graced highlight reels throughout the season, none that came in the course of regular-season action could top it. 

17. Zach LaVine Revitalizes the Dunk Contest

How do you revitalize a contest that's been losing steam in recent years? Put Zach LaVine in the lineup and let him fly. 

This wasn't even a competition.

LaVine's soaring exploits and dunks that eschewed the use of props allowed him to easily outpace the field. In fact, the real question wasn't whether he was better than his 2015 competitors, but whether this was the best performance since Vince Carter's legendary showing in 2000.

Here's one affirmative vote. 

16. Stan Van Gundy Curses (NSFW Video...Obviously)

It wasn't enough for the Detroit Pistons to form just any wall. In Stan Van Gundy's mind, he had to tell his team to form a very specific type of obstacle for the San Antonio Spurs, one that allowed them to preserve a 105-104 victory on Jan. 6.

Maybe it was the intense inflection on the profane part of the instructions. Maybe it was the fact that it was accidentally televised, allowing it to immediately go viral and become something of a rallying cry for the Pistons. 

But even if Detroit's playoff push was ultimately unsuccessful, something tells me this is going to become basketball lingo for exactly what you should do with less than 0.4 seconds left on the clock in a one-possession game.

15. Atlanta Hawks' Unforgettable January

This is one of a few spots in which we're going to cheat and allow the definition of "moment" to be stretched out over a longer duration. In this case, that duration is 31 days, since January saw the red-hot Atlanta Hawks go 17-0, completing the first perfect month in the NBA's lengthy history.

After all, it's impossible to pick a singular moment that can sum up the true excellence of this historic string of success.

Was it Kyle Korver throwing down his first dunk in years? The Hawks bench celebrating every big moment? The many wins that featured double-digit leads? The clinching bucket at the end of the month that preserved perfection? The fact that the NBA broke tradition and named all five Atlanta starters co-Players of the Month for the first time in league history? 

How about all of them together?

14. Trevor Booker's Insane Tip

This isn't supposed to be possible. Unless you have at least 0.4 seconds on the shot clock or throw a lob right at the rim, as the Memphis Grizzlies and Courtney Lee did in a moment that just missed the list, you're not going to get off a shot before the buzzer sounds. 

Well, unless you're Trevor Booker (or Derek Fisher). 

With just 0.2 seconds remaining before the shot clock would expire in a Jan. 9 contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Gordon Hayward inbounded the ball to a curling Booker. Instead of catching and gathering, the Utah Jazz forward just volleyball-tipped the rock over his head and right into the hoop. 

You can watch thousands of basketball games and never see a shot nearly as crazy, though the lack of significance keeps this moment from rising even further up the ranks. 

13. Atlanta and Golden State First Meet

"I don't think one bit about that [this being a Finals preview]," a serious Mike Budenholzer said after a Feb. 6 contest between his Atlanta Hawks and the Golden State Warriors saw the potential Eastern Conference representatives emerge with a 124-116 victory, per ESPN.com.

This may not end up being the first round of a future Finals clash. But it was so much more than a typical regular-season duel. Atlanta entered the much-hyped affair with a 41-9 record, while Golden State was 39-8, coming into the contest with a narrow lead for the NBA's best win percentage and leaving without that same claim. 

You often hear that games have a "playoff feel," but this went beyond that. It was intense and entertaining from start to finish, living up to all of the hype as it became one of the most memorable regular-season contests in years. 

12. Hassan Whiteside Bursts onto the Scene

Where in the world did Hassan Whiteside come from? 

The unlikeliest NBA star of the 2014-15 season, this big man hadn't even played in the Association since suiting up in 18 games for the Sacramento Kings during the 2011-12 campaign. Even before breaking out this year, he was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies (twice) and sent to the D-League by the Miami Heat.

But then he flat-out exploded. 

The ultimate Whiteside moment was a record-setting triple-double against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 25, as he recorded 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 rejections without even spending 25 full minutes on the floor (highlights above). But we can't forget about the many 20-rebound games and efficient offensive performances, either. 

11. Trade Deadline Insanity

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The morning of the Feb. 19 trade deadline was relatively quiet, but then all hell broke loose, with details trickling in after the official time for player movement had already passed. 

When everything calmed down, 39 players had been traded—more than at any other deadline in NBA history.

Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince returned to their old stomping grounds in Minnesota and Detroit, respectively. The Goran Dragic saga ended with the Phoenix Suns trading their star combo guard to the Miami Heat, then triggering a trickle-down effect that saw Brandon Knight, Michael Carter-Williams and Isaiah Thomas moved. The Oklahoma City Thunder bolstered their frontcourt with Enes Kanter. After much consternation, Reggie Jackson got a chance to be a lead player for the Detroit Pistons. 

It was pure craziness, especially for those unlucky/lucky enough to be attempting to cover the madness in real time. 

10. Kevin Garnett Goes Home

As Bleacher Report NBA Associate Editor Joel Cordes, a noted Minnesota Timberwolves superfan, made clear in a must-read article, Kevin Garnett returning to the team that drafted him back in the 1990s was more than a feel-good story. But it still made for one helluva feel-good moment when he stepped back onto the Target Center court.

The fact that he helped spark an upset win over the Washington Wizards on his Feb. 26 re-debut is nearly irrelevant. So, too, is whatever sort of on-court impact he made during the rest of the season, prior to being shut down with a troublesome left knee.

After all, Garnett could have used his no-trade clause and stayed on a team with playoff hopes. Instead, he waived it and opted for a nostalgic return to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. 

NBA fans, particularly those who can remember watching him thrive with the Wolves from the mid-90s until the mid-2000s, are so much better off for it.

9. Kyrie Irving Goes Nuts Against San Antonio

"Kyrie Irving, he was unstoppable," San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard shredded his defense, per Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News. "I don't know how to guard that. We all know how talented he is, but he went to a new level tonight."

That new level involved 57 points in the come-from-behind overtime victory, and so many of them were scored in spectacular fashion. Irving went a scorching 7-of-7 from beyond the arc and drilled one contested jumper after another down the stretch, pulling Cleveland out of the morgue and onto the winner's podium. 

This point guard is offensive dynamite, always waiting to explode with his silky jumper and often unmatched dribbling skills in traffic. And explode he did on this career night against the defending champions, earning what Bleacher Report's Dan Favale called the top statistical line of the season. 

8. LeBron James Come Home to Cleveland

This was the moment that Northeast Ohio had been waiting for since LeBron James famously took his talents to South Beach in 2010. It's the result of an offseason filled with breathless speculation, culminating in the announcement that James would indeed be rejoining the team that drafted him back in 2003. 

Nothing more needs to be said. 

Just watch the video. 

7. Craig Sager Returns

Craig Sager is an NBA icon and is widely-regarded as a great person, which is why there was such an outpouring of emotion when he was originally diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. He even managed to coax some sideline-interview humanity out of the usually taciturn Gregg Popovich.

But after battling for his health over the last year, Sager had a chance to return to the spot he's occupied for so many years. 

"I'm very grateful, very thankful, and I got up today and it was like the first day of school," the legendary sideline reporter explained prior to a March 5 contest between the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder, per ESPN.com's Nick Friedell. "You're a little nervous. I've done it before but everything's a little different. It's a long 11 months, believe me."

The Washington Post's Des Bieler did a terrific job compiling some of the many reactions to Sager's return in early March, but the story doesn't yet have a happy ending. His cancer has returned, and that's kept him from filling his traditional role on the biggest NBA broadcasts. 

His next return to the sideline will be even sweeter still.

We're all rooting for you, Craig. 

6. Anthony Davis' Game-Winner Against Oklahoma City

Anthony Davis hit only a single triple this season, but it happened to be a pretty special one. 

The degree of difficulty on this Feb. 6 buzzer-beater against the Oklahoma City Thunder is just off the charts. Not only did Davis have to shoot it without setting his feet like he normally would, but he had to duck his arms under Kevin Durant's outstretched limbs and fire away as gravity pulled him down and the clock ticked ever closer to expiring.

It was a one-in-a-million shot, and it had major ramifications. 

This did more than put a capstone on yet another ridiculous showing—41 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks on 15-of-23 shooting from the field. It also clinched the series tiebreaker for the New Orleans Pelicans, which ended up serving as a major motivating factor in the race for No. 8 in the Western Conference. 

In a season that saw Davis submit his name alongside so many historical greats, this was his singular shining moment. 

5. Kobe Bryant Passes Michael Jordan

A lifelong dream became a reality with a simple free-throw attempt against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 14. Kobe Bryant completed his much-publicized goal to move past Michael Jordan for No. 3 on the NBA's career scoring leaderboard, and it was yet another crowning achievement in an already legendary basketball life. 

But what really made this an unforgettable moment was the immediate aftermath. 

Play just stopped. Opposing players and teammates hugged Bryant, who received the game ball and walked over to the Los Angeles Lakers bench to hand it over for safekeeping. There were no timeouts called by either team; it was just an official stoppage of play that everyone seemed to accept without questions. 

When has that ever happened before? When will it ever happen again?

4. Klay Thompson Drops 37 in a Quarter

I was lucky enough to be working when Klay Thompson exploded for 37 points in a single late-January quarter against the Sacramento Kings, allowing me to immediately capture my many thoughts on the historic performance of the Golden State Warriors shooting guard:

"

I watched 37 unfold, and I can't believe it. I saw each shot leave his hand, arc perfectly toward the basket and then squeeze through the bottom of the twine, and I can't believe it. I've written that he scored 37 points in a quarter, and I'm still pinching myself, wondering if I just dreamed up the best 12-minute scoring burst anyone in the world has ever seen and then decided to write about it before waking up. 

"

Nothing about that reaction has changed. And how could it?

Thompson made all 13 of his shots from the field, including nine from beyond the arc. No matter the situation, he simply couldn't miss, and the rest of the Warriors were actively trying to push his total as high as possible.

The previous single-quarter high, held by both George Gervin and Carmelo Anthony, was 33. Thompson beat that with room to spare.

That Thompson netted 26 in the second quarter of the Warriors' April 13 win over the Grizzlies and it wasn't perceived as THAT big of a deal, just goes to show how incredible and iconic his 37-pointer already is.

You can go ahead and put this record in the "unbreakable" category. It's not going anywhere. 

3. James Harden's Scoring Explosions

How could we possibly pick one single moment from James Harden's MVP-worthy season? 

He's gone for at least 50 points twice, including his 51-spot on 25 shots from the field in a April 1 victory over the Sacramento Kings. He's recorded three triple-doubles for the Houston Rockets, who he basically carried throughout the entire year. He's put together countless highlights, thanks to his creative finishes around the basket, thunderous slams, off-the-dribble triples and so much more. 

Harden is one of a few players who could have a dozen entries on this countdown, whether we're looking at those big performances or some individual plays—his crazy buzzer-beating stepback against the Phoenix Suns is just as one of many examples. 

2. Russell Westbrook's Triple-Double Insanity

The theme continues, as we're going to cheat once more by calling Russell Westbrook's entire string of triple-doubles a single "moment." 

On Feb. 24, the dynamic floor general went for 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a victory over the Indiana Pacers, giving him his third triple-double of the season. Three games later, he'd doubled his total, somehow racking up four consecutive performances that qualified as the vaunted statistical oddity, and he wasn't even close to done. 

Even with one rescinded by the league after Westbrook was generously awarded an extra rebound by the Oklahoma City Thunder's home scorekeeper, this 1-guard has 11 triple-doubles on the year. No player since Jason Kidd in 2007-08 had accomplished the feat. That's absolutely insane and even more impressive because it's been necessary for Westbrook to take on such heavy responsibilities with Kevin Durant missing so much time. 

Picking a smaller moment would be doing a disservice to one of the more memorable seasons in recent history, even if plenty of slams and big shots down the stretch have provided us with an ability to give Westbrook multiple appearances in the countdown. 

1. Stephen Curry Highlights

How could we possibly boil Stephen Curry down into a handful of plays? This season was the Curry show from start to finish, with him taking center stage and winning over plenty of new fans with his remarkably entertaining exploits. 

Realistically, we could probably fill at least half of the available slots in this countdown with moments provided by the Davidson product.

As you can see above, we had the crazy dribbling show and step-back triple that left Steve Kerr in disbelief. It would have been an ill-advised shot for any other player in the league. Not for Chef Curry. But we also had Curry breaking Chris Paul's ankles with some nifty moves, showing off in transition against the New Orleans Pelicans, somehow completing this pass to Harrison Barnes, beating the Orlando Magic with a cold-blooded game-winning three, breaking his own single-season record for triples, making 10 threes in a 51-point showing against the Dallas Mavericks and so, so, so much more. 

The entity that is Curry—encompassing his dribbling exploits, crafty passing and uncanny marksmanship, along with everything else that makes him so valuable to the Golden State Warriors—is the top moment of the season. 

Are we stretching the definition? Sure, but it's only fitting to honor a 27-year-old who's simultaneously stretching the boundaries of point guard play in the NBA.