Ranking the 25 Biggest Chokes of the Century Across All Sports
For the second time during the 2026 NBA playoffs, the New York Knicks completed a frenzied comeback from down more than 20 points in the second half.
This time, they stole Game 4 of the NBA Finals after trailing by 29 points, putting the San Antonio Spurs on the brink of elimination when it looked like they were poised to even the series at 2-2.
But was it the biggest sports choke of the century? Not even close.
Here, we've ranked the 25 biggest chokes across all sports since 2000. The significance of the moment and the magnitude of the collapse were both taken into account to determine the order.
25. 2021 Kansas City Chiefs
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The Setup
After snapping a 50-year championship drought in 2019 and returning to the Super Bowl in 2020, it looked like the Chiefs would be playing for a title once again in 2021. A touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman with 5:04 remaining in the second quarter of the AFC Championship Game gave them a 21-3 lead over Joe Burrow and the upstart Cincinnati Bengals.
The Collapse
The Bengals made it 21-10 with a touchdown late in the second quarter, but the Chiefs still had more than a minute on the clock. They drove 80 yards on seven plays to the one-yard line and took two shots at the end zone, but ultimately came away with no points.
The Bengals defense then clamped down and held the Chiefs to just 83 total yards of offense in the second half.
A 52-yard field goal from Evan McPherson with 6:02 left in the fourth quarter gave Cincinnati its first lead of the game. The Chiefs answered with a 44-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime, but Mahomes threw an interception on the opening drive and another McPherson field goal completed the collapse.
24. 2015 Dustin Johnson, U.S. Open
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The Setup
After a birdie on the 17th hole, Dustin Johnson found the green in two on the par-five 18th during the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. He was left with a 12-foot eagle putt to win his first major championship, while a two-putt would still force a playoff with 2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth.
The Collapse
Johnson rolled his eagle putt three feet past the hole on a fast green, then missed the short birdie putt he had remaining to hand Spieth his second straight major.
It immediately joined the 2010 U.S. Open and 2010 PGA Championship as notable major collapses in his career, though he would finally pick up his first major win a year later when he won the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.
23. 2007 New York Mets
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The Setup
The Mets were 83-62 with a seven-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East standings on Sept. 12. That included a 9-2 record over their first 11 games in September.
They were one of the hottest teams in baseball entering the stretch run and seemed like a lock for the division title.
The Collapse
A pair of five-game losing streaks over the final weeks of September knocked the Mets out of the top spot in the standings. An 8-1 defeat in the regular-season finale against a 91-loss Miami Marlins team was the final nail in the coffin.
The Mets ultimately finished one game behind the Phillies in the NL East race and 1.5 games back in the wild-card standings, completing one of the biggest collapses to miss the postseason in MLB history.
22. 2019 Houston Texans
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The Setup
With a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter, the Houston Texans were firmly in control of their AFC Divisional Round matchup against a Kansas City Chiefs team that was still searching for its first Super Bowl title in 50 years.
The Collapse
The Chiefs put 41 unanswered points on the board before the Texans scored again in the closing seconds of the third quarter. Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes during that decisive stretch, and the Texans offense ground to a halt.
After the Chiefs scored 10 more unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the Texans were sent packing in one of the most stunning losses in recent playoff history.
21. 2025-26 Cleveland Cavaliers
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The Setup
Fresh off a dominant four-game sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers, the New York Knicks entered the Eastern Conference Finals playing some of their best basketball of the season, especially on defense.
However, the Cleveland Cavaliers were primed to steal Game 1 at Madison Square Garden when they built a 93-71 lead with 7:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Collapse
A frantic 18-1 run by the Knicks led by Jalen Brunson suddenly made what looked like a lost cause a ballgame. Brunson tied the game at 101 with less than 20 seconds left, and the Knicks barely dodged a potential game-winning three-pointer from Cavs guard Sam Merrill on the final possession of regulation.
The Knicks finished the job in overtime by outscoring the Cavaliers 14-3. The Cavaliers went from potentially seizing control of the series to a crushing defeat.
20. 2026 Jannik Sinner, French Open
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The Setup
Jannik Sinner entered the second round of the 2026 French Open as the No. 1 men's player in the world and riding a 30-match winning streak as he looked to complete a career Grand Slam.
He won the first two sets over No. 56-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and led 5-1 in the third as he looked poised to add another tally to his streak.
The Collapse
On the cusp of victory, Sinner lost 18 points in a row before briefly leaving the court to be attended to by the medical staff on a hot, sunny day. He returned shortly after and dropped the final three games to fall 7-5 in the third set.
He then lost 6-1 and 6-1 in the fourth and fifth sets to complete the collapse. While the weather and his health undoubtedly played a role, it was a stunning result nonetheless.
19. 2009-10 Boston Bruins
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The Setup
The Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the Flyers in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals. Even after watching that evaporate into a winner-take-all Game 7, it still looked like they would avoid total collapse.
When they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, it looked like the near-choke would be a minor footnote in NHL history.
The Collapse
The Flyers got on the board with a goal late in the first period to make it 3-1, then seized the momentum with two more goals against Tuukka Rask in the second period to even the score. Simon Gagné delivered the go-ahead, power-play goal for Philadelphia midway through the third period, and it stood up as the game-winner.
The Bruins became the third team in NHL history to lose after leading 3-0 in a seven-game series.
18. 2019 Roger Federer, Wimbledon
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The Setup
Serving at 8-7, 40-15 in the fifth set of a thriller against Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer had two match points to potentially claim his ninth Wimbledon title as he came down the homestretch of his legendary career.
The Collapse
A wide forehand by Federer was followed by a crosscourt winner by Djokovic, erasing Federer's opportunity to close out the match when victory seemed almost certain. The back-and-forth stretched all the way to 12-12, which set up a tiebreaker that Djokovic won 7-3, giving him the victory in the longest Wimbledon final in history at four hours, 57 minutes.
17. 2022 Indianapolis Colts
9 of 25.jpg?w=684 "Colts Vikings Football")
The Setup
The 4-8-1 Colts stormed out to a 33-0 lead during the first half against a 10-3 Vikings team, building a lead that had never been surmounted over the course of NFL history.
The Collapse
The Vikings finally got on the scoreboard with a touchdown midway through the third quarter, but the Colts answered with a field goal to carry a 22-point lead into the fourth quarter. Three unanswered touchdowns and a two-point conversion later, the Vikings had forced overtime.
A 40-yard field goal from Greg Joseph with three seconds left in the extra period completed the largest comeback in NFL history.
16. 2025-26 Duke Blue Devils
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The Setup
With a 32-2 record heading into the men's 2026 NCAA tournament, the Duke Blue Devils claimed the No. 1 overall seed.
Their offense and defense both ranked inside the top 10 in KenPom's adjusted efficiency, and they boasted the presumptive National Player of the Year in Cameron Boozer, making them the favorites to win it all when March Madness began.
A 19-point lead in the first half of their Elite Eight matchup with UConn looked like the next step in their title run.
The Collapse
That lead had been trimmed to just three points when UConn guard Silas Demary Jr. split a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left in regulation. On the ensuing Duke possession, UConn deflected Cayden Boozer's pass as he was trying to avoid a foul. Braylon Mullins came away with the loose ball and drilled the game-winning three with 0.4 seconds left.
It will go down as one of the most memorable shots in NCAA tournament history, and a crushing collapse for Duke.
15. 2017-18 Houston Rockets
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The Setup
The Rockets won a franchise-record 65 games during the 2017-18 season, and they nearly put the Golden State Warriors away in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals before squandering a 17-point lead.
Despite that stumble, they again appeared to be in the driver's seat with a 15-point edge during the first half in Game 7.
The Collapse
In a cold-shooting night of epic proportions, the Rockets missed 27 straight three-point attempts and finished 7-for-44 from beyond the arc for the game.
The Warriors outscored them 33-15 during the third quarter and came away with a 101-92 victory on the road to their third title in four years.
14. 2011 Rory McIlroy, Masters
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The Setup
Rory McIlroy had at least a share of the lead at the 2011 Masters throughout the first three rounds, and he carried a four-stroke lead into Sunday. The 21-year-old was still searching for his first major championship, but he seemed to be on the doorstep.
The Collapse
Things started to unravel on the back nine on Sunday. A wayward tee shot on the 10th hole hit a tree and ended in a triple-bogey. Two holes later, the meltdown was on when he had to four-putt the 12th green for a double-bogey.
McIlroy ended up shooting 43 on the back nine and 80 on the day. He finished 10 strokes off the lead.
13. 2011 Boston Red Sox
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The Setup
The Red Sox and Yankees went back-and-forth in the AL East race throughout the 2011 season. The Red Sox held a narrow 1.5-game edge entering September, but the Yankees had an eight-game cushion for a wild-card spot, so the Red Sox looked like a virtual lock to be part of the playoff picture in some capacity.
The Collapse
A disastrous 4-13 skid, including a 1-6 record head-to-head with Tampa Bay, left the Red Sox tied with the Rays in the wild-card standings entering the final day of the regular season.
The Red Sox blew a save against a 93-loss Orioles team, while the Rays got a 12th-inning, walk-off home run from Evan Longoria, leaving the Sox to contemplate their collapse over a long, cold winter.
12. 2015-16 Northern Iowa Panthers
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The Setup
The 2009-10 Northern Iowa team is one of college basketball's most memorable recent Cinderella stories, as it took down No. 1 seed Kansas to advance to the Sweet 16.
Six years later, the Panthers were causing bracket chaos once again when they upset No. 6 seed Texas in the first round and had No. 3 seed Texas A&M on the ropes with a 69-57 lead with 44 seconds remaining.
The Collapse
The Aggies went on a stunning 14-2 run over the final 44 seconds, aided by four Panthers turnovers. The comeback was capped off by a steal and layup from Admon Gilder to tie things up at 71-71 with 1.9 seconds remaining.
It took two overtimes, but Texas A&M eventually came away with a 92-88 victory, denying Northern Iowa what would have been its second-ever trip to the Sweet 16 in crushing fashion.
11. 2025-26 San Antonio Spurs
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The Setup
After falling behind 2-0 at home in the 2026 NBA Finals to a red-hot New York Knicks team, the Spurs took Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
They were in complete control early on in Game 4, with a 27-point lead at halftime that was the largest in NBA Finals history for a road team, and an 81-52 edge early in the third quarter.
The Collapse
The Spurs shot just 4-of-20 from the field and scored 14 points in the third quarter, while the Knicks used a 13-0 run to help make it a 90-75 game through three quarters.
The Spurs still led 104-97 with 3:31 remaining, but back-to-back threes from Jose Alvarado and Jalen Brunson followed by a Brunson floater put the Knicks on top 105-104 with 1:22 on the clock.
A pair of free throws from Stephon Castle put the Spurs back in the lead with 30.3 seconds to go, and Brunson missed a 30-foot pull-up for the potential game-winner, but OG Anunoby was there to clean it up for the game-winning tip-in.
It's the biggest comeback on record in an NBA Finals game, and the second-largest ever in an NBA playoff game.
10. 2003 Chicago Cubs
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The Setup
The Chicago Cubs entered Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS one win away from their first World Series appearance since 1945. They had a 3-0 lead heading into the eighth inning, with ace Mark Prior throwing a gem on the mound, and they were five outs away from a trip to the Fall Classic when things went off the rails.
The Collapse
The infamous Steve Bartman incident saw a fan interfere with what might have been the second out of the eighth inning. Cubs left fielder Moisés Alou threw a tantrum, which was followed by a costly error from sure-handed shortstop Alex Gonzalez that opened the floodgates.
The Marlins scored eight runs in the inning, won the game, and completed the series comeback the next night with a 9-6 victory in Game 7.
9. 2016 Jordan Spieth, Masters
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The Setup
Seeking his second straight Masters win in 2016, Jordan Spieth led by five strokes at the turn on Sunday. He bogeyed the 10th and 11th holes, but he still sat atop the leaderboard heading into the 12th hole, where he had made par, par and birdie through the first three rounds.
The Collapse
When the dust settled on a 12th-hole meltdown, Spieth had hit the ball into the water twice and walked away with a quadruple bogey, and his lead had transformed into a three-stroke deficit. He recovered to birdie the 13th and 15th holes, but the damage was done.
Spieth ended up finishing tied for second, three strokes behind Danny Willett.
8. 2005 AC Milan
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The Setup
A dominant first half by AC Milan resulted in a 3-0 advantage at halftime of the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool. They looked ready to coast to victory in the second half.
The Collapse
A disastrous six-minute stretch from Milan's elite defense saw them allow goals to Steven Gerrard (54'), Vladimír Šmicer (56') and Xabi Alonso (61'). In the blink of an eye, the match was tied.
It ended up going to penalties, and Liverpool won the shootout 3-2 to complete the unlikely comeback.
7. 2012-13 San Antonio Spurs
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The Setup
The Spurs led 75-65 entering the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, putting them just 12 minutes from clinching a championship over the Miami Heat.
Even after blowing that 10-point lead, they rebounded to a 94-89 advantage with 28 seconds to play.
Heat fans began filing out of the arena with the outcome seemingly decided.
The Collapse
Clutch three-pointers from LeBron James and Ray Allen erased that five-point lead and sent the game to overtime, and the Heat went on to win 103-100.
That proved to be a crushing blow for the Spurs, as they were unable to recover in Game 7 and lost 95-88 behind a 37-point performance from James.
6. 2014 Seattle Seahawks
20 of 25.JPEG?w=684 "Super Bowl Football")
The Setup
Despite trailing 28-24 with 26 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter, the Seattle Seahawks appeared to be on the cusp of taking the lead at the Super Bowl with the ball on the one-yard line.
The Seahawks led the NFL in rushing during the regular season, and star running back Marshawn Lynch already had 102 rushing yards and a touchdown in the game.
The Collapse
In a decision that seemingly defied all logic, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll dialed up a pass play rather than handing the ball to Lynch, and Russell Wilson was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler.
Victory was within reach, but it instead became one of the most scrutinized sports decisions of a generation.
5. 2017-18 Virginia Cavaliers
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The Setup
When No. 1 seed Virginia tipped off against No. 16 seed UMBC in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament, No. 1 seeds had a 135-0 record all-time against No. 16 seeds.
The Cavaliers went 31-2 during the regular season to claim the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament field and were among the favorites to win it all.
The Collapse
As is often the case, UMBC hung around in a tight first half, and things were tied 21-21 at halftime. That can prove unsustainable over 40 minutes for an outgunned No. 16 seed, but the Retrievers found another gear.
They outscored the Cavaliers by a staggering 53-33 margin during the second half and pulled out a 20-point victory as 20.5-point underdogs.
4. 2011 Texas Rangers
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The Setup
After reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history in 2010, the Rangers returned to the Fall Classic the following year.
With a 3-2 series lead and a 7-5 lead on the scoreboard heading into the bottom of the ninth in Game 6, they were three outs away from finally hoisting the trophy.
The Collapse
With two outs and down to his final strike, David Freese delivered the game-tying, two-run triple to send the game to extra innings.
Josh Hamilton quickly answered with a two-run homer in the top of the 10th, and the Cardinals were again down to their final strike when Lance Berkman hit a game-tying single in the bottom of the 10th. Freese walked it off in the 11th with a homer.
That momentum carried over to a 6-2 victory for the Cardinals in Game 7. The Rangers went from one strike away twice to runner-up for the second straight year.
3. 2015-16 Golden State Warriors
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The Setup
With a 24-0 start to the season and a record-setting 73-win finish, the Warriors looked like a team of destiny entering the 2016 playoffs.
The fitting end to their storybook season looked inevitable when they took a 3-1 series lead over LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
The Collapse
The tides turned on the series in Game 5 as the Warriors failed to close things out at home with Draymond Green suspended. Behind a stellar stretch of play from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers seized the upper hand with their ability to attack the basket.
Two games later, the Warriors went from team of destiny to the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead in the Finals.
2. 2004 New York Yankees
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The Setup
In the first season of the Alex Rodriguez era, the Yankees won 101 games and the AL East title.
It looked like they were about to send the rival Red Sox packing when they took a 3-0 series lead in the ALCS, and they had them on the brink with a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth in Game 4.
The Collapse
The legendary Dave Roberts steal and an RBI single from Bill Mueller tied the game against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Then David Ortiz delivered the walk-off home run in the 12th inning to avoid the sweep in Game 4.
That shifted the course of the series—and baseball history—as the Yankees would go on to become the first and only MLB team to lose a seven-game series when they led 3-0.
1. 2016 Atlanta Falcons
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The Setup
The Falcons led 28-3 with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots.
With a veteran quarterback in Matt Ryan and a reliable running game anchored by Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, they were in a great position to avoid mistakes, bleed clock and come away victorious.
The Collapse
The remaining time dragged on forever for Falcons fans as Tom Brady and the Patriots rattled off 25 unanswered points, the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. For the first time ever, the Super Bowl would be decided in overtime.
The Patriots won the coin toss, and an eight-play, 75-yard drive was capped off by a game-winning two-yard touchdown run from James White.
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