High Quality Sports

The two best words in sports: Game 7. I’ve compiled some of the best 7 game series we’ve seen and put them into three tiers + a Doc Rivers memorial tier. If I missed your favorite 7 game series, please leave it in the comments!

Tier 0 – the choke jobs

2020 WCS (3) DEN def (2) LAC

2015 WCS (2) HOU def (3) LAC

These aren’t the only 3-1 comebacks on this list, but they’re definitely the most forgettable and funnily enough they both involve the Clippers. Patrick Beverly telling Stephen Curry “the next five years are mine” starts off with an all time choke job. Kawhi and Paul George rivaled Jamal Murray’s girlfriend’s abilities for 48 minutes in game 7 to complete the 3-1 lead gag giveaway. They were hitting the side of the backboard – it was almost like in Space Jam when the aliens suck away the powers. I don’t think this choke job gets enough credit or remembrance because the Clippers championship window turned into injuries and load management, but it was brilliant to watch in real time. Everyone was gushing over the concept of two great defensive wings that could shoot and guard LeBron. Meanwhile the Lakers won the title and the Clippers peaked in a 2nd round loss.

The other 3-1 lead thrown in the garbage was also coached by Doc Rivers. Interesting pattern. Didn’t he also lose a 3-1 lead in 2003 also? Well at least no one will declare him one of the best 15 coaches ever right? Right? The 2015 clippers had beaten the Warriors in the previous year and the whole world was ready for a rematch. Even James Harden, who opted to sit on the bench with a towel on his head while his team got ass pounded was ready for CP3 vs Steph. However, Josh Smith and Corey Brewer had other plans. They stole the 3 point shooting of Kawhi and Paul George 5 years in the future and pulled one of the dumbest, weirdest, nonsensical comebacks in the history of sports. Long live the 3 point shot. Long live variance. And long live Doc Rivers. This effectively ended any title hopes of the lob city clippers so they got rid of everyone but Doc and were rewarded with another gag job 5 years later.

2023 ECS (2) BOS def (3) PHI

Doc Rivers strikes again! A fraudulent MVP Embiid battled absolute herb Jayson Tatum and the Celtics. James Harden played arguably the two best games of his life the first two games of this series and both he and Joel had no shows in game 6 and 7 losing a 3-2 lead with home court. It was all capped off with Tatum dragging the big man out to the 3-point line and drilling 3 after 3 en route to a 51 point performance after the Embiid camp whined on twitter about the defense of Jokic so much we was awarded league’s most valuable player. It all collapsed and frankly, the 6ers deserved it.

Tier 1: The forgotten heroes – Early round match ups that time forgot but hopefully you didn’t

10. 1981 (6) HOU def (2) SAS

ABA stars Moses Malone and George Gervin clashed in the battle of mediocre defenses. The 6 seed rockets managed to get to the finals beating the Lakers in a 3 game series in the first round and beat down the 41 win Kansas City Kings in the conference finals. But in round 2 the Spurs tested them. No team won 2 games in a row with Moses putting up a 41 and 15 in game 3 while playing 48 minutes. Gervin managed to lead the league in playoff scoring that year and had some good games but fouled out and shot 39% in a crucial game 5 and put up a Harden-esque 21 points on 8 for 22 shooting in game 7.

9. 1992 ECS (1) CHI def (4) NYK

The 90s Knicks are up there with the best defenses of all time. However, they’re the only one without a title to show for it. Russell’s Celtics, Duncan Spurs, KG Celtics, Wallace Pistons all won championships. Unfortunately for New York, Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Xavier McDaniel is not enough juice offensively. This defensive brawl went 7 games despite the Knickerbockers scoring over 95 once. Ewing opened the series with a 34/15/5 and 6 blocks on great efficiency but his play drastically dwindled as the series went on, while Jordan ended the series with a 42/6/4/2/3 in a 39 point game seven victory.

8. 2019 (3) POR def (2) DEN

The Trailblazers had been a staple in the Western Conference since the LaMarcus Aldridge days. Lillard had been butt pounded the previous year by AD and now the 3 seed Blazers took on the 2 seed Denver nuggets, led by a 23 year old Jokic and a 21 year old Murray. Together with a 33 year old Paul “Fantasy Basketball God” Millsap, the nuggets pushed the Blazers to the limit. Jokic averaged 27/14/8 on over 60% true shooting. The series only had one double digit game and games two and three were 3 point Portland wins, game 3 being a 4OT thriller with McCollum dropping 41 and Jokic with a 33/18/14 in his second playoff series. This was Jokic’s playoff debut, squeaking by the Spurs in 7 games in round 1. The Blazers would go on to get swept in the conference finals. It was the end of Portland’s success and just the beginning for Denver.

7. 2021 ECS (3) MIL def (2) BKN

After Harden, KD and Kyrie teamed up, many were saying this would be the greatest offense of all time. They did finish with a scalding +6 offense amid all the kerfuffle around masking policies. Milwaukee had seemingly squandered their title shot in 2019 and a Giannis ankle injury tanked a 70 win pace 2020 season – questions were being asked about the real ceiling of the Greek Freak. Two all time forwards faced off in their quest to win their first, or first legitimate, title. After the Nets got a 2-0 lead Milwaukee squeaked out a 3 point victory 86-83 behind Khris “If I weren’t so ugly people would realize how good I am” Middleton’s 35 and 15. Durant dropped a 49/17/10/3/2 on nearly 70% shooting for an all time performance in game 5 playing every minute. He followed it up with a 48/9/6 in 53 minutes in game 7 but it wasn’t enough, his shoe size cost him the series and with this being Giannis’ first title, it probably changes how we view him historically, with yet another early round exit.

6. 2001 ECS (1) PHI def (5) TOR

The 2001 Eastern Conference kind of sucked. However, it gave us same great duels in the playoffs. Iverson/Carter was a battle of haymakers. Lots of chucking in this series, probably the lowest quality basketball you will see on this list, but Iverson had 54 in game 2 and Vince responded with a 50 burger of his own in game 3. The Answer then put up 52 in game 5. Carter then had 39 to push it to 7 games. The series ended with some bad officiating and a 6 for 18 shooting performance from Carter, not long before he would force himself out. Iverson would go on to have another great duel vs Ray Allen, and then score 48 to give the 01 Lakers their only loss. This would be the first and last time he got out of round 1 in philly.

5. 1984 ECS (1) BOS def (5) NYK

Bernard King was having one of the greatest scoring runs we’ve seen as the Knicks had a battle for the ages with Bird’s Celtics. King had just put up a 40 on +10 performance in round 1, alongside the Knicks #1 defense and the Celtics had the league’s best record. After the Celts went up 2-0 to start the series New York held them to under 100 in game 3 and King had a 43 point brilliancy on 72% true shooting in game 4. Game 6 was a classic duel with King’s 44 points on 70% true shooting edging out Bird’s 35/11/7/3 in a 2 point New York victory. Larry legend showed up in game 7 though, with a monstrous 39/12/10/3 to advance to the next round and eventually the title.

4. 1995 WCS (6) Rockets def (3) Suns/1994 WCS (3) Rockets def (2) Suns

Pick your poison with these back to back Barkley/Olajuwon duels. 7 games in round 2, twice in a row. 94 had better individual stats. Hakeem dropped a 29/14/5 and 4 blocks on +5 efficiency while Chuck put up 23/13/4 on +3.5. I think 95 was probably a more entertaining series. The Suns were up 3-1 after a 43 point KJ performance. But after the Rockets evened the series Barkley put up 18 points on 16 shots with 7 turnovers. His 23 rebounds and KJ’s 46 points weren’t enough. Both Hakeem and Clyde had 29 and Sam Cassell had a heater off the bench in order to propel the Rockets to the next round where Olajuwon would bend over Robinson.

3. 2009 EC1 (2) BOS def (7) CHI

The defending champs lost their best player in Garnett and had to fight tooth and nail to beat the baby bulls in 09. With Glen “Healthcare fraud” Davis and Kendrick “please stab me in the ear whenever he’s on TV” Perkins guarding the rim, Ben Gordon was allowed to run rampant. Five of the seven games were one possession games, and fan favorite Rajon Rondo averaged almost a triple double. Top that off with a 51 point throwback performance from Ray Allen in a triple overtime game 6 and you’ve got an instant classic.

2. 2015 WC1 (3) LAC def (6) SAS

The Spurs had just swept the Heat in a dominant finals performance. The league was ready to anoint Kawhi as the next superstar, and everyone had decided that for an absolute fact, Chris Paul was a choker. His foul baiting against OKC despite otherwise phenomenal play was yet another round 2 exit. Those opinions went to the sewer during this series. CP3 neutered an old Tony Parker and came back from down 3-2 to beat the defending champs on a clutch floater over one of the best rim protecters of all time. You get brownie points if you remember Anthony Davis hitting a buzzer beater 3 in the regular season to move the Spurs into the 6 slot after winning 55 games.

1. 2006 WCS (4) DAL def (1) SAS

San Antonio won the title in 05 and 07. In 06 I think they match up well against the Heat and they always had the Suns’ number. But they wouldn’t get the chance. Dirk and the Mavs combined with Ginobili’s brain fart denied the Spurs a chance at repeating. San Antonio and their big ol’ women had the best SRS and the best record in the western conference. However a German man with flowing hair decided to put up an ungodly 28 on +15 in an all time duel with Tim Duncan. The Mavs were up 3-1 but some Duncan heroics evened up the series only for Timmy to score 41 in a loss at home in game 7. Dirk’s 37 and 15 with 15 of 16 from the line is one of the best closeout performances you’ll see. Doing it against an all timer at his same position who had the best record in the west makes it immortal.

Tier 2: Individual Brilliance – These are more about heroics or greatness from one player than the actual teams being even. I’ll list the players adjusted per 75 stats.

10. 2018 EC1 (4) CLE def (5) IND

LeBron: 34/9.7/7.5/1.4/1 on +9.7 aTS

The 2018 Cavs were an objectively trash team. However they still had an end of prime LeBron James who managed to make the Eastern Conference look like high school players for the nth time in a row. En route to his 8th straight finals, LeBron averaged a game score of 30 and hit a 3 point buzzer beater in game 5. The box score and outlandish efficiency become more impressive when you watch the series and realize Indiana had no interest in guarding anyone else but James.

9. 1974 FIN (1) BOS def (1) MIL

Kareem: 29/9.3/4.2/.5/1.6 on +6.8 aTS

These numbers may seem mediocre for a young Kareem, but it’s important to note he played over 49 minutes per game! He played nearly every minute of the series and put up more than a third of his teams total points. This against an elite Dave Cowens in the middle. The Bucks had the best record and Kareem an MVP season, his 3rd. This series isn’t so much about what happened, but what could have happened if the Bucks won. Kareem would have 7 rings, another finals MVP and still would have wanted out of Milwaukee. Oscar would also have another ring but no one gives him his flowers anyways. Another year spoiled by a Celtics victory.

8. 1988 FIN (1) LAL def (2) DET

Magic: 21.1/5.5/12.5/1.9/.1 on +15.2 aTS

Better known for the Isiah Thomas ankle game or Big Game James and his 36/16/10 game 7 performance granting him finals MVP, this might be Magic’s best series. The 87-90 Pistons were a great team and Magic picked them apart with an on court offensive rating of 136 on a blistering +15 efficiency. The final title for the Showtime Lakers, Magic and Kareem. The GOAT passer threw up 13 dimes a game and dominated the offense while only taking 80 shots over the 7 games. The 87 Lakers might have been Magic’s best team and the 80 finals might have had his most iconic game, but the 88 finals might have been his peak performance in a series.

7. 1993 WCF (1) PHX def (3) SEA

Barkley: 24.9/12.9/3.7/1.3/.9 on +4.3 aTS

Chuck played two of the greatest games in league history en route to his finals encounter with MJ. 43/15/10 in g5, and the iconic 44 and 24 in game 7. Despite being the 3 seed, Seattle led the league in both net rating and SRS in 93 and had the number 2 defense. It will never cease to amaze me that a 6’5 guy from Auburn who was perennially overweight could carve up the best defense the NBA has to offer. A young Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton were able to oust Olajuwon in round 2 but fizzled out against the Suns and their high powered offense.

6. 2013 ECF (1) MIA def (3) IND

LeBron: 31.6/7.2/5.2/1.4/1.4 on +11.4 aTS

The Pacers led the league with a stifling 6 points better than league average defense. In the year prior the Pacers were up 2-1 and Bosh was injured. This time it was Wade who was a shell of himself. His knees just weren’t ever right in the 2nd half of his career. Wade put up 19 points per 75 on average efficiency but LeBron put on a scoring display for the ages. He led all players in scoring each of the 7 games on +11 true shooting. The series was played at a snails pace (85) and 100 points was cracked once by the Pacers and twice by the Heat over 7 games. Game 1 was a 1 point victory in OT by the heat with neither team being up by more than 7 all game. LeBron’s buzzer beating layup capping off a 30/10/10 squeezed out the victory. This was a much closer series than in the following year where the Pacers had the number 1 seed but also had Lance Stephenson blowing in LeBron’s ear.

5. 1990 ECF DET def CHI

MJ: 31.7/6.6/5.8/1.9/.6 on +5.2 aTS

The Pistons were on an all time run. One play away from the 87 finals followed by 3 in a row winning two titles. Detroit Basketball rolled over the Pacers, Knicks and Blazers but were pushed to the edge by a virtuoso MJ performance. Jordan scored more than a third of all Bulls points but ultimately lost game 7 by 19. I have the 89 Pistons as the 8th best team ever, so 1 year later a young and undermanned MJ pushing them to 7 games is a historic effort.

4. 2004 ECS (1) MIN def (4) SAC

Garnett: 22.3/13.7/3.8/1.5/3 on -0.9 aTS

Garnett’s best series. He dragged Sam Cassell, Latrell Sprewell, Trenton Hassell and Fred Hoiberg to the Conference finals. Playing almost 45 minutes a game and putting up 24 and 15 with 3 blocks, KG did everything this series. 5 of the 7 games were within 6 points and the Big Ticket’s 30 and 15 in a one point victory in game 3 and 32 and 21 masterpiece in the deciding game stamped his MVP campaign legit. He held C-Webb to under 18 points a game on under 50% true shooting. He also had more rebounds than his next 3 highest teammates combined, an absolute monster on the boards and an all time do-it-all performance.

3. 2018 ECF (4) CLE def (2) BOS

LeBron: 34/8.6/8/1.1/1.1 on +7.8 aTS

Maybe the most heroic series we’ve ever seen. LeBron averaged almost a 35 point triple double and the next highest scorer was Kevin Love’s corpse with 12.5ppg on 48% true shooting. Despite a 42 point effort in game 2, the Celtics started the series winning both at home. After evening it up at home the Celtics took a 3-2 lead and LeBron caps off the series with a 46/11 and a 35/15 performance to beat the baby Celts. Boston’s offense was pretty meager, no one averaged 20 ppg and scored under 100 4 times. LeBron led the Cavs in all categories and led both teams in all categories except steals.

2. 1981 ECF (1) BOS def (3) PHI

Bird: 24/10.9/3.8/1.6/1.1 on +5 aTS

A classic Eastern Conference duel. Flashy superstar and ABA champion and MVP Dr. J comes over to the NBA struggles to win a title. First he ran into Bill Walton in the 18 months of his career he was healthy. And in 1981 he ran into a young Larry Bird who put up the most Bird statline you’ll see: 27/13/5/2/1.5 per game on good efficiency. Dr. J led the 6ers to a scorching 7.76 SRS in 81 and the leagues 2nd best defense. However the 62 win 6ers ran into the 62 win Celtics who won game 7 by one point. 5 of the 7 games were won by 2 points or less. Bird didn’t win finals MVP but dominated the tougher Eastern finals en route to his first title.

1. 1977 WCS (1) LAL def (4) GSW

Kareem: 34.2/15.6/3.6/1.7/3 on +12.6 aTS

This might be the most insane box score you’ll ever see. 27/16, 40/19 with 9 blocks, 28/14, 41/18, 45/18. 43/20, 36/26 with 5 steals. All on +12.5 TS! This was peak Kareem dominating the Warriors and Rick “highest ppg in the finals” Barry. After missing two years of playoffs on an atrocious Bucks team, Kareem came to tinsel town and threw the hammer down. They weren’t a good enough team to hang with the title winning Trailblazers in the next series, but Kareem still put up 27 on +15 efficiency.

Tier 3: Conference Finals/Finals that shaped the future of a player, franchise, or league history

HM: 1998 ECF CHI def IND/2018 WCF (2) GSW def (1) HOU

I think these teams (Indy, Hou) deserve credit for pushing these historic teams as far as anyone, however ultimately, its not a surprise that MJ and Scottie conquered over Reggie Miller and Dale Davis, and the Monstars Warriors weren’t going to lose either.

10. 2000 WCF (3) LAL def (1) POR

9. 2012 ECF (2) MIA def (4) BOS

8. 2002 WCF (3) LAL def (1) SAC

“Break up the superteam!”

Kobe and Shaq had fizzled out in the playoffs multiple times. Shaq was criticized for having no skill and Kobe had gone through the airball situation in Utah. Losing to a well rounded but not insanely talented Portland team after landing Phil Jackson as coach would have been catastrophic and arguably the best team ever would have been broken up.

The Heat played maybe the highest pressure game of all time. After the mind bending loss to the Mavericks in the year prior, losing to an old Celtics team would have caused not only at least one major trade but a world record 72 hour erection from Skip Bayless. The whole world loved shitting on LeBron on national TV and Paul Pierce would be reminding us of this victory on a daily basis. Fortunately for us all, LeBron went demon mode in game 6 and Poopy Pants Pierce had 19 points on 18 shots with 5 fouls in game 7.

I don’t think the team would have been broken up if they lost to the Kings, but it was an ultimate David vs Goliath moment for the NBA, and gave the Lakers the elusive 3-peat. Everyone loved how the Kings played: ball movement, flashy passing, good shooting. Ultimately C-Webb choked again and the team with Shaq and Kobe beat the team with Vlade Divac and Mike Bibby. The Kings are thought of as one of the best teams that never won the title. I wouldn’t go that far, but the underdog franchise with the underdog squad of guys that move the ball well and play the right way made a great battle vs big bad diesel in his prime.

7. 2005 FIN (2) SAS def (2) DET

This series might be the least “sexy” of any finals. Two defensive minded teams without a lot of razzle dazzle. Not a lot of crazy shot makers and due to the great defense by both teams, the offense was pretty ugly. Combine that with a slow, low defensive rating dead ball era of the early/mid 2000s and you’ve got kind of a stinker of a series from a casual smooth brain viewership standpoint. The reality of the series is that its one of Duncan’s 5 rings. It’s the second of the Parker/Duncan/GInobili triumvirate. It prevents a lone star title team in detroit from repeating. We might think of them as one of the best teams ever if they beat Shaq and Duncan in their primes back to back years in the finals. And Detroit actually outscored the Spurs in the series. Maybe with this win the morons who voted on the NBA 75 team would put Ben Wallace in.

6. 1994 FIN (2) HOU def (2) NYK

This kicked off one of the greatest runs ever. Olajuwon got the triple crown of Dad-dicking hall of fame centers when he sonned Ewing, Robinson and Shaq in a 13 month span. Houston is one of the few back to back champions. Knicks fans stay tortured and also hate Patrick Ewing instead of immortalizing him. We’d probably have some moronic New York radio guy on the biggest sports show mention him as a GOAT candidate, rivaling Max Kellerman’s “I want Iguodala” as the dumbest thing ever spoken in the history of the human race. Thank God for Olajuwon.

5. 1984 FIN (1) BOS def (1) LAL

If LA wins this series, Magic has 6 rings, Kareem has 7. Bird only has 2 with 1 finals MVP. This totally changes how we view 3 of the top 8 players of all time. I think history has largely forgotten the “Tragic Johnson” headlines from this series even with the Celtics winning. If the Lakers win in 80, 82 84 85 87 and 88 all the talks of best team ever and best player ever are different.

4. 1970 FIN (1) NYK def (2) LAL

Bill Russell was out of the league and Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers were ready to finally win the chip. Jerry West put up a 31 and 8 and Wilt posted 23 and 24 for the series but those tough, hard nosed New-Yorkers had something to say about it. After a series tieing 45-27 performance by Wilt in game 6, Clyde Frazier put up one of the greatest playoff games in history with a 36/7/19 on over 70% true shooting. Elgin Baylor’s last chance for a ring and another loss for West and Chamberlain was crushing for the Lakers. They would come back in 2 years and finally get over the hump but that 70 Knicks team with Frazier’s performance in game 7 immortalized the Knicks, and their fans are still waiting for that feeling again.

3. 2013 FIN (1) MIA def (2) SAS

This is box office. San Antonio’s only loss in a finals. Basically dead even point differential. Eight hall of famers + 2 HoF coaches. The 27 win streak Heat. Maybe the craziest shot in NBA history. Wade is well past his prime but digs out a six steal performance in game 4. Duncan looks unstoppable in the first half of game 7. LeBron dagger over Kawhi to seal the deal. Just insane. I think the 2013 Spurs are the best team to not win the title. Great defense, shooting, ball movement, 12-2 in the first three rounds. Put up a hell of a fight in game 7 after the most crushing game 6 you can imagine. LeBron’s game 7 is one of the most underrated games – I think it’s top 5 for his career. This series had everything.

2. 1962 FIN BOS def LAL, 1969 FIN BOS def LAL – west gets finals MVP, 1966 FIN BOS def LAL 2 pts in G7

Kind of a cop out to pick 3 here but take whichever vintage of Russell pulling out a crazy victory over the Lakers. These teams were loaded with stars and despite the Celtics always winning, it’s not like they shut down LA. Jerry West put up some of the best post season numbers in league history against the Celtics year after year – even winning Finals MVP while being on the losing team (this is because they voted at half time and he was on such a heater they couldn’t imagine him losing). Elgin also broke the still standing – most points in a finals game – record in 1962. The 66 finals were incredibly even, with 4 of the 7 games decided by 5 points or less, including game 7 where Boston won by 2.

1. 2016 FIN (1) CLE def (1) GSW

Some would say this series wasn’t actually that good because it was six blowouts the first six games. However, these six games resulted in exactly the same amount of points so it was tied, dead even going into game 7. It was an ultimate legacy game for LeBron. Can he win without Miami/Wade was still a popular narrative from the perennial whiners on mid day ESPN. He also went full superhero mode the previous year with no Love (thanks Olynyk) and no Kyrie. His loss in 2015 was not as scrutinized because Mozgov and Dellavadova were his supporting cast. He also led both teams in points, rebounds and assists. 2015 was the first time this had been done in the finals, only to be surpassed in 2016 when he led both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Steph just won the first unanimous MVP, broke the 3 point record by a mile and won 73 games. He was the best player in the world on the best team ever, all while looking like a 15 year old girl (according to Steve Kerr). Yet he managed to put up more turnovers than assists during the series, along with some bone headed plays like throwing the ball out of bounds behind his back and failing to get past all time perimeter defender Kevin “Kawhi Leonard” Love to ice himself out of a second title. Meanwhile LeBron played 3 of the best games of his career, and league history, in games 5, 6, and 7 along with humbling Klay Thompson into the shadow realm after his post game commentary and repeating 41 point performances with and without Draymond. Cap all this off with “the Block” and the first professional title for Cleveland in over 50 years and you have without question the greatest series in NBA history.