The best NBA Finals series have seen all-time great matchups between rivals, upsets, and clutch moments. The 2024 NBA Finals will start soon. Considering that, it’s a good time to revisit the greatest Finals series in NBA history. Without further ado, let’s discuss the greatest Finals series in the history of the NBA.
Best NBA Finals Ever: 3. 1998 NBA Finals
The 1998 NBA Finals saw Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls attempt to complete their second championship three-peat. Some questioned whether the Bulls could do it. Jordan was getting older, Pippen was unhappy, and the Bulls’ dynasty was nearing its end. However, Jordan, who we picked as our NBA GOAT in our NBA GOAT discussion article, led the Bulls to victory in six games.
The Jazz won Game 1 in overtime in Chicago. This seemingly validated many pundits’ prediction that the Jazz would win this Finals rematch. However, Jordan hit a game-winner in Game 2 to tie the series at 1-1. The Bulls then utterly dominated the Jazz in Game 3. They won by 42 points and held the Jazz to only 54 points in total.
After that, the Bulls won Game 4 86-82, largely thanks to Rodman’s 14 rebounds. Karl Malone scored 39 points in the Jazz’s Game 5 win to extend the series to six games. However, Game 6 was a classic NBA Finals game. John Stockton hit a three-pointer with 41 seconds left to give the Jazz a three-point lead.
Jordan made a quick layup to cut the Jazz’s lead to one point. After that, he stole the ball from Karl Malone and hit an iconic game-winner against Byron Russell with 5.2 seconds remaining in the game. The Bulls got one more stop and won Game 6 87-86. This made the Bulls six-time NBA champions.
Jordan won Finals MVP for a sixth time and was now 6-0 in the NBA Finals. The NBA had one of the best Finals fifteen years later in 2013 with a different set of stars.
2. 2013 NBA Finals: Heat vs. Spurs
Going into the 2013 NBA Finals, the Heat were the reigning champions. However, some people still put an asterisk next to the Heat’s 2012 title since it was a lockout-shortened season. The Heat dominated in the regular season, going 66-16 and beating the Pacers in a seven-game Eastern Conference Finals series to return to the NBA Finals.
On the other side, the Spurs made their first NBA Finals appearance in six years in 2013. The Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2013 Western Conference Finals. Additionally, the Spurs only lost two playoffs games in their 2013 playoff run prior to the NBA Finals.
The Spurs stole home-court advantage from the Heat in an exciting Game 1 win. After that, the two teams went back and fourth over the course of the next four games. However, the Heat were down 3-2 in the series heading back to Miami for Game 6. The situation was bleak for the Heat as the Spurs led by 13 points late in the third quarter of Game 6.
Best NBA Finals Series Ever: The Heat Rally in Game 6
Despite this, the Heat didn’t give up and made a fantastic comeback. The Heat took the lead via a layup from Ray Allen with 6:03 remaining in the game. Tony Parker scored five quick points to give the Spurs a 93-89 lead with fewer than 40 seconds remaining. Manu Ginobili converted a free throw to increase the Spurs’ lead to five points with 28 seconds remaining.
LeBron James responded with a clutch three to cut the Spurs’ lead to two points. After that, Chris Bosh grabbed a vital offensive rebound in the following Heat possession. Ray Allen got the ball and made a difficult three-pointer to tie the game with 5.9 seconds left. The Heat won Game 6 103-100 in overtime and eventually won Game 7 95-88 to claim another title.
Many consider this one of the best NBA Finals of all time.
1. 2016 NBA Finals: Cavaliers vs. Warriors
The 2016 NBA Finals was a rematch of the previous years’ Finals between the Warriors and Cavaliers. The Warriors had won that series in six games, but the Cavaliers had missed Kevin Love for the entire Finals and Kyrie Irving for most of those Finals. As a result, many wanted to see a Finals matchup between these two teams when both were fully healthy.
They got that in 2016. The Warriors had the best regular-season record in NBA history in the 2015-16 season, going 73-9. In the playoffs, the Warriors rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the 2016 Western Conference Finals and eliminated the Thunder in seven games.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, went 57-25 in the regular season. They then beat the Toronto Raptors in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. After the Warriors took a 3-1 series lead in the Finals, many expected the 2016 Finals to be a coronation of the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors as perhaps the greatest team in NBA history. No team in NBA history had come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals at that point.
Best NBA Finals Ever: The Cavaliers Came Back from a 3-1 Finals Deficit
However, the Cavaliers didn’t care about that piece of NBA history and set out to make their own history. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving both scored 41 points in the Cavaliers’ Game 5 win. The Cavaliers dominated Game 6 at home and forced a Game 7 on the Warriors’ home-court of Oracle Arena. Both teams went back and forth in Game 7, but the score remained 89-89 for some time.
LeBron James had one of the greatest chase-down blocks in NBA history to prevent the Warriors and more specifically Andre Iguodala from scoring. Kyrie Irving broke the tie by hitting a clutch three-pointer while Steph Curry was guarding him. After that, James made a clutch free-throw to increase the Cavaliers’ lead to four points with only a few seconds left.
The Cavaliers got one stop and then they celebrated Cleveland’s first championship in 52 years. Lebron James fulfilled his promise to bring a championship to Cleveland.
The 2024 NBA Finals Will Be Interesting
The 2024 NBA Finals will mark the first Finals matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics, unless the Pacers and Timberwolves rally from 0-3 deficits, which is unlikely. In any case, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Mavericks facing off against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics should be entertaining. The Celtics’ easy playoff run so far makes it easy to give the Mavericks the edge in this Finals series.
We will see what happens. Check back soon for more NBA content.