History

10 memorable NBA games from last 25 years

From several playoff thrills to an iconic regular-season game from Kobe Bryant, these games since 2000 shine bright.

Steve Aschburner

Steve Aschburner

Archive

On June 4, 2000 Kobe Bryant threw up the alley-oop to Shaq who slammed home a monster dunk!

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There’s Father Time, there’s Baby New Year and then there’s this millennium through which we and the NBA are grinding at a pretty swift pace.

Did you live through all the Y2K anxiety over a looming grid collapse? LeBron James was more concerned about navigating freshman year at St. Vincent-St. Mary. He’s 40 now and the league has marched in lockstep with him.

This is the 25th NBA season of the century, a quarter of the way through. Or, depending how you count 1999-2000, we’ve got 25 in the books already, making this No. 26. Either way, it’s a good time for some recollecting and ranking.

Nearly a third of the NBA’s existence has played out since it crossed the 2000 threshold. Michael Jordan still had a second comeback and third retirement in him. Kobe Bryant won three rings as the ultimate sidekick, then carried the Lakers to two more. James’ entire career has played out in the 2000s … with Victor Wembanyama being born halfway through LeBron’s rookie season.

I’ve ranked my personal Top 10 since 2000, which leaves tens of thousands — postseason classics or random remarkable performances played out in November or January — that didn’t make the cut.

1. 2000 Western Conference Finals, Game 7 — Blazers vs. Lakers

Highlighted by Bryant’s alley-oop to Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers erased a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Takeaway: My most vivid memory was how the media workroom emptied as Portland’s lead dwindled. Most writers thought they safely could get a jump in writing their game stories, until the Lakers changed all that.

2. 2004 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 5 — Lakers vs. Spurs

The final 12 seconds gave us Bryant’s go-ahead 20-footer, Tim Duncan’s counter from 18 feet to make it 73-72 and, finally, Derek Fisher’s off-balance buzzer-beater out of a timeout with 0.4 seconds left.

Takeaway: Shaquille O’Neal had his hands full with Duncan, whose 21 points and 21 boards eclipsed Shaq’s 11 and 11. But the Lakers’ big man got the last word: “One lucky shot deserves another.”

3. 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5 — Cavs vs. Pistons

James, at 23, scores 29 of his team’s last 30 and the final 25 overall, winning the game in double overtime.

Takeaway: A coming-out party for James, who carried his team like never before or since. He led a shaky roster past Detroit, which had won the East and still had the core of its 2004 title team.

2009 Eastern Conference first round, Game 6 — Celtics vs. Bulls

Chicago survives Ray Allen’s 51 points to win a 63-minute marathon.

Takeaway: Triple OT is tough to beat. This was the series when rookie Derrick Rose served notice to the East of his coming meteoric impact. Then there was Joakim Noah’s steal, dunk and celebration, John Salmons (!) scoring 35, and Salmons and Rose each playing nearly 60 minutes.

2016 NBA Finals, Game 7 — Cavs vs. Warriors

Not only did it validate James’ return to Cleveland with the franchise’s first NBA championship, it marked the league’s first claw-back from a 3-1 Finals deficit.

Takeaway: Take your pick: Is your most vivid memory James’ chase-down block of Andre Iguodala with the score tied, Kyrie Irving’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 53 seconds left or Kevin Love’s unlikely perimeter defense stymying Stephen Curry?

6. 2004 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 7 — Kings vs. Wolves

Kevin Garnett came up with one of the best playoff performances (32 points, 21 rebounds, five blocks, four steals) and Minnesota needed every bit to eliminate Sacramento.

Takeaway: In his MVP season, on his 28th birthday, Garnett scored 14 in the fourth and refused to let the Wolves lose. It ranks as the high point in franchise history IMO, just a hair better than the team’s Game 7 victory last spring (also in the West semis) coming back late to beat defending champion Denver.

7. 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 6 — Heat vs. Celtics

Arguably James’ greatest game, under the greatest pressure, to keep “the Heatles” alive. He had 45 points (more than any three Celtics combined), 15 rebounds and five assists to get Miami to their Game 7 at home.

Takeaway: Two years earlier, a Game 7 ouster in Boston washed over James, sending him into free agency and “The Decision.” He beat back the bad TD Garden mojo.

8. Jan. 22, 2006 — Raptors vs. Lakers

Kobe scores 81.

Takeaway: Toronto’s players and coaches are teased (traumatized?) to this day over the Lakers’ shooting guard posting the second-highest individual point total in NBA history. He was just warming up with 26 in the first half before exploding for 55 in the second, finishing 28-of-46 with 7-of-13 on 3-pointers.

9. 2001 NBA All-Star Game (Washington, D.C.)

Down 21 with nine minutes left, Allen Iverson (15 points in the fourth quarter) and Stephon Marbury (two 3-pointers in the final 53 seconds) led the East All-Stars to a furious comeback victory that had folks forgetting they were watching a mere exhibition.

Takeaway: A little intensity, competitiveness and pride are all it takes to make an All-Star Game memorable. Why could those guys do what today’s can’t?

10. 2016 Western Conference Finals, Game 6 — Warriors vs. Thunder

Klay Thompson scores 19 in the fourth quarter and hits a playoff record 11 3-pointers as Golden State avoids elimination, again.

Takeaway: Thompson is at his most unconscious, and the Warriors’ budding dynasty is on the brink. By surviving a 3-1 deficit in this series — and then succumbing to the Cavs’ same feat — Golden State effectively ended OKC’s Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook era.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.

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