The last 20 years of the NBA playoffs have produced some of the most memorable series in league history.
But which ones are the best? B/R has accepted this difficult task because we care about you, expensive reader.
Oh, and those videos are amazing every time.
Major playoffs involve a six- or seven-game streak with at least a mythical moment. These can be problems (NBA finals, for example), an old importance, or a spotlight, such as a winning shot, a defensive game, or an iconic individual performance.
And as seen in the following options, the most productive series regularly ticks several boxes within this group.
2006 Western Conference Semifinals: Mavericks vs Spurs
This 60-team winning game caused a replacement in the NBA playoff design. San Antonio, the protective champions, gained the most sensible seed in the West. Dallas, despite having the second-best conference record, finished fourth because the Spurs won the department. Beginning in 2007, the NBA used the regular-season records for its ranking, rather than keeping seeded 1, 2 and 3 more sensible for the department’s winners.
San Antonio triumphed in the first game of the series, then Dallas responded with three straight wins. The Spurs responded with two wins to force Game 7, but the Mavs gained a mystery and eventually lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
2007 First Western Conference Circular: Warriors vs. Rebels
The following year, Dallas combined one of the most productive normal seasons in NBA history with 67 wins. However, the Warriors of “We Believe” were disappointed and have become the first number 8 seed to win a seven-round first-round playoff series.
East Conference 2009 First: Celtics vs Bulls
Four games in this drama series were directed at overtime, adding a total of six additional sessions in Games 4, 5 and 6 combined. Just for the price of entertainment, this is without a doubt one of the most productive series ever seen. But it was a first-round crash, and Boston fell to the Orlando Magic anyway in the convention semifinals.
Eastern Conference Finals 2009: Magic vs Cavaliers
After the Magic recovered in Boston, they met LeBron James on a holiday at stake for the NBA Finals. Orlando’s Rashard Lewis hit a triple at the end of the first game, and James buried his memorable vacation by striking the bell at the time of the game. The Magic won the series in six games Dwight Howard, who averaged 25.8 problems and thirteen rebounds. Orlando lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
2011 NBA Finals: Mavericks vs Heat
Prior to the 2010–11 season, LeBron kicked Cleveland out and headed for heat. They went through the Eastern Conference playoffs, winning the series 4-1. In this rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, Miami took a 2-1 lead. But the Mavericks defended themselves, winning three direct games to give Dirk Nowitzki the first and only Hall of Fame championship of his career.
Before knocking out the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals, the Lakers first beat the Portland Trail Blazers.
Los Angeles took a 3-1 lead in the series, but Portland recovered and forced a seven-game victory. At the beginning of the last quarter, he gave the impression that the Blazers would take the surprise. They enjoyed a 15-point merit with only 10:30 to play.
Brian Shaw hit a pair of triples and sparked a wild comeback for the Lakers, who beat Portland 31-13 in the final quarter to claim an 89-84 victory. Shaquille O’Neal provided the exclamation mark at the last minute, hitting the house what is now a mythical Kobe Bryant alley.
“This is the turning point of our dominant race,” Shaq said.
Kobe and Shaq then promoted the Indiana Lakers and repeated as NBA champions in 2001 and 2002.
After alternating victories in four games, a round trip that set Ray Allen’s NBA Finals record and then 8 three-pointers in Game 2, Boston took a 3-2 lead in the series with a 92-86 win in Game 5.
But in game six, Kobe scored 26 problems and Pau Gasol finished a pass in less than a triple-double to prepare a matchup in the seventh game.
As the clock approached about a minute after the end of the deal, the Lakers had a 76-73 credit. All eyes turned to Kobe, who did the unthinkable: he passed the ball.
Ron Artest won it, gave him a three-point shot against Boston legend Paul Pierce.
“He told me the ball. He never me! And he ties me the ball. Kobe, I’ll ball!” said cheerful Artest at a fun after-game press convention.
The 2005 NBA Finals pitted the 2003 Spurs champions against 2004 champion Detroit Pistons. And more than a decade and part after, Piston enthusiasts still have Robert Horry’s nightmares.
San Antonio had two home victories and Detroit did the same. And with the fifth game in Auburn Hills, the Pistons had a critical merit of 3-2 in Texas. The problem? Horry kept hitting punch after hit after blow.
Most of his 21 problems, all of which came in the last 17 minutes of the game, tied the score or put the spurs ahead, adding the 3 winners in the final seconds of overtime.
He is remembered as “Big Shot Bob” for a reason.
However, the Pistons responded to force Game 7. Tim Duncan’s 25-point, 11-bounce day led San Antonio to an 81-74 victory and Duncan won his third Most Valuable Player of the Finals title.
In 2015-16, the Warriors set an NBA record with 73 regular-season victories. Stephen Curry won the league’s MVP award, and teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green earned All-NBA recognition.
But the historic season came close to finishing in the Western Conference finals. Led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Oklahoma City Thunder took a 3-1 lead in the series. OKC had three opportunities to protect NBA champions.
You can guess this didn’t happen.
Golden State won the fifth game of the house, then Thompson exploded for an NBA 11 3 playoff record in Game 6. Curry capped the comeback with 36 problems and 8 assists in Game 7.
The Warriors went to the NBA Finals, more on that in a time, and OKC entered a new era. Durant left the Thunder in a free agency, signed with the Warriors and won the next two NBA titles.
In a word: unbelievable. Aside from a 13-point win for the Sacramento Kings in Game 3, no margin overshadowed six issues in the 2002 Western Conference finals.
When the Bell of Game 4 ringed, Horry had a “Big Shot Bob” moment with a bell beating 3 for a 100-99 Lakers victory. In the game, Kings baseman Mike Bibby buried a jump shot with 8.2 seconds for playing for a 92-91 win and a 3-2 lead in the series.
The sixth game featured some of the top questionable referees in NBA history, as the Lakers attempted 27 shots on the loose in the final quarter. They went far with a 106-102 victory and forced a Game 7.
And even the final showdown wants an extra period.
Shaq scored 35 points, Kobe added 30 and the Lakers beat the 112-106 Kings led by Chris Webber.
They qualified for the NBA Finals, swept Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets and won a third consecutive NBA title.
When the Warriors knocked out OKC, it was the tenth time in NBA history that a team triumphs over a 3-1 deficit. This has never happened before in the NBA Finals.
Not until the next series, at least.
After four games, it appeared that Golden State was heading for a moment to the consecutive title. But in Game 4, Draymond Green committed his fourth brute foul in the playoffs. He faced a suspension of a game, and that moment replaced the final.
LeBron and Kyrie Irving scored 41 points in Game 5, and LeBron repeated the effort in Game 6 to tie the series.
At the end of Game 7, the score 89-89. Golden State had a two-on-one counterattack, but LeBron sued Andre Iguodala for a critical blockade. After some goalless possessions, Irving buried a last-minute hat-trick.
The Cavs won 93-89 and ended a 52-year-old primary sports championship drought in Cleveland.
Spurs goalkeeper Danny Green set an NBA Finals record with 27 three-pointers in the series. Kawhi Leonard has officially presented himself as a thorn stuck on the side of LeBron James. San Antonio had a 3-2 lead in the series and a five-point merit with 28.2 seconds for playing in Game 6.
And none of this is enough.
LeBron and Ray Allen connected with 3 clutches to force in this legendary Game 6. Miami escaped the additional session, achieving a 103-100 victory to prepare for Game 7.
“It was by far the most productive game I’ve ever played,” LeBron said after the win, through USA Today.
Miami followed this legendary game with a 95-88 win that was only at the last minute. Although the groups reunited for a rematch next season, this time a win in San Antonio, nothing compares to the 2013 NBA Finals drama.