20 Playoff Series You Would Totally Binge-Watch on Netflix
The MLB postseason is upon us. You know how before each new season of House of Cards, you binge-watch old episodes just to get jazzed up? (No, just me? OK.)
Regardless, wouldn't it be nice if you could similarly hype yourself up for postseason action with indulgent binge-watching of great sports playoff series?
The following 20 series are just that: series. Not a game, not a game, not a game—we're talking about series. For these purposes, that means MLB, NBA and NHL.
Good binge-watching shows have some things in common. First, there is consistent, ongoing action. There are big-name characters, and there is a lot at stake. Even better, there are often shocking or iconic moments (looking at you, "Red Wedding"). In sports terms, there are rivalries, legendary performances and nail-biting anticipation.
Though many (not all) of these series are considered "great" from a historical perspective, it's not just the greatness that landed them on this list—it's also watchability.
Every fan is different, so no attempt will be made to order these from worst to first—straight chronology today, folks.
(Psst, Netflix, hope you're getting the hint here.)
Honorable Mention: 1919 World Series
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This wasn't necessarily a "great series," but be honest. You would totally watch this on Netflix.
In hindsight, wouldn't it be great to see the Black Sox scandal in action? Did "Shoeless" Joe Jackson do anything even remotely resembling the throwing of games? You could decide for yourself.
Plus, eight games. Bonus!
1942 Stanley Cup Final: Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
2 of 21Everyone likes a good comeback story.
The Detroit Red Wings led the 1942 Stanley Cup Final three games to zero, and they lost. Toronto took the next four games and the Cup, becoming the first-ever professional sports team to come back from a 3-0 hole.
This series would be particularly enthralling to watch now because of what Maple Leafs coach Hap Day did after Game 3. According to greatesthockeylegends.com, he benched the starters and a bunch of young guys led the Leafs to the Cup.
1956 World Series: New York Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers
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Not only was the 1956 World Series a seven-game thriller, but it also featured one of the most iconic achievements in MLB postseason history: Don Larsen's perfect game.
The crosstown rival New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers met for a rematch of the 1955 series, which the Dodgers won, 4-3.
The '56 series went down a little differently, however. The Dodgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead, only to drop the next three games due to strong Yankee pitching (including that perfecto from Larsen in Game 5).
Besides all that, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Don Drysdale and Jackie Robinson all played in this series. You know you would watch that.
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1969 NBA Finals: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
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Jerry West played in nine NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1960s and '70s, and he only won one time. That one time came in 1972, but West took home the Finals MVP in 1969, even after his team lost to the Boston Celtics, four games to three.
West had to have a pretty epic series (think, LeBron James circa 2015) to pull that off. And he did. The Hall of Fame guard averaged 37.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game for the series.
To watch these Finals now, you would not only see West's dominant performance, but you could also relish in a seven-game series between bitter rivals. Three of the seven games were decided by two points or less, and Boston's win capped the legendary Bill Russell's career with his 11th and final title.
1975 World Series: Cincinnati Reds vs. Boston Red Sox
5 of 21An extra-inning, walk-off home run in the World Series? Yes, please. A series featuring Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk and Pete Rose? Yes.
Prior to 1975, the Cincinnati Reds hadn't won a World Series since 1940. Then in '75, the "Big Red Machine," as they had come to be known, won 108 games and looked poised to win it all.
The Boston Red Sox proved to be a formidable opponent in the World Series, however. Two of the seven games went to extra innings and five were decided by one run or fewer.
Trailing three games to two in Game 6, the BoSox needed a win to stay alive. They got it, via 12th-inning heroics from Fisk, who blasted the walk-off winner just inside the foul pole in left.
The Reds went on to take the series with a 4-3 win in Game 7, but Fisk's game-winner lives in baseball lore.
1979 Stanley Cup Semifinals: Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
6 of 21The 1979 NHL Stanley Cup semifinals (as they were known back then) featured the New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders on one side and the Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens on the other.
The Bruins/Habs series pitted two rivals against each other, and the result did not disappoint. Montreal took the Cup from the Bruins in each of the two previous seasons, so revenge was also an underlying theme in this one.
The home team won each of the first six games, setting up a do-or-die Game 7 in Montreal. The Bruins led 4-3 with the game winding down when they were called for too many men on the ice. Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur put in a power-play goal, and the Habs went on to win in overtime.
They tied up the Final, too, beating the New York Rangers for their fourth Cup in as many years.
1981 Eastern Conference Finals: Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers
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In 1981, Larry Bird's Boston Celtics faced Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
The two teams were juggernauts in the regular season. Each racked up 62 wins, tied for the most that year.
The Celts descended into a 3-1 hole but eventually came back to claim the series in seven games. Five of those seven games were decided by two points or fewer, including a 91-90 Game 7.
1984 NBA Finals: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
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Yes, another Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics series is on here, but for good reason. An intense rivalry like theirs instantly adds watchability to any playoff series.
In the 1984 NBA Finals, the big players were the likes of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Magic Johnson and a couple guys named James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar.
The series was gritty and emotional, and the Celtics prevailed in seven games. Game 7 featured a late comeback by the Lakers—14 points to make it a game with a minute remaining—but Johnson was mugged twice down the stretch, and that was pretty much that.
Bird averaged 27.4 points, 14 rebounds, 3.2 assists and two steals per game en route to the Finals MVP.
1988 Stanley Cup Final: Edmonton Oilers vs. Boston Bruins
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Unlike many others on this list, the 1988 Stanley Cup Final was not a series you'd watch for its closeness. (It was a 4-0 sweep.) No, you'd watch this one just to see one of the greatest players give one of his greatest performances. You'd watch this to see what total domination looks like.
In his last season with the Edmonton Oilers, Wayne Gretzky led the team to a Stanley Cup victory over the Boston Bruins. The Great One scored 12 goals and 43 points during the postseason, including four goals and eight assists in the four-game Final. He also took home the Conn Smythe Trophy.
1991 World Series: Minnesota Twins vs. Atlanta Braves
10 of 21The Minnesota Twins vs. the Atlanta Braves? Who would watch that? You would, when you remember four of the seven games in the 1991 World Series were walk-offs (including Game 7).
Jack Morris pitched all 10 innings of that seventh game for the Twins, hurling a complete game shutout and taking home the MVP award.
1994 Stanley Cup Final: New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks
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You might remember the 1994 Eastern Conference Final for Mark Messier's guarantee. The New York Rangers captain promised his team would take Game 6 after falling into a 3-2 hole against the New Jersey Devils.
The Rangers did win that game, and the series, and the next series. You should watch it all, but the Rangers' victory over the Vancouver Canucks to take the Cup was particularly engrossing. The series went to seven games, and it ended with the Rangers' first Cup in over 50 years.
1998 NBA Finals: Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz
12 of 21Michel Jordan's "final shot" is reason enough to watch this entire series.
Still, the 1998 NBA Finals might be worth watching even without it. Jordan and Scottie Pippen vs. Karl Malone and John Stockton, six games (five of them close) and the final championship for the GOAT—tee it up.
1999 NLCS: Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets
13 of 21This is one you wouldn't expect, but the 1999 National League Championship Series would suck you in and have you on the edge of your seat practically throughout.
Five of the six games between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets were decided by one run. Two games went to extras, and both of those ended with walk-off wins. That includes the clincher for the Braves: a walk-off in Game 6.
2002 Western Conference Finals: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings
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The best series of a given postseason isn't always the last one. In 2002, the Los Angeles Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals, but they almost didn't get there.
The Western Conference Finals pitted the Lakers against the Sacramento Kings and is regarded as one of the all-time great NBA playoff series.
This seven-game thriller featured Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Chris Webber. The last four games came down to the wire, and a few questionable calls (particularly in Game 6) caused some to speculate the series was rigged by the NBA, according to Jonathan Abrams of Grantland.
2003 ALCS: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
15 of 21Aaron Boone's walk-off home run to win the 2003 American League Championship Series is one of the most memorable moments in New York Yankees history.
Part of what made it so great was the context. The Boston Red Sox played their bitter rival to a seventh game in hopes of getting another crack at their decades-long World Series drought.
They might have gotten that chance, too, if not for Aaron bleepin’ Boone.
2004 ALCS: Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees
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If you watch the 2003 American League Championship Series, you should follow that up by watching the encore.
The 2004 ALCS marked the first time in MLB history a team came back from a 3-0 hole to win a best-of-seven series. David Ortiz was the series MVP, and Johnny Damon racked up six RBI for the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 to help seal a 10-3 victory and the pennant.
If the Sox wanted revenge on the New York Yankees, they got it, in a big way.
2009 Stanley Cup Final: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings
17 of 21The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games to win the 2008 Stanley Cup.
What followed in 2009 was an epic rematch. The teams battled for the first six games and took a 3-3 series tie into Detroit for Game 7.
Down 2-0 in the third period, Detroit scored with six minutes remaining. Later, with just a minute left, Detroit pulled its goalie and came dangerously close to forcing overtime with a last-second flurry.
Pittsburgh held on, however, and took the Cup for the third time in franchise history.
2013 Stanley Cup Final: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Boston Bruins
18 of 21The 2010 Stanley Cup was a BFD for the Chicago Blackhawks: the team's first title since 1961. However, the Final against the Boston Bruins in 2013 was even more entertaining as a series.
The Original Six matchup was decided in six games, three of which went to overtime. (!) The largest margin of victory in any game was two goals.
Up three games to two in Game 6, Chicago trailed 2-1 with less than two minutes remaining. Unbelievably, the Hawks scored twice before the end of regulation, Bryan Bickell with 1:16 remaining and Dave Bolland with 58.3.
The Hawks went on to win, their second Cup in four years.
2013 NBA Finals: Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs
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The Miami Heat won the first of back-to-back NBA Finals showdowns against the San Antonio Spurs in 2013. LeBron James secured his second-straight NBA title alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He averaged 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and seven assists per game for the series and took home the MVP.
The series featured seven games against the Tim Duncan-led Spurs, all of which were filled with dazzling performances and heroic plays.
Perhaps the highlight of the series, however, came in Game 6. Up three games to two, the Spurs led by five with 28 seconds remaining and looked poised to advance to the Finals (so much so, many of the home Heat fans actually left the arena).
Instead, the Heat stormed back and forced overtime thanks to an incredible last-second three by Ray Allen.
The Spurs got revenge in 2014, but that 2013 series was one for the ages.
2014 World Series: San Francisco Giants vs. Kansas City Royals
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The Kansas City Royals hadn't won a World Series in 30 years.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner had one of the most epic postseason performances in history, capping it with five innings of shutout relief to seal Game 7.
This just happened, but it's worth watching all over again, anytime.
2015 NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
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Speaking of things that just happened, who wouldn't sit down for some 2015 NBA Finals action right now?
This was the series everyone wanted: Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, probably the most likable team in the NBA, vs. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the year of his homecoming.
The series went to six games solely because James played out of his mind, so much so that more than a few people thought he should win the Finals MVP despite playing on the losing team.
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