Top 10 NBA Finals of All-Time

Top 10 NBA Finals of All-Time

The NBA Finals. It’s where legends are born and history is written. Today, we’re counting down the top 10 NBA finals of all time, ranked by jaw-dropping drama and record-breaking viewership. Grab your popcorn, folks. These championship series had millions glued to their screens and gave us memories for the ages. Let’s jump in. Starting out at number 10, 1997 Bulls versus Jazz. Michael Jordan’s Dynasty meets Carl Malone’s MVP Ambitions. This was the first of two epic showdowns between Chicago and Utah, and it didn’t disappoint. The Jazz had the league’s MVP, but Jordan was on a mission. He dropped a buzzer beater in game one, and then in game five delivered the infamous flu game, scoring 38 points while barely standing on his feet. Talk about determination. In game six, with the title on the line, Jordan kicked it out to Steve Kerr for a championship clinching jumper. The result, Bulls win, cementing their fifth title. This series had it all. Superstar duels, lateg game heroics, and an average TV audience of 25 million hanging on every shot. An iconic battle that set the stage for the one last dance in 98. At number nine, 2010 Lakers versus Celtics. A rivalry renewed under the brightest lights. The Lakers and Celtics, the NBA’s two most storied franchises, went toe-to-toe in a game seven classic. Kobe Bryant chasing ring number five. Boston’s big three looking for another crown. The series swung back and forth. Ray Allen hit a record eight threes in one game. The Celtics bench roared to life in another. And then came game seven in Los Angeles. It was a gritty grinded out struggle. Every rebound, every basket fought over. Kobe was cold shooting that night, but he willed himself to grab 15 rebounds in the final minutes. Ron Artes, now known as Metal World Heat, nailed the clutch three. Nothing could be more poetic for the Lakers were Celtics coming down to the wire. The Lakers emerged victorious and the celebrations in LA began. This game seven was watched by nearly 30 million people and you could feel the intensity through the screen. Old foes, new chapter, pure basketball theater. At number eight, 1969 Celtics vers Lakers. We’re throwing it way back for this one. Bill Russell’s last stand. The 1969 Finals pitted the aging Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers Super Team featuring Jerry West, Elgen Baylor, and Will Chamberlain. Everyone thought LA would finally get past Boston. The Lakers even hooked celebratory balloons in the Raptors before game seven. That’s how confident they were. But never ever count out the heart of a champion. The Celtics pride on the line pushed it to game seven in LA. What followed was a nailbiter for the ages. Jerry West was incredible. He’d actually be MVP in defeat, but Boston simply refused to lose. In the closing moments, a crazy high bouncing shot by Don Nelson helped seal the win for the Celtics. Upset complete, the underdog Celtics stunned the forum, leaving those balloons untouched in the ceiling. It was the passing of the torch, the end of Boston’s 60s dynasty, and fans witnessed one of sport’s greatest upsets unfold on live TV. At number seven, 1970 Knicks vers Lakers, Madison Square Garden. Bright lights, game seven. Getting goosebumps yet? This series gave us one of the most inspirational moments in sports history. The New York Knicks were facing the Los Angeles Lakers trio of legends. Early in the series, the teams created epic blows, buzzer beers, overtime battles, you name it. But heartbreak struck New York when captain Willis Reed tore muscle in his leg in game five. It looked like the Lakers might steal the title. Fast forward to game seven in New York. The crowd is tense and out of the tunnel lifts Willis Reed. The arena erupts. Reed playing in pain hits the first two shots of the game, providing a surge of adrenaline to his team and the fans. From there, Walt Clyde Frasier put on a show. 36 points and 19 assists. And wow, the Knicks romp to victory and the franchise captures its first championship. Millions watch that iconic scene of Breed’s entrance. A moment that still sends chills down the spine. This finals wasn’t just a basketball series. It was a Hollywood script come to life in real time. Number six, 1988 Lakers vers Pistons. The back-toback bid of the Showtime Lakers versus the rising Bad Boys Pistons. Glamour versus grit. This sevename slugfest felt like a heavyweight title fight. Magic Johnson’s Lakers were the defending champs. But Isaiah Thomas and the Pistons were fearless. The pendulum swung each game, building to a climax. In game six, we witnessed sheer heart on display. Isaiah Thomas badly twisting his ankle somehow drops 25 points in one quarter on one leg. Detroit forces game seven and Isaiah’s heroics become the stuff of legend. By now the entire country was glued to their TVs. Game seven in LA did not disappoint. A tight contest until the final buzzer. James Worthy earned the nickname Big Games, posting a triple double to carry the Lakers. When the clock hit zero, the Lakers had barely hung on, winning by three points. Pat Riley’s guarantee of a repeat came true. This series delivered old school toughness, incredible performances, and edgeofyour seat drama in every game. Truly one of the 80s finest finals. Number five, 1993 Bulls verse Suns. Michael Jordan vers Charles Barkley. The ultimate showdown in the desert. Phoenix had the NBA’s best record and the newly crowned MVP in Barkley, but Jordan had a point to prove. This series turned into an offensive fireworks display. How about a triple overtime game three that had fans and commentators losing their minds? Or Jordan dropping 55 points in game four, seemingly scoring at will. Yet, even as MJ averaged an unheard of 41 points over the series, the Suns kept coming. Barkley was dishing no look passes. Dan Marley was raining threes. It was a shootout every night with Chicago up 3-2 in the series. Game six in Phoenix. Came down to crunch time. In the dying seconds, the ball found John Paxton. He launches a three and bang hits the bottom of the net with 3.9 seconds left. That clutch shot gave the Bulls the lead and their third straight championship. What a finish. More than 20 million viewers were watching that game live and it felt like every single one of them held their breath as Paxton shot flew. When it swished through, you knew you’ve just seen finals history. Jordan’s first three repeated and classic duel with a friend turn rival 1993 had both historical significance and pure entertainment by the bucketful. Number four, 1984 Celtics vers Lakers. Bird vers Magic on the biggest stage. Need we say more? This was the collision of two titans that everyone had been waiting for. The NBA’s greatest rivalry finally in the finals. And boy did it deliver. The Celtics and Lakers win a full seven games. And along the way, they produced some of the most memorable moments in finals lore. In game two, the Celtics steal an overtime win thanks to the heads up steal by Gerald Henderson. Pandemonium in Boston. Game four, tempers flare as Kevin McCale closed Curt Rambis. The physicality and hatred between these teams were real. We had the Heat game in a sweltering Boston Garden. We had Magic’s tragic late game mistakes. We had Bird putting the team on his back. After a grueling series, it all came down to game seven in Boston. The Garden was rocking with deafening noise. Celtics forward Cedric Maxwell famously told his teammates, “Hop on my back, boys.” and backed it up by leading the team in scoring. The Celtics pulled away and clinched the title in that winner take all game, sending Boston into euphoria. The TV ratings for this game seven were the highest the NBA had ever seen at the time. The whole country was riveted. This 1984 finals wasn’t just basketball. It was a cultural event. Magic verse bird, east verse west, going the distance. The impact of this series is still felt today and it was as entertaining as the sport can get. Number three, 2013 Heat vers Spurs. In the third spot, we have a modern classic, LeBron James and the villainous Miami Heat against Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs, the model of consistency. This was buil as a clash of philosophies. A Hollywood South Beach super team versus a humble small market machine. The series started with alternating blowouts. Each team trading haymakers, but everything tightened in game six, which turned into one of the greatest basketball games ever played. The Spurs were close to winning the championship. Up five points with 28 seconds to go. The trophy was literally being wheeled out courtside. Spurs fans could taste victory and then the unthinkable. LeBron hits a three to cut the lead. The Heat foul. The Spurs miss a free throw and Miami has one last shot to save their season. LeBron misses a tying three. Chris Bosch snags the offensive rebound and kicks it out to Ray Allen in the corner. Feet set, lets it fly. Bang. Tie game with 5 seconds left. The arena explodes. The Spurs are shell shocked. Miami goes on to win that game in overtime. An absolutely stunning comeback. Suddenly, the momentum is all heat. Game seven was another tense battle with LeBron dropping 37 points and hitting clutch jumpers down the stretch to fend off the Spurs. Miami repeated as champs, but San Antonio earned everyone’s respect in defeat. This finals had an average of almost 18 million viewers glued to every twist and turn and game seven alone drew over 26 million. It featured Ray Allen shot, arguably the most clutch shot in finals history in a true test of champions on both sides. If that’s not high drama, I don’t know what is. Number two, 1998 Bulls verse Jazz, The Last Dance. Michael Jordan’s grand finale in a Bulls uniform. By 98, Jordan was already a living legend, and this series felt like the end of an era. Everyone was tuned in, not just basketball fans, everyone, to see how this story would end. The Utah Jazz, led by Carl Malone and John Stockton, were looking for revenge after losing to Chicago the year before. They had homecourt advantage and the hunger to dethrone the champs. The series itself was a masterclass in intensity, lowscoring, defensive battles. Each possession magnified by the weight of history. We got a tied series at 22 and a pivotal game five where the Jazz staved off elimination on Chicago’s home floor that set the stage for game six in Utah. A game that none of us will ever forget. It’s crunch time. The Jazz are up by one. Final minute. Who’s going to step up first? MJ drives for a quick layup. Bulls down one. Then on defense, Jordan sneaks from behind and strips the ball from Carl Malone in the post. What a steal. 10 seconds left. Down by one. Season on the line. Jordan dribbles up, crosses over, and hits the shot of his life. The image is burned in every fan’s memory. Jordan holding the pose as the ball swishes and 18,000 Utah fans fall silent. That was the game winner and the championship clincher. Jordan six title secured with a storybook shot. It was as if the basketball gods themselves wrote the script. That game six became the most watched NBA game ever. Nearly 36 million viewers witnessed MJ’s Last Dance live. And what an ending it was. The perfect goodbye from the greatest of all time. The 1998 finals had drama in every game, but those final 40 seconds became immortal. As sports finales go, you couldn’t script it any better, which is why this series is number two on our list. And now, the number one NBA finals of all time, 2016 Cavaliers versus Warriors. You knew this was coming. The record-breaking 73-9 Warriors, the prodical son, LeBron James, trying to bring a title to Cleveland, a rematch of the 2015 finals. This series was a blockbuster movie in a fairy tale, rolled into one. Golden State, fresh off the best regular season ever, went up 3-1 in the series. No team had ever blown a 3-1 lead in the finals. The Warriors were confident, perhaps too confident. Draymond Green gets suspended for game five and the door cracks open. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving bust that door off its hinges. Both scoring 41 points in game five to keep the Cavs alive. Game six back in Cleveland. LeBron drops another 41 and suddenly we’re tied 33. Momentum completely shifted. Now it’s game seven in Oakland with everything on the line. What followed was maybe the greatest game seven ever played. The score was tight the entire way. Every play had the audience holding their breath. And then came the moment with just under 2 minutes left. Scored tied at 89. The Warriors race down on a fast break. Andre Iguadala goes up for a layup that would put Golden State ahead. But LeBron James from out of nowhere blocks it off the glass. A supernatural legacydefining block still tied in the final minute. Kyrie Irving finds himself one-on-one with Steph Curry. He steps back on the right wing, releases a high arching three splash. The shot heard round the world. Cleveland takes the lead. In the final moments, LeBron added a free throw and the Cavaliers defense held firm. The clock expired and Cleveland had finally done it. Champions at last. LeBron fell to his knees in tears. The Warriors crowd was in disbelief. And NBA fans knew they had just witnessed history. A team coming back down from 3-1 in the finals against the winningest regular season team ever. It had never happened before. The narrative, the moment, the block, the shot. This series had it all. It’s no wonder game seven of 2016 drew over 30 million TV viewers, the biggest audience in decades. The 2016 Finals was more than just a basketball contest. It was an epic saga of redemption and resilience. And that’s why it takes the crown as the greatest NBA finals of all time. From last second heroics to sevename thrillers, these NBA finals define what it means to love the game of basketball. We laughed, we cried, we jumped out of our seats. Each of these series had a story that kept us hooked till the final buzzer. Did your favorite finals make the list? Let us know in the comments. If you enjoyed this trip down memory lane, hit that button and subscribe for more epic countdowns. Until next time, thanks for watching and remember, champions come and go, but legacies live on forever. [Music]

Relive the most unforgettable moments in NBA history with our countdown of the Top 10 NBA Finals of All Time! From buzzer-beaters and legendary performances to record-breaking viewership and iconic rivalries, we break down the greatest championship series ever played.

Featuring:
• LeBron James’ legendary comeback in the 2016 Finals
• Michael Jordan’s game-winner in his “Last Dance” (1998)
• Ray Allen’s miracle 3-pointer in 2013
• Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson in 1984
• Kobe Bryant’s redemption in 2010 vs. the Celtics

This video dives into the most dramatic, most watched, and most impactful NBA Finals matchups, combining sports history with edge-of-your-seat entertainment. Perfect for diehard basketball fans and casual viewers alike!

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