Boston Postseason Heroes of the Past Decade

With the recent Stanley Cup victory over the Vancouver Canucks for the Boston Bruins, Tim Thomas joined the likes of David "Big Papi" Ortiz and Tom Brady as heroes of the postseason in Boston's championship run over the past decade. Is Thomas' 1.98 goals-against average and .940 save percentage enough to put him at the top of the list?

5. Kevin Garnett

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

BOSTON - JUNE 17: Kevin Garnett #5 of the Boston Celtics celebrates with the Larry O'Brien trophy after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Six of the 2008 NBA Finals on June 17, 2008 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: Us

Boston's "Big Three" won the NBA Championship in their first year together as a unit and Kevin Garnett was as big a reason as anyone for the victory. Garnett averaged 20.4 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game, dominating Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers all series long. Garnett will go down as one of the greatest sports heroes in Boston history and take the No. 5 spot on the list.

4. Tim Thomas

Elsa/Getty Images

VANCOUVER, BC - JUNE 15: Tim Thomas #30 of the Boston Bruins celebrates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in Game Seven of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Arena on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Th

Tim Thomas takes his 1.98 goals-against average and .940 save percentage in the postseason into the No. 4 spot on our list. Thomas proved his spectacular regular season, 2.00 goals-against average and .938 save percentage to be no fluke with a strong postseason that included four shutouts, one of which came in the 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final. If not for some great performances in years past by his Boston compatriots, Thomas would be near the top of this list. 

3. Curt Schilling

Al Bello/Getty Images

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 19: Pitcher Curt Schilling #38 of the Boston Red Sox grabs at his ankle as it appears to be bleeding in the fourth inning during game six of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees on October 19, 2004 at Y

The infamous bloody sock performance is just one reason why Curt Schilling lands at No. 3 on our list of Boston postseason heroes of the past decade. Schilling continued his regular season success of 20 wins in the 2004 postseason for the Boston Red Sox, winning all four of his starts with a 3.57 ERA including the infamous bloody sock victory over the New York Yankees in game six of the ALCS. The Red Sox went on to break "the Curse of the Bambino" by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals and Schilling cemented himself in Boston as a sports legend. 

2. Tom Brady

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

JACKSONVILLE, FL - FEBRUARY 6: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots holds up the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX at Alltel Stadium on February 6, 2005 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Patriots def

After Drew Bledsoe was knocked out of a week 2 game against the Jets in 2001, Tom Brady took over as the quarterback of the New England Patriots and never looked back. Since that game, Brady has won three Super Bowls for the Patriots, two of which he was named Super Bowl MVP afterward. Brady fell just short of a fourth Super Bowl in 2008 when the Patriots fell to the New York Giants, 17-14, in Super Bowl XLII. Brady holds a 14-5 record in the postseason, the most completions, ever, in a Super Bowl with 32, and the most career completions in Super Bowl history with 100. With one or more Super Bowls in the future, Brady could find himself at the top of our list. 

1. David "Big Papi" Ortiz

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

DENVER - OCTOBER 28: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates with champagne in the locker room after winning Game Four by a score of 4-3 to win the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series in a four game sweep of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Fie

Due to the magnitude of what he accomplished in the 2004 postseason, David "Big Papi" Ortiz finds himself at the top of our list of Boston postseason heroes of the past decade. A two-run, walk-off home run completed the sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 2004 ALDS and it was just a sign of things to come. With his team down three-games-to-none against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS, Ortiz did the unthinkable, hitting walk-offs in games four and five to keep the Red Sox alive. Without the heroics of Ortiz in the 2004 postseason, "the Curse of the Bambino" would not have been broken that year and that is why he finds himself at the top of the list of Boston's postseason heroes of the past decade.