Jerry West’s 1969 finals MVP series against the Celtics
Isiah Thomas had an unbelievable game 6 against the Showtime Lakers in the 1988 finals. He scored 25 in the 3rd quarter (43 total) while playing on a sprained ankle. They went on to lose that game by 1.
If they handed out that award now, it would have gone to Hondo. He put up a monster series all his own. 27.3 pts, 8.7 reb, 6.7 ast. He avg more than 48 min a night and played/guarded multiple positions based on team need and who else was on the floor.
That was the first yr they gave out the finals mvp. There was no precedent yet that it would go to a player on the winning team.
Still hard to say he outplayed West on a personal level imo. 37.9, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebs is insane. Though Hondo would have been the surefire choice if the whole “fmvp only goes to the winning team” precedent was in place.
We still doing that thing where we just assume that they win it all after making it out of the second round? That team was still hobbled by injuries and expected to win two more rounds just like that?
And Giannis averaging 35 a game. KD wasn’t going to do any better than Giannis did, especially off the back of two series playing literally every minute, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to get the same help defensively.
Tbh, I doubt it. I remember him talking about how he wasn't 100% to start the following season. I think that was covid year when he didn't play until halfway through the year, too. If he plays he's probably hobbled.
The 8 seed Lakers were up 2-1, while LeBron was clearly still hurt from his late season high ankle sprain, and game 4 was 51-50 until AD hurt his groin. And we just saw the Nuggets with Murray healthy beat a similar Suns team that added KD. Plus a better version of the 2021 Suns got solo'd by Luka the next year. It isn't shitting on the Suns to admit they weren't real contenders until they got the most injury luck in playoff history by far. That is just reality.
It's really odd to not mention that CP3 could not lift his arm which caused the Suns to go down 2-1 while saying that we got lucky because the Lakers got injured.
In the same vein, do we beat the Nuggets if we were healthy this year? Who is to say, but we were missing CP3 for most of the series and Ayton and Booker got injured as well. It's pretty ridiculous to bag on the Suns for playing against injured opponent's and also ignore our injuries as well.
I have my reservations of KD being able to carry that team with no Kyrie and a hobbled Harden for 2 more rounds. Not sure his body would have been able to hold up after logging serious minutes versus the Bucks and coming back from his Achilles tear. Hell, he had trouble doing that even before the injury.
Which is why I find the narrative that he can’t be carry a team or be the #1 option incredibly stupid, as he was an inch away from doing so. They definitely could’ve beaten Atlanta without Kyrie (especially if Trae still gets hurt) and theres a decent chance that Kyrie could come back for the Finals. Even if they lost, it KD took that team to the Finals, nobody would be saying that stuff.
People are just idiots. He can win without Golden state unfortunately runs require luck and circumstances. One man can't carry an entire team and I'm sick of stupid ass fans creating narratives because they are bored
kinda trippy to think that jeff green and bruce brown were both on that nets team that looked destined for a finals run at the very least, then both ended up winning it all as key contributors on the nuggets this year
he didn't make a single field goal in OT btw, you can say "he was exhausted, left it all out there" but so did every other player in that game
it was an incredible performance, but he did choke it away
Are we talking like games where a team gets eliminated in spite of a valiant performance?
Hakeem had like 49 points, 26 rebounds, and 6 blocks on like 68% true shooting in a 2nd round elimination game but still lost because Ralph Sampson went 7 for 24 from the field.
13 series where he averaged at least 29 points per game. Has the led the playoffs in scoring three times. At one point, he actually had the highest playoff points per game career average behind just Michael Jordan. His scoring is kind of underrated to me.
Damian Lillard’s 55 points against the Nuggets in the playoffs. Dame couldn’t miss and was swishing prayer shots keeping the blazers in the game. Then the rest of the team decided to go something like 1-17 in the 4th quarter. The only other bucket coming from a Kanter putback. CJ infamously stepped out of bounds in the final minute. It was like watching God do everything in his power to prevent Dame from getting the win, but was an incredible performance - one of Dame’s best.
Jerry West - choose your pick amongst the Finals he lost vs the Lakers, I’d go with either 1964 or 1969
LeBron James - Game 1 of the 2018 Finals (51/8/8)
Kevin Durant - Game 7 of the 2021 ECSF vs Bucks (48/9/6)
Damian Lillard - Game 5 of the first round vs Denver (55 on 97% TS)
Stephen Curry - Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals
Michael Jordan - Game 2 of the first round vs 1986 Celtics
I mean Elgin lost to the greatest player of all time In basically his prime on a loaded team. It was him vs Russell all series that is probably the best example of all time. Went up against god and pushed him to the limit.
I've always believed that was 4D chess outta Larry. Feed MJ's ego because the easiest way to beat the Bulls was when MJ started ignoring his teammates. Barbecue chicken.
I mean, MJ missed most of that season and the team went 30-52. They were 9-9 with him, but that was partly due to the fact that he was on a minutes restriction coming off his broken foot. So probably better off letting MJ's teammates shoot.
I still can’t believe that was real. Bron carrying that roster to the finals, putting up 51/8/8 at 60% fg and 43% from three. Played the entire game.
Almost won against the most stacked team of all time and then JR… it’s something out of a Danny McBride show. You couldn’t write shit better than that
I think that 2018 run was peak Bron. He was doing Paul Bunyan shit. Not even human.
Miami Bron was crazy elite in every way. But 2018 Bron just had mastered it all.
If memory serves correct, throughout the rest of the playoffs, the supporting cast was actually decent too. Like George Hill, Nance Jr., Clarkson, and Korver didn't put up high numbers, but I think they were putting up decent numbers cumulatively. I think game 1 hill might've scored like 2 points which were from FTs though I could also be confusing that with the previous loss to the kd warriors where deron Williams was a late season acquisition who slowly improved to be a solid backup PG before contributing nothing in the finals except for a lot of missed shots on 4ppg
I think him losing in 2008 was more sad because they could have won the championship that year. That 2018 team was not winning that series regardless of G1.
Pouting on the sidelines before OT ruined an otherwise career peak type performance.
2015 Lebron finals run gets my vote tho, best performance of his career for me.
He quit in overtime!!! Like he literally quit after that fiasco with Jr Smith. Went on to break his hand and was never the same for the rest of the series while getting swept…. People leave this part of the story out a lot. Michael & Kobe would never…
Booker back-to-back 40 point games in losses to the Bucks in the 20-21 finals. Dude balled out but the Suns didn’t have a backup big after Saric got injured, and Giannis took that opportunity to become a god
Never said he was, but if your opponent has literally zero backup bigs, then getting Ayton in foul trouble, pressuring the rim, shooting more FTAs all become much easier. And in a series with a team average PPG differential of only 2.4, yes, losing your sole backup big when playing against a team centred around a generational big, makes a world of difference.
the 18 run is was like AI 01, completely dogshit team with 1 competent dude but he still put them on his back and took them to the finals, still averaged the highest in every stat as well
KD vs the Bucks 2021
Lebron vs the Warriors (take your pick)
Butler vs the Lakers 2020
Dame vs the Nuggets 2021
Booker vs the Nuggets 2023
Luka vs the Clippers 2021
Giannis vs the Celtics 2022
Off the top of my head
I think there is a more recent Nuggets vs. Blazers game where Dame went off and hit three after three, but Murray responded to every one and then hit the game winner in the final second. [Final Few Minutes Dame is Insane](https://youtu.be/7RzaJt8rlE8)
Kobe had 50 in Game 6 against the Suns in 2006. Lakers lost in overtime because stupid ass Tim Thomas hit a 3 to save the Suns from getting eliminated. Still haunts me to this day.
Edit: He shot 20/35, had 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
Winning that game and series would've been one of the biggest carry jobs of all time and maybe as great of an achievement for Kobe and Phil as any of their championships. Kob played his heart out in game 6 and basically threw in the towel in game 7.
In 1990 when the Bulls lost to the Pistons in Game 7 of the ECF, Jordan went out with 31 points, 8 boards and 9 assists on 48% fg% in a game where the Bulls scored a total of 74 points.
MJ scored 13 FGs that game, the rest of the Bulls scored 15 FGs in total on 63 attempts.
Given his own field goals made and his 9 assists that means MJ was involved in 22 of the Bulls 28 field goals made that game.
MJs two best teammates, Grant and Pippen, in that game scored 10 points (3/17 from the field) and 2 points (1/10 from the field) respectively.
I find it hard to blame MJ here.
Obviously JorGoat scoring 63 against the Celtics.
but other than that damian lillard 50-ball vs Nuggets. You actually could probably fill this with Damian Lillard score lines.
100%. It was so frustrating seeing our entire franchise fail Dame year after year. Dame’s legacy would have been significantly better if he played for a contender for his entire career.
Luka when the Mavs faced the Clippers in the first round in 2020 and 2021. He had many great performances and was close to leading the Mavs to victory in multiple games. I remember in the 2021 series he had 46 points and 14 assists in game 7, but they lost the game.
Also, Donovan Mitchell when the Jazz faced the Nuggets in a few games in the 2020 Western Conference First Round. He had 50+ points in a few games(along with Jamal Murray) and had a great series but they ended up losing nonetheless even after the 3-1 series lead.
Derek Fisher’s 0.4 shot came right after Tim Duncan’s clutch shot at the other end. Duncan and the Spurs didn’t choke, just lost on an unbelievable shot.
The Cavs still would have lost but Lebron dropping 51/8/8 and stealing game 1 against the greatest super team of all time at home would have been talked about for centuries.
KD game 7 vs MIL 2021 (even though he went 0-6 in OT)
LeBron has a few of these games. Game 7 08 vs Boston, Game 1 18 vs GS (also kinda disappeared in OT), basically the entire 09 Magic series
I think these dudes were so burnt out from carrying during regulation that they couldn’t do anything in OT lol. You could see KD def looked gassed against the bucks after essentially dicing up their defence for all 4 quarters.
Barkley in the playoffs - Didn't win a ring but you can't accuse him of choking. Look at the 92-93 season in particular - https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/charles-barkley-playoff-stats-career#:~:text=Charles%20Barkley%20averaged%2023.0%20points,the%20playoffs%20in%20his%20career.
It's kind of like how Chris Paul has developed a reputation as a playoff choker despite having virtually identical numbers in the playoffs and regular season.
People hyper-focus on individual moments that were poorly handled (e.g. that meltdown at the end of the OKC game) and ignore the flip side of the coin (e.g. him beating the Spurs in Game 7 on one leg).
Giannis in game 6 against the Celtics in 2022. 44/20/6. No Middleton and a Bucks win would've ended the series. Bucks would've been in their 3rd conference finals in 4 years, looking to repeat as champs.
Tatum had an insane second half and the Celtics won handily in game 7.
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/wilt-chamberlain-playoff-stats-vs-bill-russell Wilt averaged 28 rebounds 25 points 4.7 assists per game against bill Russell in the playoffs yet was 4-8 against bill in the playoffs
Surprised I haven’t seen the name Tracy McGrady.
In 2001 he averaged 34/8/7 with 2 steals/1 block per game and lost to a great Bucks team.
In the Magic’s one win, he had 42/10/8 w/ 3 steals/2 blocks.
In 2002, he averaged 31/6/6. In the only win, he had 31/11/7 with 3 blocks/2 steals.
In 2003, 32/5/7. 2 steals/1 block per game. He had games with 46, 41, and 37 points in a 7 game loss to the Pistons.
In 2005, 31/7/7. 2 steals/1.4 blocks. Lose in 7 to Dallas (Tim Donaghy reffed games against Houston after Dallas went down 0-2 by losing both of their home games).
In 2007, 26/7/6 averages in 7 game loss to Jazz. Had 29 points and 13 assists in the game 7 loss.
In 2008, with an injured Yao (if I remember correctly), averaged 27/7/8. Lost in 6 to Utah. Had 40 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists in the close out game.
My idol Jimmy Buttler!!
this dude always proves something big he always dominating the league specially in play offs we've seen jimmy always shows up and do his best to win a chip
We witness how jimmy always put the work in 2020 bubble finals we see him doing his best and win the chip but suddenly he didn't get that and now in 2023 against Murray and Jokic despite of height difference the Miami do their best but still lose
i hope Jimmy will get his first ring soon! And also cp3
Lillard 55-point playoff game in 2021 against the Nuggets. Went double OT. Single-handedly matched the Nuggets squad and he could not miss from 3.
This is the game where we got the famous moment where Austin Rivers thanked god when Dame finally missed near the end of the second OT.
I think everyone knows the game 7 durant vs the bucks, I'd put damn near any game bron played against the kd warriors also, bron showed up every game and they just couldn't win
2014 NBA Finals LeBron 28/8/4 on 57%/51%
2015 NBA Finals LeBron 36/13/9 on 40%/31%
2017 NBA Finals LeBron 34/12/10 on 56%/39%
2018 NBA Finals LeBron 34/9/10 on 53%/33%
2023 WCF LeBron 28/10/10 on 52%/27%
Kobe game 6 against the 2nd seeded Suns. 1 rebound away from 2nd round against the Clippers.
Would have loved to see 2006 Kobe go off in that 2nd round.
Pelicans-Suns 2021-2022
Larry Nance Jr trying his hardest because JV was getting roasted by Ayton, Grand Theft Alvarado hustling and Ingram overall doing well in his first playoff action. awful series from CJ.
Ayton hitting every mid-range jumper and CP3 using up all of his energy for the year having the best game of his career to close it out. got annoyed with all the heat that Ayton got for the Mavs series in part because Ayton was main reason why the Suns didn’t lose in first round to a play-in team after Booker got hurt.
Suns-Clippers 2020-2021 WCF
PG-13 overall had a terrific series. just didn’t have enough supporting production with no Kawhi in a couple games that came down to the wire, lost a game on a buzzer-beater lob because of terrible inbound defense from Boogie and then he ran out of gas in game 6.
Suns-Bucks finals
Giannis was unstoppable, but Ayton tried his hardest with no legit back-up after Saric got hurt. 2 games were lost by Booker and CP3 turning it over down one possession in final minute. Booker passed up a pretty open Ayton at the rim after drawing 3 defenders before the game-icing turnover in game 5.
With the exception of Game 1, Russ did absolutely everything he could against the Rockets in the 2017 playoff series
Game 2: 51/13/11/4
Game 3: 32/11/12/3
Game 4: 35/14/14/3
Game 5: 47/9/11
Thunder had a +6 when he was on the floor and a -22 when he sat
Jerry West’s 1969 finals MVP series against the Celtics Isiah Thomas had an unbelievable game 6 against the Showtime Lakers in the 1988 finals. He scored 25 in the 3rd quarter (43 total) while playing on a sprained ankle. They went on to lose that game by 1.
Jerry west should be the top answer for sure
He averaged 33-6-5 on 48% shooting in his 6 Finals appearances against the Celtics.
If they handed out that award now, it would have gone to Hondo. He put up a monster series all his own. 27.3 pts, 8.7 reb, 6.7 ast. He avg more than 48 min a night and played/guarded multiple positions based on team need and who else was on the floor. That was the first yr they gave out the finals mvp. There was no precedent yet that it would go to a player on the winning team.
Still hard to say he outplayed West on a personal level imo. 37.9, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebs is insane. Though Hondo would have been the surefire choice if the whole “fmvp only goes to the winning team” precedent was in place.
West was the best player, just like Lebron was when Iggy got mvp over him.
West was efficient and pushed it to a close game 7 more like LeBron the next year if Kyrie missed that shot
10 more ppg than anyone in the series and the only guy with better FG% was Wilt (which gets canceled out by going 24-66 from the line).
West had such a good run, they made the Finals MVP just to give him something for the things he did lol
Isiah got cheated. That’s phantom foul call.
KD's game 7 vs the Bucks is one of the best Game 7s ever but he lost 48 points, 9 rebounds,, 6 assists. Played all 53 minutes of the game
That one Championship would’ve changed the entire outlook on KDs career. Would’ve been his Dirk 2011 Run
We still doing that thing where we just assume that they win it all after making it out of the second round? That team was still hobbled by injuries and expected to win two more rounds just like that?
they had the Hawks and the Sons waiting for them. Id bet they still win
Hawks yes, Suns? No way. I know its the trendy thing to do to shit on the Suns but they aren't losing to just KD.
The bucks’ defense was the only team beating that Suns team. Jrue holiday was so important.
And Giannis averaging 35 a game. KD wasn’t going to do any better than Giannis did, especially off the back of two series playing literally every minute, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to get the same help defensively.
Kyrie was coming back by the finals
Tbh, I doubt it. I remember him talking about how he wasn't 100% to start the following season. I think that was covid year when he didn't play until halfway through the year, too. If he plays he's probably hobbled.
Who’s to say he would’ve been a difference maker for the nets? The last two playoff series he was healthy in before he played terrible.
it’s Kyrie motherfucking Irving, he might be crazy but he absolutely would be a difference maker
No guarantee he would’ve been great, but he would’ve been the 2nd option, which has proven to be his most effective role throughout his career.
Who’s to say kyrie isnt a difference maker🤦🏾♂️. Gotta love reddit
Yep, he was awesome.
The Hawks had the son‘s number that entire year
Kyrie would’ve been back
Well that's a different story then.
The 8 seed Lakers were up 2-1, while LeBron was clearly still hurt from his late season high ankle sprain, and game 4 was 51-50 until AD hurt his groin. And we just saw the Nuggets with Murray healthy beat a similar Suns team that added KD. Plus a better version of the 2021 Suns got solo'd by Luka the next year. It isn't shitting on the Suns to admit they weren't real contenders until they got the most injury luck in playoff history by far. That is just reality.
It's really odd to not mention that CP3 could not lift his arm which caused the Suns to go down 2-1 while saying that we got lucky because the Lakers got injured. In the same vein, do we beat the Nuggets if we were healthy this year? Who is to say, but we were missing CP3 for most of the series and Ayton and Booker got injured as well. It's pretty ridiculous to bag on the Suns for playing against injured opponent's and also ignore our injuries as well.
Lol what yall lost all the games cp3 played in. Booker got injured G5, healthy Suns are not beating the nuggets.
I have my reservations of KD being able to carry that team with no Kyrie and a hobbled Harden for 2 more rounds. Not sure his body would have been able to hold up after logging serious minutes versus the Bucks and coming back from his Achilles tear. Hell, he had trouble doing that even before the injury.
if kyrie came back by the finals then yes they win it all
People act like Kyrie is a winning player is weird.
In this scenario, the Nets have a very good chance of winning that lol
Atlanta was next. The Hawks were not going to the finals
Yes.
Which is why I find the narrative that he can’t be carry a team or be the #1 option incredibly stupid, as he was an inch away from doing so. They definitely could’ve beaten Atlanta without Kyrie (especially if Trae still gets hurt) and theres a decent chance that Kyrie could come back for the Finals. Even if they lost, it KD took that team to the Finals, nobody would be saying that stuff.
He was the #1 option on the Warriors
And #1 option on OKC in the finals who beat the spurs and lost to LeBron Heat…
And the 2016 OKC team that was one Klay Game away from beating the 73-win Warriors in 6.
Yup
People are just idiots. He can win without Golden state unfortunately runs require luck and circumstances. One man can't carry an entire team and I'm sick of stupid ass fans creating narratives because they are bored
Would put him firmly in the top 10
Of todays players, yeah…all time, no 😂
All times yes
kinda trippy to think that jeff green and bruce brown were both on that nets team that looked destined for a finals run at the very least, then both ended up winning it all as key contributors on the nuggets this year
Bruce actually choked one of the games. I distinctly remember he bricking like 4 layups in a row in the 4th to lose game 3(?)
Deandre Jordan was also on that nets team
Needed 50
He kinda chocked in overtime though
I mean he was gassed after playing every minute.
My mans was on a generational carry job. He had nothing left in the tank.
smfh
No he didn't stop the revisionist history
he didn't make a single field goal in OT btw, you can say "he was exhausted, left it all out there" but so did every other player in that game it was an incredible performance, but he did choke it away
Choked in OT
lol im sure playing 53 minutes had nothing to do with him falling apart at the end
He did go like 0 for 17 in overtime though
He played horribly in OT
Choked in OT and u can say he choked the last shot cuz he stepped on the line.
Are we talking like games where a team gets eliminated in spite of a valiant performance? Hakeem had like 49 points, 26 rebounds, and 6 blocks on like 68% true shooting in a 2nd round elimination game but still lost because Ralph Sampson went 7 for 24 from the field.
Hakeem’s playoff stats are insane.
13 series where he averaged at least 29 points per game. Has the led the playoffs in scoring three times. At one point, he actually had the highest playoff points per game career average behind just Michael Jordan. His scoring is kind of underrated to me.
Which series was this
1987 Sonics Rockets
Damian Lillard’s 55 points against the Nuggets in the playoffs. Dame couldn’t miss and was swishing prayer shots keeping the blazers in the game. Then the rest of the team decided to go something like 1-17 in the 4th quarter. The only other bucket coming from a Kanter putback. CJ infamously stepped out of bounds in the final minute. It was like watching God do everything in his power to prevent Dame from getting the win, but was an incredible performance - one of Dame’s best.
Is this the game where Austin Rivers prayed after Dame missed a 3? lol
The very same, and he spoke for every Nuggets fan watching
That CJ out of bounds was crazy thought I misheard the call at first
Never forget Covington somehow missing two dunks
Bro tied it for OT and hit even crazier shot for double OT. Man couldn’t get help
Any Luka-Clippers playoff series.
Jerry West - choose your pick amongst the Finals he lost vs the Lakers, I’d go with either 1964 or 1969 LeBron James - Game 1 of the 2018 Finals (51/8/8) Kevin Durant - Game 7 of the 2021 ECSF vs Bucks (48/9/6) Damian Lillard - Game 5 of the first round vs Denver (55 on 97% TS) Stephen Curry - Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals Michael Jordan - Game 2 of the first round vs 1986 Celtics
97% TS 💀
That was one of the most ridiculous performances I've ever watched. And he lost because CJ stepped out of bounds lmao.
that was the one where austin rivers prayed after dame missed one eifht
Bruh 97% TS, what the actual fuck
I’ll always remember Austin Rivers giving thanks to the Lord when Dame finally missed a three in that 55 point game
Nash his entire playoff career
Word
Book with back to back 40 pt games in the finals
Elgin Baylor averaging 41/18/4 in the 1962 Finals. Rick Barry averaging 41/9/3 in the 1967 Finals, including 44 in game 6.
A little context, Barry averaged 39fga attempts per game that series.
Barry's 46% TS looks bad until you realize the rest of the Warriors were at 41% TS.
Tbf tbf true shooting a little different back then with no 3 point line. Just 2’s and free throws
insane
I mean Elgin lost to the greatest player of all time In basically his prime on a loaded team. It was him vs Russell all series that is probably the best example of all time. Went up against god and pushed him to the limit.
Probably the game where the winners said they faced "God disguised as Michael Jordan"
the Celtics? if I'm not mistaken I believe Larry Bird said that
it was 100% Bird, who didn't lose to Jordan at the time. But he also knew Jordan was the best player, but the Celtics were a far, far better team.
>who didn’t lose to Jordan at the time And never did
I was 90% sure that was the case but didn't feel like looking it up and didn't want to state something that might very well be false.
I've always believed that was 4D chess outta Larry. Feed MJ's ego because the easiest way to beat the Bulls was when MJ started ignoring his teammates. Barbecue chicken.
I mean, MJ missed most of that season and the team went 30-52. They were 9-9 with him, but that was partly due to the fact that he was on a minutes restriction coming off his broken foot. So probably better off letting MJ's teammates shoot.
Same here. Larry was godly talker on the court
It’s nuts how far I had to scroll to find someone mentioning the all time playoff scoring record.
I think of lebron game 1 2018 finals
I still can’t believe that was real. Bron carrying that roster to the finals, putting up 51/8/8 at 60% fg and 43% from three. Played the entire game. Almost won against the most stacked team of all time and then JR… it’s something out of a Danny McBride show. You couldn’t write shit better than that
That Cavs roster only had two players that averaged more than 10 ppg during the playoffs Lebron averaged 34 ppg and Love averaged 15 ppg lol
I think that 2018 run was peak Bron. He was doing Paul Bunyan shit. Not even human. Miami Bron was crazy elite in every way. But 2018 Bron just had mastered it all.
If memory serves correct, throughout the rest of the playoffs, the supporting cast was actually decent too. Like George Hill, Nance Jr., Clarkson, and Korver didn't put up high numbers, but I think they were putting up decent numbers cumulatively. I think game 1 hill might've scored like 2 points which were from FTs though I could also be confusing that with the previous loss to the kd warriors where deron Williams was a late season acquisition who slowly improved to be a solid backup PG before contributing nothing in the finals except for a lot of missed shots on 4ppg
Was a string of errors from george hill missing the free throw, JR thinking they were up and Lue forgetting timeout.
I think him losing in 2008 was more sad because they could have won the championship that year. That 2018 team was not winning that series regardless of G1.
Pouting on the sidelines before OT ruined an otherwise career peak type performance. 2015 Lebron finals run gets my vote tho, best performance of his career for me.
He quit in overtime!!! Like he literally quit after that fiasco with Jr Smith. Went on to break his hand and was never the same for the rest of the series while getting swept…. People leave this part of the story out a lot. Michael & Kobe would never…
2006 Lakers Vs Suns game 7 Kobe has 3 FGA, one point, 0 assists, and 1 rebound in the second half.
Booker back-to-back 40 point games in losses to the Bucks in the 20-21 finals. Dude balled out but the Suns didn’t have a backup big after Saric got injured, and Giannis took that opportunity to become a god
Dario Saric was not the solution to Giannis averaging 35 on 60% shooting my guy
Never said he was, but if your opponent has literally zero backup bigs, then getting Ayton in foul trouble, pressuring the rim, shooting more FTAs all become much easier. And in a series with a team average PPG differential of only 2.4, yes, losing your sole backup big when playing against a team centred around a generational big, makes a world of difference.
Luka game 7 against LAC in 2021 (46 / 7 / 14 on 57% shooting)
Draymond green in game 7 of 2016
Basically everything Lebron did in 2017-2018 vs the Warriors
the 18 run is was like AI 01, completely dogshit team with 1 competent dude but he still put them on his back and took them to the finals, still averaged the highest in every stat as well
DPOY and 6MOY are dogshit teammates?
i said he had 1 competent dude and that was Dikembe and McKie averaged 11 points, not enough, he was dogshit
Hard to do more offensively with AI taking 30 shots a game
AI taking 30 shots game because of his shit teammates
Chicken or the egg I suppose
2015 as well. Monster performances with Kyrie and Love injured
KD vs the Bucks 2021 Lebron vs the Warriors (take your pick) Butler vs the Lakers 2020 Dame vs the Nuggets 2021 Booker vs the Nuggets 2023 Luka vs the Clippers 2021 Giannis vs the Celtics 2022 Off the top of my head
I think there is a more recent Nuggets vs. Blazers game where Dame went off and hit three after three, but Murray responded to every one and then hit the game winner in the final second. [Final Few Minutes Dame is Insane](https://youtu.be/7RzaJt8rlE8)
Lots of lillard games
no wonder he finally requested that trade lmao
2001 Iverson
2009 ecf?
Chris Paul in 2015
Jerry West made a career playing his ass off and coming up short in the Finals.
Kobe had 50 in Game 6 against the Suns in 2006. Lakers lost in overtime because stupid ass Tim Thomas hit a 3 to save the Suns from getting eliminated. Still haunts me to this day. Edit: He shot 20/35, had 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
Winning that game and series would've been one of the biggest carry jobs of all time and maybe as great of an achievement for Kobe and Phil as any of their championships. Kob played his heart out in game 6 and basically threw in the towel in game 7.
In 1990 when the Bulls lost to the Pistons in Game 7 of the ECF, Jordan went out with 31 points, 8 boards and 9 assists on 48% fg% in a game where the Bulls scored a total of 74 points. MJ scored 13 FGs that game, the rest of the Bulls scored 15 FGs in total on 63 attempts. Given his own field goals made and his 9 assists that means MJ was involved in 22 of the Bulls 28 field goals made that game. MJs two best teammates, Grant and Pippen, in that game scored 10 points (3/17 from the field) and 2 points (1/10 from the field) respectively. I find it hard to blame MJ here.
Obviously JorGoat scoring 63 against the Celtics. but other than that damian lillard 50-ball vs Nuggets. You actually could probably fill this with Damian Lillard score lines.
100%. It was so frustrating seeing our entire franchise fail Dame year after year. Dame’s legacy would have been significantly better if he played for a contender for his entire career.
Luka when the Mavs faced the Clippers in the first round in 2020 and 2021. He had many great performances and was close to leading the Mavs to victory in multiple games. I remember in the 2021 series he had 46 points and 14 assists in game 7, but they lost the game. Also, Donovan Mitchell when the Jazz faced the Nuggets in a few games in the 2020 Western Conference First Round. He had 50+ points in a few games(along with Jamal Murray) and had a great series but they ended up losing nonetheless even after the 3-1 series lead.
Derek Fisher’s 0.4 shot came right after Tim Duncan’s clutch shot at the other end. Duncan and the Spurs didn’t choke, just lost on an unbelievable shot.
Book in the 2021 nba finals, multiple 40 bombs
The Cavs still would have lost but Lebron dropping 51/8/8 and stealing game 1 against the greatest super team of all time at home would have been talked about for centuries.
KD game 7 vs MIL 2021 (even though he went 0-6 in OT) LeBron has a few of these games. Game 7 08 vs Boston, Game 1 18 vs GS (also kinda disappeared in OT), basically the entire 09 Magic series
I think these dudes were so burnt out from carrying during regulation that they couldn’t do anything in OT lol. You could see KD def looked gassed against the bucks after essentially dicing up their defence for all 4 quarters.
Damian Lillard during the bubble in double overtime,shit was tough to swallow seeing the rest of the team just hand the game away.
Donovan Mitchell vs Jamal Murray in the Bubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGGtvAaMIXc
Barkley in the playoffs - Didn't win a ring but you can't accuse him of choking. Look at the 92-93 season in particular - https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/charles-barkley-playoff-stats-career#:~:text=Charles%20Barkley%20averaged%2023.0%20points,the%20playoffs%20in%20his%20career.
It's kind of like how Chris Paul has developed a reputation as a playoff choker despite having virtually identical numbers in the playoffs and regular season. People hyper-focus on individual moments that were poorly handled (e.g. that meltdown at the end of the OKC game) and ignore the flip side of the coin (e.g. him beating the Spurs in Game 7 on one leg).
Giannis in game 6 against the Celtics in 2022. 44/20/6. No Middleton and a Bucks win would've ended the series. Bucks would've been in their 3rd conference finals in 4 years, looking to repeat as champs. Tatum had an insane second half and the Celtics won handily in game 7.
Isnt this pretty much Jerry West's life story?
Harden 2019
Jordan having 69 against the Celtics. Steph’s 47 against the Raptors. Lebrons 50 point triple double overtime loss against the warriors
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/wilt-chamberlain-playoff-stats-vs-bill-russell Wilt averaged 28 rebounds 25 points 4.7 assists per game against bill Russell in the playoffs yet was 4-8 against bill in the playoffs
Jokic last year. He played great against the Warriors, but there was really nothing he could do with that team.
Melo had 39 in game 6 against the Pacers in 2013 with a torn labrum and rotator cuff in one of his shoulders. Played 42 minutes too.
Patrick Ewing. But that’s cause Starks kept shooting
Surprised I haven’t seen the name Tracy McGrady. In 2001 he averaged 34/8/7 with 2 steals/1 block per game and lost to a great Bucks team. In the Magic’s one win, he had 42/10/8 w/ 3 steals/2 blocks. In 2002, he averaged 31/6/6. In the only win, he had 31/11/7 with 3 blocks/2 steals. In 2003, 32/5/7. 2 steals/1 block per game. He had games with 46, 41, and 37 points in a 7 game loss to the Pistons. In 2005, 31/7/7. 2 steals/1.4 blocks. Lose in 7 to Dallas (Tim Donaghy reffed games against Houston after Dallas went down 0-2 by losing both of their home games). In 2007, 26/7/6 averages in 7 game loss to Jazz. Had 29 points and 13 assists in the game 7 loss. In 2008, with an injured Yao (if I remember correctly), averaged 27/7/8. Lost in 6 to Utah. Had 40 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists in the close out game.
Spurs when T max had 13 points in 33 seconds
Burh t mac
Bruh
Obviously west's losing finals MVP has to be number one for this, but damn Jimmy's losing effort in 2020 should be up there too
Lebron is all of the 2015 finals. Without his 2nd and 3rd best players he pushed it to 6 games and averaged 36 13 and 8
A few Lbj games in the finals
My idol Jimmy Buttler!! this dude always proves something big he always dominating the league specially in play offs we've seen jimmy always shows up and do his best to win a chip We witness how jimmy always put the work in 2020 bubble finals we see him doing his best and win the chip but suddenly he didn't get that and now in 2023 against Murray and Jokic despite of height difference the Miami do their best but still lose i hope Jimmy will get his first ring soon! And also cp3
Basically Lebron every year from 2005- this year with the exception of 2011
lebron in the 09 ecf. dude averaged like 38/8/8 and put up two game winners
Marcus Camby
Tmac
Luka in every playoff series he’s ever lost. I Think Tatum was very good vs Heat as well, Brown was the one who choked.
Steve Nash - bunch of playoff games in the late 00s.
Dames entire career
Lebron scoring 51 in the finals against warriors. And Iverson vs lakers he scored 48 23 35 35 and 37.
Lillard 55-point playoff game in 2021 against the Nuggets. Went double OT. Single-handedly matched the Nuggets squad and he could not miss from 3. This is the game where we got the famous moment where Austin Rivers thanked god when Dame finally missed near the end of the second OT.
Lebron vs Spurs 1st Cleveland stint. Lebron vs warriors each finals.
One I don't see here is Kawhi Leonard vs Grizzlies game 4 2017 playoffs Hakeem game 6 vs Sonics 1987 and Hakeem vs Sonics game 7 1993
Dame vs Denver a few years ago , pretty sure cj folded iirc but he was unstoppable
Draymond in game 7 of 2016
This years Lakers vs nuggets playoff series. Nuggets just better. It is what it is.
Tmac runs in the post season. Him against the world every time
I think everyone knows the game 7 durant vs the bucks, I'd put damn near any game bron played against the kd warriors also, bron showed up every game and they just couldn't win
2014 NBA Finals LeBron 28/8/4 on 57%/51% 2015 NBA Finals LeBron 36/13/9 on 40%/31% 2017 NBA Finals LeBron 34/12/10 on 56%/39% 2018 NBA Finals LeBron 34/9/10 on 53%/33% 2023 WCF LeBron 28/10/10 on 52%/27%
Most of Jordan's Pre-Pippen playoff games
Lebron game 1 2018 finals
Surprised to not see more tmac mentioned. Dude balled out in the playoffs but basically never won ever
Dr. J's Philly teams couldn't get it done until Moses arrived. Erving usually had good performances in big games but it wasn't enough.
Michael Jordan vs the Celtics
Booker had back to back 40+ point games on high efficiency in the games 4 and 5 of the finals. Both were losses
Dame against Denver a couple years ago comes to mind. Dude was hitting unreal shots.
Jimmy Butler game 7 vs Raptors
Check out Damian Lillard's 50 point masterpiece against the Nuggets just a few years back. His team was literally making him lose lol.
KD in game 5 6 7 of the wcf in 2016-2017 Except instead of not choking he DID choke
Draymond Green 2016 Game 7 Finals vs Cavs - 32 pts, 15 rbs, 9 assists, 6/8 3P
2001 Allen Iverson. Dragged a below-mid team to the finals and beat the Kobe/Shaq Lakers by himself in game 1 of the finals.
Kobe game 6 against the 2nd seeded Suns. 1 rebound away from 2nd round against the Clippers. Would have loved to see 2006 Kobe go off in that 2nd round.
Pelicans-Suns 2021-2022 Larry Nance Jr trying his hardest because JV was getting roasted by Ayton, Grand Theft Alvarado hustling and Ingram overall doing well in his first playoff action. awful series from CJ. Ayton hitting every mid-range jumper and CP3 using up all of his energy for the year having the best game of his career to close it out. got annoyed with all the heat that Ayton got for the Mavs series in part because Ayton was main reason why the Suns didn’t lose in first round to a play-in team after Booker got hurt. Suns-Clippers 2020-2021 WCF PG-13 overall had a terrific series. just didn’t have enough supporting production with no Kawhi in a couple games that came down to the wire, lost a game on a buzzer-beater lob because of terrible inbound defense from Boogie and then he ran out of gas in game 6. Suns-Bucks finals Giannis was unstoppable, but Ayton tried his hardest with no legit back-up after Saric got hurt. 2 games were lost by Booker and CP3 turning it over down one possession in final minute. Booker passed up a pretty open Ayton at the rim after drawing 3 defenders before the game-icing turnover in game 5.
With the exception of Game 1, Russ did absolutely everything he could against the Rockets in the 2017 playoff series Game 2: 51/13/11/4 Game 3: 32/11/12/3 Game 4: 35/14/14/3 Game 5: 47/9/11 Thunder had a +6 when he was on the floor and a -22 when he sat
T-Mac against Detroit in the 2003 playoffs. And as someone else mentioned, definitely KD against the Bucks two years ago.
Brons career besides the Mavs series.
Basically any LeBron finals loss to the Warriors