Biggest Postseason Heroes of 2016
We remember playoff heroes differently than those who excelled during the regular season. Titles matter more than anything to an athlete's legacy.
Despite all of Peyton Manning's regular-season records and accomplishments, some people will always claim New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is better because he will retire with more Super Bowl rings.
Numerous playoff heroes emerged throughout 2016, and one man cemented his status as an all-time great this past spring.
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James put the Cavs on his back and carried the team to three straight victories over the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
The MLB playoffs gave us multiple heroes. A college basketball championship and the WNBA Finals were both won via last-second shots. Alabama's special teams unit, of all things, came up big when a title was on the line.
Which of these 10 athletes is the biggest postseason hero of 2016?
Conor Gillaspie
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After the 2016 NL Wild Card Game, Barry Werner of Fox Sports asked the question fans were wondering: "So, who is Conor Gillaspie, who was in the lineup because Eduardo Nunez was left off the roster due to a strained hamstring?"
Gillaspie wasn't a household name before October 5. In 2015, The journeyman infielder spent time with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In 2016, he played in 101 games for the San Francisco Giants before the team's win-or-go-home playoff contest against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Fans of the Amazins won't soon forget Gillaspie following what is to date the biggest at-bat of his career.
He hit a three-run homer off Mets closer Jeurys Familia in the top of the ninth inning, knocking home the contest's only runs. With one swing of the bat, a relatively-unknown player sent the defending NL Champions home.
Kyrie Irving
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There is a young generation of Cleveland sports fans who will never think of Michael Jordan whenever they hear the phrase "The Shot." To them, that term references what Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving accomplished in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
The Cavs and Golden State Warriors were tied at 89 points with 1:09 left to play when Irving began an offensive possession from well beyond the arc. Following a pick, two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry switched to guard Irving as he handled the ball from three-point range. With 55.5 seconds remaining, Irving took one last dribble, stepped back and buried a three-pointer over Curry's outstretched hand.
The shot gave the Cavaliers a 92-89 advantage. Golden State failed to register another bucket, and the Cavaliers completed a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit to win the franchise's first ever championship and the first won by a Cleveland professional sports team in 52 years.
Kris Jenkins
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Despite how impressive and noteworthy Kyrie Irving's memorable three-pointer was, the best postseason shot of 2016 may belong to Villanova's Kris Jenkins.
This past April, Villanova faced North Carolina in one of the greatest NCAA Mens National Championship Games in history. The game was tied at 74 with 4.7 seconds left to play. Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono accepted the inbound pass, sprinted down the court and passed the ball to Jenkins, who was several steps beyond the three-point line. With 1.3 seconds remaining, Jenkins hit a three-pointer with no time remaining, delivering the championship to the Wildcats.
March Madness doesn't get any better than that.
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Aroldis Chapman
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Chicago Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman experienced a roller-coaster evening against the Cleveland Indians during Game 7 of the World Series.
Chapman was called into service in the bottom of the eighth inning with Chicago holding on to a two-run lead. The flame-throwing closer appeared out of gas early on, ultimately surrendering a game-tying, two-run home run to Rajai Davis.
But Chapman's night didn't end there. He returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth and shut down the Tribe to force the contest into extra innings.
Had Chapman walked Jason Kipnis in the ninth inning, it could've cost the Cubs the title and resulted in the club not re-signing the closer in the offseason. Chapman, instead, perfectly executed his job in the ninth, and he gave the Cubs new life heading into a rain delay that may have saved the team's title hopes.
Alabama's Special Teams
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Several players stood out for the Alabama Crimson Tide during the team's 45-40 victory over Clemson in this year's CFP National Championship Game. Alabama running back Derrick Henry rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver O.J. Howard finished the contest with 208 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
But per ESPN.com's Research Notes, Alabama's special teams deserve a lot of credit for the Tide's win over Clemson:
"Alabama's special teams took advantage of Clemson's 123rd-ranked special teams, according to ESPN's efficiency ratings Monday, adding almost seven expected points to the final score margin. The Crimson Tide scored a kickoff return for a touchdown - their sixth special-teams touchdown of the season (tied for most in the FBS) - blocked a field goal and recovered a game-changing onside kick.
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Alabama head coach Nick Saban risked a lot in calling the onside kick when the score was tied at 24 with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter. It's only viewed as a great decision, after the fact, because the kicking unit executed the play perfectly. The kick was spot-on, and no Clemson player was anywhere near Marlon Humphrey when he made the easy catch to give Alabama possession.
Alabama scored a touchdown two plays later, and that began a sequence of events that ended with the Tide standing tall as champions.
Matt Murray
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Several players caught fire to help the Pittsburgh Penguins earn a playoff spot and reach the Stanley Cup Final this past spring.
Phil Kessel played so well some observers, such as Ryan Lambert from Yahoo Sports' Puck Daddy, and some Pittsburgh fans believed he and not captain Sidney Crosby deserved to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. Pittsburgh's "H.B.K. Line" of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Kessel became a local and national sensation for its stellar postseason play.
But the Penguins likely wouldn't have won the Stanley Cup in 2016 without the heroics of young goaltender Matt Murray.
Murray, who turned 22 years old in May, would've been a spectator throughout the postseason if not for injury woes plaguing the Pens. The youngster, who was relatively unknown to hockey fans at the start of the season, became a star for performing like a postseason veteran in front of national television audiences.
Per Hockey-Reference.com, Murray accumulated a 15-6 playoff record and finished the postseason with a 2.08 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. He surrendered only a single goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to help the Penguins win the title on the road against the San Jose Sharks.
Ben Zobrist
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Chicago Cubs infielder Ben Zobrist isn't flashy, but he's arguably the top big-game batter in the game today.
The 35-year-old, who won a World Series ring with the Kansas City Royals in 2015, proved his worth to the Cubs multiple times this fall. He smashed an RBI double in the top of the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NL Divisional Series against the San Francisco Giants. Then, he sparked the Cubs offense in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series versus the Los Angeles Dodger with, of all things, a bunt.
But Zobrist's top heroics occurred in the top of the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series. His double to left field broke a deadlock and gave the Cubs a 7-6 lead they never relinquished.
Zobrist earned World Series MVP honors, and he'll forever be known for delivering the go-ahead run that ended the team's 108-year championship drought.
Nneka Ogwumike
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Those of you who don't pay attention to the WNBA missed quite the conclusion to Game 5 of the 2016 WBNA Finals between the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx.
Minnesota's Maya Moore hit a jumper with 15.4 seconds left in the game to put the Lynx up 76-75 in front of a raucous home audience. With no timeouts remaining, Los Angeles quickly took the ball down the court, and Chelsea Gray missed an 11-foot jumper with less than seven seconds to play. Nneka Ogwumike grabbed the rebound, but her put-back was stuffed.
But as the sports adage says, don't stop playing until you hear a whistle or a buzzer.
Ogwumike grabbed another rebound and then drained her second attempt, giving Los Angeles a 77-76 lead. The hosts were out of heroics following Ogwumike's bucket, and the Sparks celebrate a title in enemy territory.
Von Miller and the Denver Defense
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The Carolina Panthers looked unbeatable at the start of 2016. Yes, the Panthers suffered a slip-up against the Atlanta Falcons this past December, but that loss seemingly served as a reminder that it's difficult for any team to go 16-0 during the NFL regular season. The Panthers dusted themselves off after the loss, and they defeated the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals in the playoffs en route to earning a Super Bowl matchup verses the Denver Broncos.
Carolina was not merely a hot team that found its form at the right time. The club finished with the best regular-season record in the NFL, it featured NFL MVP Cam Newton at quarterback and Carolina had the best overall defense in the NFC.
Denver, clearly, was not intimidated, as the Broncos defeated the Panthers 24-10 to win Super Bowl 50.
History will remember linebacker Von Miller won Super Bowl MVP honors, an award he deserved. Miller finished the contest with two strip sacks, one of which was recovered for a Denver touchdown, 2.5 total sacks and three quarterback hits.
Miller wasn't alone in dominating the action. In all, Newton completed only 18 of 41 pass attempts, he was kept out of the end zone and he committed three turnovers. Carolina's offense became an afterthought long before Denver QB Peyton Manning hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the final time, and it was Denver's defensive performance that stole the show on football's biggest stage.
LeBron James
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Somebody might make a movie someday about what Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James achieved in this past spring. But no film could ever do justice to the real story.
James, the hometown hero who broke Cleveland's heart in 2010 when he left town for the Miami Heat, returned to the Cavs in 2014. That, alone, is an emotional tale, one that becomes even more dramatic when you learn James and the Cavs lost the 2015 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors.
Wait, there's more.
James and the Cavs met the Warriors for an NBA Finals rematch in this past June, and it seemed history would repeat itself. Golden State won three of the first four games, and James' offensive output disappeared in the final quarter of Game 4.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
James scored 41 points and notched a double-double in each of the next two contests to lead Cleveland to back-to-back wins. He then coupled a triple-double with one of the greatest blocks in NBA history and a clutch free throw in the closing seconds of Game 7 to help guide the Cavs to a 93-89 victory.
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