9 Franchise-Changing Game 7s of the Past 25 Years

In the crucible of pressure games, there is none bigger than the deciding contest, the final conflict between two teams that are on the brink of advancement, which is why looking back at franchise-changing Game 7s of the past decade is a revealing glimpse at how one team was able to break through and achieve success, while another fell short of glory.

No basketball fan can forget the Golden State Warriors winning Game 7 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals over the Oklahoma City Thunder, a victory that would transform both franchises for the next decade, after Kevin Durant switched allegiances to the team that had just bested him.

The deciding games listed here were not all title-winning contests, but they kept a franchise on course toward a dynasty, ended a long period of playoff failure or propelled a team to sustained success.

These games were also franchise-changing for some of the losers, confirming their status as luckless teams that could not overcome adversity or years of bad luck.

And because this is not a ranking of best Game 7s in sports history, there are no honorable mentions.

LA Clippers Lose to Houston Rockets: 2015 NBA Western Conference Semifinals

If you’re a Los Angeles Clippers fan, this one really hurt.

Game 7 of the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals was never supposed to happen. The Clippers had put a choke hold on the series by winning three of the first four games, and with a 3-1 lead solidly in hand, the moribund franchise was on the verge of its first-ever conference finals appearance.

Or maybe not.

After winning Game 7 113-100, the Rockets moved on to face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, a promised land the Clippers have never known.

That Game 7 loss will likely haunt the Clippers for years to come.

It was confirmation of the team’s inability to exorcise decades of failure, a testament to the fact that talent is one thing, and mental fortitude is another.

Rob Mahoney of SI.com described it succinctly when he wrote, “L.A. will have to live with its permanent residence on the wrong side of history.”

Isn’t that always the case with the Clippers, though?

Talented? Yes.

Athletic? Yes.

Dominant? Sometimes.

But when history comes calling, or the stakes are highest and the team has a chance for glory, it almost always falls short.

That Game 7 loss to the Rockets may end up being the last hurrah for this group of Clippers who were built for a championship and yet could not bear the weight of destiny, not to mention match up with the transcendent Golden State Warriors, who now occupy the throne that many had predicted for Los Angeles.

A win against Houston could have set up Los Angeles for an epic series against the Warriors, and buoyed by the newfound confidence of earning a first-ever trip to the conference finals, the team might have toppled Golden State and reached the finals. Instead, the Clippers flamed out and the curse continued in the 2015-16 NBA season, when injuries to Blake Griffin and Chris Paul resulted in another first-round elimination in the playoffs to the upstart Portland Trailblazers.

Boston Red Sox Defeat New York Yankees: 2004 ALCS

Looking back, it still doesn’t seem quite real.

The Red Sox and the Yankees were hated rivals, and down 3-0 to New York in the 2004 ALCS, Boston fans had lost hope they would ever overcome their implacable bête noire. But as the Red Sox won game after game, the idea that the team could actually slay the monster and advance to the World Series became a real if not terrifying proposition.

And then came Game 7, in Yankee Stadium of all places, and Red Sox talisman David Ortiz started the party with a two-run blast in the first inning that set the tone in a 10-3 exorcism of failure that was so profound that Boston rode the fumes of slaying its demon to a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, the team’s first since 1918.

The Red Sox won two more World Series titles after that stunning comeback against the Yankees, but without winning that Game 7, Boston would have likely plunged into a decade of despair.

A 10-year retrospective piece in CBS Boston said the Red Sox run of three championships in the next decade was triggered by their comeback in the ALCS, making Game 7 crucial to the team’s rebirth.

New York Rangers Defeat Vancouver Canucks: 1994 Stanley Cup Final

It wasn’t just that the New York Rangers had starved their fans for a cup since 1940; it was all about the dramatic and movie-worthy way the team went about winning the title against the Vancouver Canucks.

Mark Messier had already gained legendary status for his guarantee of a Game 6 win in the Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils after the Rangers had fallen behind 3-2 in the series.

Messier scored a hat trick in that game to stake the Rangers to victory, and set the tone for a Game 7 win that sent the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals.

So it wasn't that surprising that New York had to gut out another Game 7 to earn a championship against the Canucks.

In a tense Game 7, the Rangers outlasted the Canucks 3-2, with Messier scoring the winning goal, and in one of the most iconic images in Stanley Cup Final history, Messier jumped up and down on his skates, face lit with the pure joy of a breakthrough no one had seen coming.

Craig Custance of ESPN.com polled 19 media members, who ranked this series as the best of the past 20 years in the NHL.

The Rangers made the playoffs the next three seasons, including the 1997 Eastern Conference Final, and though they haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1994, that pivotal Game 7 win broke the 54-year curse and restored a franchise that had labored under a long, dark cloud. 

Cleveland Cavaliers Defeat the Golden State Warriors: 2016 NBA Finals

So much has been written about this series, but Game 7 lived up to all the hype: a stomach-churning, manhood-defining 48 minutes of basketball that changed two franchises and the future of the NBA.

Up 2-0, then 3-1, the Warriors had what everyone assumed was a stranglehold on the series, until Draymond Green’s aggressive, ball-busting play in Game 5 resulted in a one-game suspension when he made contact with LeBron James’ private parts.

James’ epic Game 6, in which he was directly responsible for 27 of the Cavaliers’ 30 points in the fourth quarter, either through an assist or a basket, propelled Cleveland to a 115-101 victory and a fateful Game 7. But even going into that Game 7, everyone outside of the Cavaliers’ locker room expected the Warriors to rally at home, especially with Green’s return from suspension, which was sure to provide emotional and on-court support that would push Golden State over the top.

Led by James and Kyrie Irving, who combined for 53 points, the Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 93-89 to win the franchise’s first championship.

The Game 7 win was the first time in NBA Finals history a team had rebounded from a 3-1 deficit to win a title.

But more than that, it ended 52 years of failure, fulfilled James’ desire to win a title for the city, stopped any notion James would bolt for another franchise and made Golden State far more aggressive in free agency, resulting in the Kevin Durant coup that will likely reshape the NBA landscape for years to come.

How close were the Cavaliers to breaking up the band? According to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who was a guest on The Dan Patrick Show via podcast on NBCSports.com, Cleveland would likely have traded Kevin Love and reset the franchise had the team lost the NBA Finals.

Los Angeles Kings Defeat Chicago Blackhawks: 2014 NHL Western Conference Final

This was a dream matchup between the last two teams to hoist the Stanley Cup, and it showcased the mental toughness and resilience each franchise had shown during the 2014 NHL playoffs.

The Chicago Blackhawks were the defending champs, and the Kings were only one year removed from their franchise-first title. Chicago was vying for dynasty status, and the Kings were attempting to validate their first championship with a second that would cement the franchise as a perennial contender.

The classic Game 7 saw the Kings having to mount two comebacks, with Marian Gaborik’s third-period goal tying the score at 4-4 and sending the game into overtime. In the frenzied overtime period, both teams had a chance to end the game, but it was Alec Martinez of the Kings whose shot ricocheted off a Blackhawks defensive player and went into the net to decide the series.

And as a testament to the game’s legacy, SI.com ranked this series among the best Game 7s in NHL history.

Los Angeles moved on to the Stanley Cup Final and defeated the New York Rangers 4-1 to claim its second title in three years and ensure the franchise would remain a legit contender and a favorable destination for top free agents.

Chicago Cubs Defeat the Cleveland Indians: 2016 World Series

It took 108 years and plenty of heartache before the Chicago Cubs finally ended the worst drought in sports championship history in a riveting Game 7 of the 2016 World Series against the nearly-as-moribund Cleveland Indians.

Evenly matched in every aspect, the Cubs simply needed this victory more than the Indians, and in a 10-inning affair that ended in an 8-7 score that Nancy Armour of USA Today called the best World Series Game 7 in MLB history, the Cubs completed their comeback from a 3-1 deficit and finally escaped the shackles of failure that had dogged the franchise for a century.

Making the victory even sweeter is that the Cubs went into the World Series as favorites, meaning the sad-sack franchise had even more pressure to win than if the team had come in as decided underdogs.

By coming through at the very end, Chicago destroyed a 108-year mental block that had weighed the franchise down and assured that the team can now play with an overwhelming amount of confidence going forward, making it a contender for dynasty status in the next few years.

Oklahoma City Loses to Golden State: 2016 Western Conference Finals

Down 3-1 in the series and on the brink of a historic failure in the playoffs after winning an NBA-best 73 games in the regular season, the Golden State Warriors found their guts and rallied to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7.

That there was even a Game 7 is a miracle, considering the Thunder had dominated the first four games of the series with athleticism, defense and a physicality that overwhelmed the Warriors. But after a 120-111 Game 5 victory at home, the Warriors seemed to realize they had the better team and proved it in a nervy 108-101 victory in Oklahoma City that set up Game 7.

And behind Stephen Curry’s 36 points, the Warriors beat the Thunder 96-88 and advanced to the NBA Finals.

The victory was the death knell for the Thunder, as it is unlikely Kevin Durant would have felt compelled to bolt for the Warriors during free agency if he had made it to the finals and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA title.

As Sam Amick of USA Today wrote during NBA free agency, Durant chose the Warriors because he wanted to win multiple championships and felt the team he couldn’t overcome offered him the best opportunity to achieve his goals.

The Game 7 loss reshaped the Warriors as an even more dangerous team than the one that won 73 games in the 2015-16 NBA season, but it also gutted the Thunder, who have supernova Russell Westbrook and talented center Steven Adams but little else. Had Durant stayed, Oklahoma City officials believe the team would have also signed free-agent forward Al Horford, who has a strong relationship with Thunder head coach Billy Donovan from his days playing under him at the University of Florida.

Arizona Diamondbacks Defeat New York Yankees: 2001 World Series

Game 7 of the 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees was franchise-changing because it proved an expansion team could become a go-to destination for free agents, and it robbed the still-grieving New York City of a championship that would have helped heal the wounds of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The game was like an epic movie with big-name stars such as the Yankees’ Roger Clemens dueling the Diamondbacks’ Curt Schilling, the emotional cauldron of New York playing for fans back home whose need for a title was palpable, and the unbelievable climax of watching the greatest relief pitcher in MLB history come up short in the biggest game of his life.

It’s no wonder David Schoenfield of ESPN.com’s SweetSpot ranked this Game 7 as the second-greatest World Series game ever played.

Remember that the Yankees were going for a fourth consecutive World Series title, but none more important than the one they were playing for, given what had taken place on 9/11.

With the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera’s pitch to Luis Gonzalez resulted in a single that drove in Jay Bell and gave the Diamondbacks the World Series victory.

In only its fourth year of existence, Arizona had won a championship, the first ever for a professional sports team from the state, and in doing so, ended a dynasty, as the Yankees would not win another World Series until 2009.

Boston Bruins Defeat Tampa Bay Lightning: 2011 NHL Eastern Conference Final

Game 7 of the 2011 NHL Eastern Conference Final pitted the Boston Bruins against the Tampa Bay Lighting.

For the Bruins, who had not been to the Stanley Cup Final since 1990, Game 7 would define whether the team was truly a contender built for the long haul or just a franchise living down to decades of mediocrity.

With so much at stake, Game 7 was a predictably tense affair with neither team able to capitalize.

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas denied all 24 shots the Lightning players took on goal, but the game wasn’t decided until Nathan Horton scored with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation, staking Boston to a 1-0 victory and a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.

That Game 7 victory triggered a Bruin resurgence that ended with a Stanley Cup title, as Boston defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games and hoisted the trophy for the first time since the 1971-72 NHL season.

Afterward, Scott Burnside of ESPN.com called it the “biggest game the franchise [had] played in since 1990,” and wrote that the team pulled through with mental toughness and Boston grit.