NBA: The 30 Biggest Chokes in NBA Playoff History
In every NBA postseason, there is bound to be at least one playoff team that will see perfect opportunities slip away.
It's the final month of the season where we separate the good teams from the great teams as we see just how well teams react when under pressure. The team that is always the coolest when the heat gets turned up will win that game.
The playoffs are a time when each win becomes a necessity, and the slightest slip-up could cause a series to be completely flipped in favor of another team.
There have been many times during the history of this league where a team would appear to win a game only to see it slip away in the final minutes, even losing series depending on just how much momentum they lost. Rather than stepping up with the game on the line, the players that are usually weak-willed will be exposed before eventually losing that game and potentially the series because of their mistakes.
History has always been written by the winners, but it's sometimes the losers that will be the biggest story of that year's postseason.
Whether they were a team that lost despite having great expectations or a team that simply blew a lead late, some of the NBA's biggest playoff stories have come by way of a team choking a game or series away.
Today, we relive those awful moments of a teams history. We'll take a look back at 30 of the biggest chokes from an individual and team stand point as we also take a look at how the series and the NBA was affected by the outcome of the choke.
30. The 1975 Washington Bullets Can't Handle the Warriors
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Led by the one of the most daunting frontcourts in NBA history, the Washington Bullets were sure to become a dynasty as well as win their first title during the 1974-75 season. They had gone 60-22 and had an NBA Finals appearance against the Golden State Warriors awaiting.
With Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes manning the front, the Bullets were the league's toughest teams to score against inside and out. The Warriors, however, led by Rick Barry, only needed four games to top the Bullets.
Golden State had only won 48 games that season and had played well below expectations until they reached the postseason.
The Bullets' thoughts of a championship came to a quick halt, and they wouldn't win it all until 1979.
29. The San Antonio Spurs Are No Match for Zach Randolph
2 of 30Just this past postseason, the Memphis Grizzlies became the fourth team in NBA history to beat a No. 1 seed.
This time, it seemed like the roles reversed as the Grizzlies controlled the series from the beginning. Despite possessing the league's best record for most of the season and also having the same core that had won titles before, the Spurs suddenly looked older than ever against an upstart Grizzlies squad that was hell-bent on upsetting San Antonio.
The Spurs dropped Game 1, won Game 2, and came a miraculous three-pointer away from losing the next three games. San Antonio dropped the series 4-2 and possibly blew their last legitimate chance to win a title for the next few seasons.
28. Knicks Let Reggie Miller Do the Unthinkable
3 of 30Can you choke any more than this?
The New York Knicks found themselves in prime position to take this one home. They were up 105-99 against the rival Indiana Pacers with 18 seconds left and the Pacers inbounding. Mark Jackson got it to Miller, who made the ensuing three-pointer to cut the lead to three with 16 seconds remaining.
The Knicks still had good position to win since the ball was in their hands and all they had to do to win was basically make their free throws the rest of the way.
Instead, the Knicks turned it over on the ensuing inbound. Miller stole the ball, ran to the three-point line, and threw up a three-pointer that dropped to tie the game at 105 apiece.
The Knicks' John Starks would go to the line for two free throws on the next possession, would miss both, and then Patrick Ewing would miss an attempt on an offensive rebound.
That was then followed up by two free throws from Reggie Miller to clinch Game 1.
Indiana would win in seven games.
27. 1970 Los Angeles Lakers Can't Stop a One-Legged Man
4 of 30It's a legendary story that will forever live in New York Knicks lore. Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals featured the Knicks taking on Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers, but it seemed like a futile effort for the Knicks considering that their star player in Willis Reed might not even play.
Sure enough, Reed stepped onto the court for warmups and started the game. He would take the first two shots of the contest and would make them before being taken out for the rest of the game.
The Knicks gained momentum from their feverish crowd and the valiant effort of Reed with Walt Frazier dropping 36 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists to give the Knicks an easy 113-99 victory.
New York would lead by as much as 20 points. Los Angeles lost a game to a guy with one leg.
26. The Philadelphia 76ers Pass It to the Wrong Team
5 of 30Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers would come down to the final play. A matchup of titans as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain faced off once again.
It was Russell coming out on top again, but it was his teammate that made it all possible.
Facing a one-point deficit and only a few seconds remaining, the Sixers' Hal Greer was sent to inbound. Over outstretched hands, Greer threw it in to a seemingly open man before John Havlicek came out of nowhere to tip the ball into the hands of teammate Sam Jones, who would dribble the time out to lead the Celtics to another title appearance.
The Sixers wouldn't win it all until three years later.
25. Steve Nash Gets Checked and the Phoenix Suns Get Bounced
6 of 30For the first time in NBA history, flopping negatively affects the team with the player who flopped.
With the game in hand, all Steve Nash had to do was dribble it out to give the Phoenix Suns a Game 4 victory on the San Antonio Spurs' floor. However, as Nash was driving he was hip-checked into the scorer's table. Nash got hit, but he sold the foul too much so that the Suns bench became involved.
Horry was thrown out of the game and suspended for Games 5 and 6, but vital Suns players Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for Game 5 for leaving the bench. The Spurs would win Game 5 and Game 6 and would then sweep the overwhelmed Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
This was more along the lines of the NBA league office choking. The automatic suspension of players leaving the vicinity of the bench was taken out of context as Stoudemire and Diaw didn't even play a part in the ensuing altercation.
Phoenix didn't stand a chance in Game 5 and were deflated for Game 6.
24. The 1973 Milwaukee Bucks Can't Seal the Deal Against Golden State
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A season with so much promise, the Milwaukee Bucks were well on their way to another title after finishing 60-22 during the regular season.
Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Dandridge and Oscar Robertson, the Bucks were well on their way to becoming the NBA's next dynasty after winning the year before in convincing fashion. They didn't have as good a year as the season before, but they were still the clear-cut favorites with the best players in the league on their side.
It all came to a crashing halt as they lost in six games to the 47-win Golden State Warriors. The Bucks would never recover and Abdul-Jabbar would be sent to Los Angeles.
23. The Cleveland Cavaliers' 2010 Disappointment
8 of 30After a 2009 postseason where the Cleveland Cavaliers lost in the conference finals despite winning 66 games, the franchise did their best at making the same exact impression the year after by winning 61 games to mark the first time in franchise history that the team would win 60 games for two consecutive seasons.
It doesn't mean much unless the Cavaliers have the hardware to show for it. 2010 was the final straw for the LeBron James tenure in Cleveland as it came to an end only two months later. The Cavaliers would only need five games to take out the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls but would lose to the Boston Celtics in the semifinals for the second time in three years.
Boston only needed six games to defeat Cleveland, and they would also hand them their worst home playoff loss in franchise history with their Game 5 win. It's history from there.
22. Dallas Mavericks Give Up a Huge Lead to Brandon Roy
9 of 30This all seems so long ago. Even after the Dallas Mavericks secured their first title in franchise history, you still have memories of just how dominant Brandon Roy looked in the Portland Trail Blazers' Game 5 victory over Dallas in the first round.
The Blazers went into the fourth quarter down 67-49 with the high possibility of facing a 3-1 deficit heading back to Dallas. After being outscored 30-14 in the third quarter, Roy and the Blazers went off to the tune of a 35-15 fourth quarter.
Despite being injured for most of the season, Roy looked like the Roy of years before as he hit clutch shot after clutch shot.
He finished with 24 points off the bench, and the Blazers took the game 84-82.
21. Dirk Nowitzki's Missed Free Throw of the 2006 Finals
10 of 30A career 88 percent free-throw shooter, sharp shooter Dirk Nowitzki stepped to the line for two free throws. It was Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals, and his Dallas Mavericks had just suffered possibly the worst Finals collapse in its storied history thanks to the antics of Dwyane Wade.
Dallas had squandered a 13-point lead with six minutes remaining and were now down by two points with 3.4 seconds remaining. Luckily, the ball was in the hands of the Mavericks best free-throw shooter.
The first one swished, as it did for nearly 90 percent of that postseason. One-point game, the Mavericks weren't done. Not by a long shot.
The second one however has been imprinted in Nowitzki's memory since 2011 when he finally righted past wrongs. It hit the front of the rim, then the back and rolled out with the ball landing in the hands of Wade.
Dwyane would make one of two free throws on the other end, and the Mavericks couldn't get a solid attempt on the offensive end.
20. Jameer Nelson Speaks Way Too Soon
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Speaking too soon is the last thing you want to do in a league like the NBA.
Jameer Nelson made that horrible mistake this time around. Late in the regular season and following his Orlando Magic's 102-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls, Nelson is heard telling Derrick Rose that he'll see him in the second round.
The postseason would be set up with the Bulls taking the No. 1-seed and the Magic taking the fourth meaning a second round matchup was possible if both teams won.
Chicago won in five games in their first-round matchup. Orlando, not so much. They took on the division rival Atlanta Hawks and had no response other than Dwight Howard. Aside from their 10-point loss in Game 1, the Magic lost three games in the series by a combined 10 points with Jameer Nelson doing little to help out the cause.
He averaged 13 points on 38 percent shooting to go along with five assists per game.
Nelson also hit only 23 percent of his three-pointers.
19. The Oklahoma City Thunder Blow It Not One Time, Not Two Times...
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The Oklahoma City Thunder by far had their best season in their new city this past year with a 55-27 record and a No. 4 seed. Expectations were high that the Thunder could possibly make a legitimate title run, especially with the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers dropping their series before they could take on the Thunder.
They'd need five games to get out of the first round and seven to get out of the semifinals before advancing to the conference finals to take on the Dallas Mavericks. They would drop Game 1 by nine points, but would steal home-court advantage the next game with a six-point win to send the series back to Oklahoma City tied at one game apiece.
It all went downhill from there as the Thunder would drop the next three games.
Losing those three games isn't the story; it's how the Thunder lost.
In each game, the Thunder held a double-digit lead at one time or another as well as a lead in the fourth quarter. They allowed the Mavericks to come back from every lead with no loss coming by more than seven points.
18. LeBron James Game 5 vs. Boston
13 of 30It all started out so well too.
In Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics, the Cavs took as much as an eight-point lead early in the second quarter only to see the Celtics storm back. The problem for the Cavaliers was that the Celtics stormed back and then continued to storm ahead before taking a six-point lead into the half.
It still wasn't all that bad since there was another 24 minutes to play and the Cavaliers still had the reigning MVP on their team.
I don't think they planned on getting out-scored 70-44. The Celtics couldn't miss, and James had no answer as he posted the worst statistical game of his career with 15 points on a dismal 3-of-14 shooting. T
his was a turning point of the series as well considering it was 2-2 with Game 6 going back to Boston. Instead, the Cavaliers suffered their worst home playoff loss in franchise history by losing by 38 points.
The Cavaliers would lose the next game, and that would be the end of the LeBron James era for Cleveland.
17. The Detroit Pistons Can't Finish the Deal Against Boston
14 of 30From contenders to pretenders, Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons would probably want this one back.
After converging on Larry Bird and sending his shot back with five seconds left, the Pistons caught a break as the ball went off a Celtics player. All the Pistons had to do was inbound the ball, make their free throws and end the game.
With Thomas inbounding the ball, the chances of a turnover were slim to none.
Sure enough though, it was Bird making the big play as he got in between a pass intended to Bill Laimbeer. He turned around and passed it to a streaking Dennis Johnson who would lay it in to give the Celtics the lead and the game.
16. Seattle Sonics Fall to Dikembe and the Nuggets
15 of 30After two games, it looked like your ordinary No. 1 vs. No. 8 matchup. The powerhouse Seattle Supersonics took Game 1 by 24 points and then took Game 2 by 10 points before heading to Denver for the first time. The Nuggets stunned Seattle in Game 3 with a huge 17-point victory, but the Sonics still had a Game 4 to look forward to and close out the series.
It didn't go according to plan. Game 4 went to overtime and the Nuggets outscored the Sonics by nine points in the extra frame. No matter, the Sonics still had a decisive Game 5 in Seattle to look forward to. Seattle had won two games at home earlier in the series by a combined 34 points, why would Game 5 be any different?
It was different. A lot different. Denver forced the game to overtime and would outscore the Sonics by three to become the first eighth seed in NBA history to take out a No. 1 seed.
15. The Miami Heat Lose to the New York Knicks...Again
16 of 30The second No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed, the New York Knicks weren't a true eighth seed after a lockout-shortened the season but they beat a Miami Heat squad that was riding high with the top record in the East.
The Knicks had upset the Heat the year before in the first round, so this would obviously represent a redemption series to right past wrongs. It came down to the final shot with the Knicks' Allan Houston in possession and his team down by one. Houston split two defenders, leaned in, and watched the ball as it hit every side of the rim before falling to give the Knicks a 78-77 victory and a 3-2 series win.
They would become the first eighth seed in NBA history to make it to the Finals. The Miami Heat would lose to the Knicks the next year's postseason and wouldn't come close to a Finals appearance until 2005.
14. Patrick Ewing Misses a Golden Opportunity
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In the same series where Reggie Miller had stunned them in Game 1 with eight points in nine seconds, the Knicks still had a chance to take the series in Game 7.
With the Pacers up one and the Knicks in possession, the ball was inbounded to Patrick Ewing. The Pacers defense had somehow broken down and allowed Ewing to drive in an open lane with no one there to contest. Ewing had to rush the shot and attempted a three-foot finger roll only to see it rim out to give the Pacers the series.
The Knicks had a coughing fit for the entire series.
13. The Officials Choke Away the Western Conference Finals
18 of 30Once Mike Bibby got blatantly elbowed in the face and then got called for a foul a few seconds later, we knew it was over.
With the NBA losing fans because of the thought of games being rigged since the Tim Donaghy scandal, there is no better evidence of a playoff series possibly being swung in favor of one team than the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the No. 1 seed Sacramento Kings and No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers.
Game 6 was the greatest example of that when the Lakers combined to make 21 foul shots as a team in the fourth quarter to take a 106-102 victory. Four of the Kings big men were called for a combined 20 fouls and two of them actually fouled out before the game could come to an end. The Kings would go on to lose Game 7.
It wasn't all the officiating since the Kings also blew a 24-point lead in Game 3 and couldn't hold off the Lakers in the decisive Game 7 on their home floor in Sacramento.
12. LeBron James' Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Finals
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It was by far the biggest game of his career. All those failed ventures of attempting to obtain his first championship kept coming up short, but this was LeBron James' time now. He had the supporting cast, the momentum, and the motivation and he was 48 minutes away from basically securing a title by taking a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals.
The Heat would lose that game 86-83 to tie the series at two games apiece. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined to score 56 points, 67 percent of the team's total points scored, and the Heat still managed to find a way to lose.
To find out how they lost, all you would need to do is look at the box score. More specifically, the box score of James.
The biggest game of his career and James posted a grand total of eight points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, basically the equivalent of what 38-year-old Jason Kidd gives the Dallas Mavericks on a regular basis. Dwyane and Chris were alone that night and LeBron was in a whole other world as he allowed another opportunity slip through his fingers.
The next few games wouldn't be any more impressive as the Heat would drop two more and eventually lose the Finals.
11. The 2004 Los Angeles Lakers Can't Give Rings to Their Legends
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How could they lose? A lineup with Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, and Shaquille O'Neal losing? That's impossible.
Don't tell that to the Detroit Pistons.
Through stifling defense that allowed absolutely no breathing room, the Pistons gave the star-studded, All-Star team known as the Los Angeles Lakers an old-fashioned beat down. Detroit stunned them in Game 1 in the Lakers' own house with a 12-point victory before falling in overtime in Game 2. That Game 2 victory would be the only Laker victory of the series as the Pistons would take the next three games.
Los Angeles would score over 87 points one time, and that came during their overtime win when they scored 99. They would average 82 points per game for the series.
10. Tracy McGrady Speaks Too Soon
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In a league like the NBA, the last thing you want to do is speak too soon. Leads can evaporate within minutes and momentum can cause a playoff series to be turned on its side.
Tracy McGrady was a player who spoke too soon. With his Orlando Magic up 3-1 on the No. 1 seeded Detroit Pistons, McGrady was quoted as saying that it felt great "to finally be in position to advance to the second round." Tracy was one of the league's best players, but had yet to advance past the first round up until that point.
The Magic wouldn't win a game following that quote and would drop the series 4-3. McGrady made it to the second round of the postseason only once and he was inactive due to an injury.
9. The Lakers Give Up a 3-1 Lead to the Phoenix Suns
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This was the Los Angeles Lakers' series to win. Not only were they up in their semifinal series against the Phoenix Suns 3-1, but they just gave the Suns a crushing blow when in Game 4 Kobe Bryant forced overtime with a last-second runner and then went on to hit a difficult jumper in overtime to give the Lakers a commanding series lead.
The series went back to Phoenix and the Suns took Game 5 by 17 points. Game 6 came down to the wire with another game needing overtime, this time coming out in favor of the Suns. The Lakers had momentum following their stunning Game 4 victory and somehow dropped the next two games to lead up to Game 7.
It was over by the end of the first quarter as the Suns went up 32-15. They went up by 25 points by the end of the third quarter before taking the series 121-90.
8. The Los Angeles Lakers Give Up the 2008 NBA Finals
23 of 30If leads held, the Los Angeles Lakers could have possibly contended for a four-peat this past postseason.
Alas, this is the NBA and no lead is safe until the clock reads 0.0 and the final buzzer has gone off. No team knows that better now than the Los Angeles Lakers, who fell victim to one of the biggest comebacks in Finals history. They took a 35-14 after the first quarter, the largest lead after a first quarter in Finals history, and led by as much as 24 points in the third quarter.
That's when it all went sour for the gold and purple. Boston ended the third quarter on a 21-3 run to cut the deficit to two points. The Celtics would take the lead once and for all with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Los Angeles would take Game 5, but the Celtics would end the series with a 39-point Game 6 victory at home.
7. Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals: Miami Gives It Away in 8 Minutes
24 of 30A few bounces the Heat's way and we could be saying a whole different story about the 2011 NBA Finals.
With the Miami Heat in full control and Dwyane Wade raining down shots from every spot on the court, the Heat held an 88-73 lead with a little over eight minutes remaining. All the Heat had to do was basically play the same defense the way they'd been playing it and keep the offense flowing through the hot hands of Wade.
How did the Heat respond? They played lazy defense and allowed a cold LeBron James to take over on the offensive end. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry led the charge for Dallas as they completed a monumental comeback to take Game 2, 95-93.
They would win three of the next four to take home their first title, while also gaining revenge against the team that had beaten them five years prior.
6. LeBron James Whispers and Gilbert Arenas Listens
25 of 30You truly know just how good a player really is once you see them perform under pressure.
With his team up by one and a chance to put the game on ice and the series at a deadlock, Gilbert Arenas stepped to the line for two free throws. He's an 80 percent career free throw shooter and shot a then-career high of 82 percent from the line in the 2005-'06 season. This was sure to be a three-point lead once Arenas finished off these free throws.
Then LeBron James whispered something to Gilbert when he was at the line and he listened. Arenas missed both free throws to keep the game at 113-112. The Cavaliers came back down and Damon Jones hit a corner jumper to give the Cavs a 114-113 win, as well as the series, 4-2.
5. The Travesty of 2007: Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors
26 of 30The Dallas Mavericks appear on this list many times and for good reason. Prior to their championship, they suffered some of the worst luck in NBA history for over a decade. They had won at least 50 games in every season over the past decade, but only had one Finals appearance to show for it. Their play in the postseason was inferior to their stellar play in the regular season and it showed playoff after playoff.
No loss was worse than the one they suffered in 2007. They had won 67 games, a franchise record, and only six wins away from breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of most wins in a season. This was the redemption year considering that they had suffered a tough Finals loss the year before. They easily earned the No. 1 seed and had a date with the eighth seeded Golden State Warriors.
They lost Game 1 at home by 12 points, but managed to tie the series with a 13-point victory in Game 2. Game 3 was a nightmare and Game 4 was just as enduring, as the Mavs went back home down 3-1 in the series.
They managed to take Game 5 by six points, but the series ended once it went back to Golden State as the Warriors won in undramatic fashion by 25 points.
4. Portland Gives It Up to the Los Angeles Lakers
27 of 3012 more minutes. All the Portland Trail Blazers needed to do was basically play above average basketball for the next 12 minutes and they had the Western Conference Finals wrapped up. They went into the fourth quarter up 71-58 over the Los Angeles Lakers who were humbled from the start. They were out scored by seven in the first quarter and by ten in the third, this was their game.
If only they didn't get out scored 31-13 in most important 12 minutes of the season. A 13 point lead turned into a five point deficit that was capped off by an alley oop from Kobe Bryant to Shaquille O'Neal that sent the team and the raucous Staples Center crowd into a frenzy. Rasheed Wallace's 30 point effort was all for naught as the Blazers were annihilated by the Lakers in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers would go on to win the title and Portland wouldn't come close to that point since.
3. Reggie Miller Epitomizes the Choke
28 of 30One of the greatest verbal spats in NBA history and it wasn't even between two players. Film director Spike Lee will tell you that he didn't cause the New York Knicks to lose game five of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, but in reality he did. Reggie Miller heard every last word Lee said from his court side seat and turned it into motivation to defeat New York.
With his team facing a 71-58 third quarter deficit and the Madison Square Garden crowd growing louder by the minute, it was up to Miller to put the team on his back. After a weak start, Miller began raining down three-pointer after three-pointer. After each make, he'd stare at Lee in his court side seat with Spike remaining silent for the rest of the game.
Reggie would finish with 39 points, 25 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Pacers to a 93-86 victory. Indiana had a 3-2 lead with the series heading back to Indiana, but they would lose that game and game seven back in New York.
2. Nick Anderson Misses Not One, Not Two, Not Three...
29 of 30A career 70% free throw shooter, Nick Anderson was sent to the line on two occasions to put game one of the 1995 NBA Finals away. They were playing an upstart Houston Rockets club led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Kenny Smith and had a chance to give the Orlando Magic a 1-0 lead if Anderson made at least one of those four free throws.
They don't call him 'Nick the Brick' because he made them. Anderson missed all four free throws and Smith made a three-pointer on the other end to send the game to overtime. Houston would win the game 120-118 and would win the next three games to complete the sweep.
Anderson's psyche for the series and the rest of his career was never the same and Shaquille O'Neal left the Magic the ensuing off season.
1. Game 3 of the 2006 Finals...are the Ghosts Really Gone?
30 of 30Rather than looking at one individual moment this time around, we'll look at game three of the 2006 NBA Finals as a whole.
The Dallas Mavericks had won the first two games at home and were well on their way to winning a third after pulling out to a 86-73 lead with six minutes remaining. A win here and the series was basically over since no team had ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to take the series. The Mavericks had already planned on their parade route, but they didn't plan on taking on the greatest individual performance in Finals history.
Dwyane Wade went bonkers for the next six minutes as he somehow led the Heat to a 98-96 victory. The rest from there is history.
