Post by eric on Apr 7, 2017 13:05:52 GMT -6
I'm confident we can all agree that the 2016 Finals was the greatest comeback in NBA history, so I'll only briefly go over the particulars:
73 win team - most ever, all three previous teams with 69+ wins had won championship
16 win advantage over opponent - all ten previous teams with 13+ advantage had won championship
3-1 lead in the Finals - all thirty two previous teams had won championship
and then there was CHOSEN1
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Okay, but what would the second greatest comeback be? My feeling is you have to win with your back against the wall for it to be a great comeback, which means winning at least one game that if you lost would have lost you the series, which means we're only looking at Finals series that went seven games. Let's run down that list and see what's what. Obviously we have a lot more information about more recent years, but I don't think it affects the outcome. Your mileage may vary.
1951 - the Rochester Royals take a 3-0 lead on the underdog Knicks only to let the small town scrappy squad come roaring back and force a game seven, which the Royals then won. That's not a comeback, that's barely averting a comical collapse.
1952 and 1954 - in each case the Minneapolis Lakers take a 3-2 lead on their underdog New York state opponents, then win game seven. Barely remarkable.
1957 - the 34 win Hawks facing elimination at the hands of the 44 win Celtics win game six after Bob Cousy chokes at the free throw line, then game seven goes to what is still a record two overtimes, and down two with seconds left player coach Alex Hannum is forced to check himself in for the first time all game, and throws a full court inbounds pass off the backboard to Hall of Famer Bob Pettit for a layup. Alex Hannum would coach the only teams to ever beat Bill Russell's Celtics in the playoffs... but not on April 13th, 1957. Pettit missed, the Celtics won their first championship, and what could have been an incredible underdog comeback turned instead into the start of an incredible dynasty.
1960 - same two teams, same Celtics advantage, same result with considerably less drama.
1962 - our first comeback! The 54 win Lakers steal game five at 60 win Boston (the first team to ever win 60 games) behind a still NBA Finals record 61 points from Elgin Baylor. The Celtics thump the Lakers in game six, setting up yet another Boston Garden game seven. Laker Frank Selvy famously gags an open 12 footer at the regulation buzzer, and Bill Russell prevails in overtime en route to 30 points and (you guessed it, still a record) 40 rebounds for the game. Russell is the first player to be MVP on a championship team in back to back years, and will be the only one until Michael Jordan joins him in 1992.
You can dock this a little because the Celtics should have won anyway and they had home court for game seven, but an OT win plus one of the three greatest players of all time with dang 30-40 game makes a pretty solid contender IMO. Also noteworthy is that 1962 was the season of Oscar's triple double and Wilt's 100 and Wilt's 50 and so on and so forth... then Bill walked away with the MVP and the ring.
1966 - another exciting game seven but the Celtics were up 3-1 and had a nine win regular season advantage so meh.
1969 - now we're talking!
-last gasp of the visibly wheezing Celtics
-only time the Celtics ever won the Finals without having homecourt advantage
-coming back from 2-0 to force 2-2, coming back from 3-2 to win,
-last time a player-coach would win the Finals,
-after losing to the Celtics the previous year the Lakers had added Wilt Chamberlain
-who was left on the bench in the dying embers of the game
-a wacky Los Angeles owner handed out flyers before game seven describing the guaranteed Lakers' celebration
-first Finals game seven won by the road team
So we've got plenty of storyline. For me it doesn't hold a candle to 1962 though, it was more a comedy of errors than the underdog playing great.
1970 - it seems weird to say the West Baylor Chamberlain Lakers were underdogs, but they were a 46 win team going up against a 60 win small town blue collar they know the right way to play juggernaut New York Knicks squad. The teams alternated wins and once Willis Reed limped out for game seven it was over. Strong case for greatest personal comeback in NBA history, but it wasn't even a comeback for the team.
1974 - Alternating wins, the Bucks slightly favored but not that much, game seven was a laugher for Hondo's Celts. Interesting from the point of view that Kareem Abdul Jabbar literally walked out of the arena and got onto a plane to Los Angeles (probably not true), and who knows where the NBA ends up if he stays to defend a title rather than setting the stage for Showtime, but for our purposes it's a blah.
1978 - it fits all the criteria, the underdog team winning game six and a close game seven, but does anyone really care about a Jack Sikma - Wes Unseld slugfest? Moving on.
1984 - Boston was favored and up 3-2, won game seven at home led by their all time great star Cornbread Maxwell with a team leading 24 points and 8 assists, throwing in a crucial steal with a minute left to seal the victory. The outcome is really only remarkable for Ced being passed over for his second Finals MVP in favor of some honky.
1988 - this one is decent. Lakers were the better team and had homecourt for the last two games, but the Pistons took a 3-2 lead and the last games were decided by 1 and 3 points respectively... but game six was the Isiah ankle sprain game (AND the phantom foul by Laimbeer on Kareem), so it feels a little fraudulent. Kareem went an astonishing 5 of 21 from the field over the last two games with 10 fouls in 61 minutes played. Rick Mahorn mysteriously only played three minutes in game seven, and I can't find any newspaper article saying why, so it was probably racism.
Again I think 1962 leads comfortably, but this compares very well with 1969. Dynasty aging out of its prime, injury to opposing star, FMVP was some scrub.
1994 - this one is decent too. Again the eventual champion Rockets were better and had homecourt for the last two and needed it after going down 3-2, and the games were close: two points and a series saving block from Hakeem in game six, six point win in game seven as John Starks went 0 of 11 from three. It was a brutal series to watch and the specter of Jordan hangs over it, but on paper it was a decent comeback.
What really puts it over the top is the "don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion" line, which is unfortunate because Rudy gave that line in 1995, not 1994.
2005 - the Spurs were favored and up 2-0 and 3-2. Not a comeback. Duncan is one of the ten all time greats and 2003 was one of the all time great Finals performances, but he laid an egg this year. FMVP probably should have gone to Manu. Such is life.
2010 - Like 88 and 94, the champs came back from 3-2, but were favored and with homecourt. Game six was hideous, the Celtics didn't break 70. Game seven started just as ugly: even after losing defensive anchor Kendrick Perkins to MCL/PCL tears the Celtics held Los Angeles to 34 points at half. 57-53 after three quarters. The infamous 6 for 24 game from Kobe. Crunch time featuring dueling Rasheed Wallace and Metta World Peace threes. Woof. I'm not saying greatness has to be pretty but can you clear a five? Is that too much to ask? No chance it catches 1962, so unless there are any other comebacks...
2013 - Oh yeah! Yet another favored team with homecourt, but this time we got some quality basketball. Game six saw the Spurs up five with thirty seconds left. LeBron drains a three. Kawhi misses a free throw. LeBron misses a three. Bosh rebounds. Allen gathers. Allen rises. Allen shoots...
...and he scores! Tie ball game! Get those whackadoodle ropes outta here! The big city fat cat Spurs make an illegal substitution to try and cheat the small market Heat but karma for one night at least is in effect and Tony Parker misses a floater. It gets ugly in overtime but the win is sealed by back to back defensive highlights from noted stalwarts Ray Allen and Chris Bosh - the former ripping Manu Ginobili on a drive, the latter sprinting the width of the court to block a Danny Green game tying three point attempt. LeBron James comes face to face with elimination and records a triple double double you.
Game seven is somewhat of a letdown on the court, but it's all over the history books: LeBron ties Tommy Heinsohn's record for most points in a game seven win, LeBron joins Russell and Jordan as only the third player to win MVP on championships in back to back seasons, LeBron joins 1987 Magic Johnson and 2003 Tim Duncan as the only players to lead their Finals team in points, rebounds, and assists...
...which sounded a lot more impressive before he did it four times in a row. And that's the biggest problem with 2013: LeBron's future heroics are so unbelievable that his past heroics can't help but seem muted by comparison.
.
For me it's gotta be 1962 or 2013. I lean 2013 because both elimination games were dramatic, but 30 points and 40 boards, setting a personal standard of greatness that won't be touched for thirty years, I mean, I won't argue with someone who picks 1962.
73 win team - most ever, all three previous teams with 69+ wins had won championship
16 win advantage over opponent - all ten previous teams with 13+ advantage had won championship
3-1 lead in the Finals - all thirty two previous teams had won championship
and then there was CHOSEN1
.
Okay, but what would the second greatest comeback be? My feeling is you have to win with your back against the wall for it to be a great comeback, which means winning at least one game that if you lost would have lost you the series, which means we're only looking at Finals series that went seven games. Let's run down that list and see what's what. Obviously we have a lot more information about more recent years, but I don't think it affects the outcome. Your mileage may vary.
1951 - the Rochester Royals take a 3-0 lead on the underdog Knicks only to let the small town scrappy squad come roaring back and force a game seven, which the Royals then won. That's not a comeback, that's barely averting a comical collapse.
1952 and 1954 - in each case the Minneapolis Lakers take a 3-2 lead on their underdog New York state opponents, then win game seven. Barely remarkable.
1957 - the 34 win Hawks facing elimination at the hands of the 44 win Celtics win game six after Bob Cousy chokes at the free throw line, then game seven goes to what is still a record two overtimes, and down two with seconds left player coach Alex Hannum is forced to check himself in for the first time all game, and throws a full court inbounds pass off the backboard to Hall of Famer Bob Pettit for a layup. Alex Hannum would coach the only teams to ever beat Bill Russell's Celtics in the playoffs... but not on April 13th, 1957. Pettit missed, the Celtics won their first championship, and what could have been an incredible underdog comeback turned instead into the start of an incredible dynasty.
1960 - same two teams, same Celtics advantage, same result with considerably less drama.
1962 - our first comeback! The 54 win Lakers steal game five at 60 win Boston (the first team to ever win 60 games) behind a still NBA Finals record 61 points from Elgin Baylor. The Celtics thump the Lakers in game six, setting up yet another Boston Garden game seven. Laker Frank Selvy famously gags an open 12 footer at the regulation buzzer, and Bill Russell prevails in overtime en route to 30 points and (you guessed it, still a record) 40 rebounds for the game. Russell is the first player to be MVP on a championship team in back to back years, and will be the only one until Michael Jordan joins him in 1992.
You can dock this a little because the Celtics should have won anyway and they had home court for game seven, but an OT win plus one of the three greatest players of all time with dang 30-40 game makes a pretty solid contender IMO. Also noteworthy is that 1962 was the season of Oscar's triple double and Wilt's 100 and Wilt's 50 and so on and so forth... then Bill walked away with the MVP and the ring.
1966 - another exciting game seven but the Celtics were up 3-1 and had a nine win regular season advantage so meh.
1969 - now we're talking!
-last gasp of the visibly wheezing Celtics
-only time the Celtics ever won the Finals without having homecourt advantage
-coming back from 2-0 to force 2-2, coming back from 3-2 to win,
-last time a player-coach would win the Finals,
-after losing to the Celtics the previous year the Lakers had added Wilt Chamberlain
-who was left on the bench in the dying embers of the game
-a wacky Los Angeles owner handed out flyers before game seven describing the guaranteed Lakers' celebration
-first Finals game seven won by the road team
So we've got plenty of storyline. For me it doesn't hold a candle to 1962 though, it was more a comedy of errors than the underdog playing great.
1970 - it seems weird to say the West Baylor Chamberlain Lakers were underdogs, but they were a 46 win team going up against a 60 win small town blue collar they know the right way to play juggernaut New York Knicks squad. The teams alternated wins and once Willis Reed limped out for game seven it was over. Strong case for greatest personal comeback in NBA history, but it wasn't even a comeback for the team.
1974 - Alternating wins, the Bucks slightly favored but not that much, game seven was a laugher for Hondo's Celts. Interesting from the point of view that Kareem Abdul Jabbar literally walked out of the arena and got onto a plane to Los Angeles (probably not true), and who knows where the NBA ends up if he stays to defend a title rather than setting the stage for Showtime, but for our purposes it's a blah.
1978 - it fits all the criteria, the underdog team winning game six and a close game seven, but does anyone really care about a Jack Sikma - Wes Unseld slugfest? Moving on.
1984 - Boston was favored and up 3-2, won game seven at home led by their all time great star Cornbread Maxwell with a team leading 24 points and 8 assists, throwing in a crucial steal with a minute left to seal the victory. The outcome is really only remarkable for Ced being passed over for his second Finals MVP in favor of some honky.
1988 - this one is decent. Lakers were the better team and had homecourt for the last two games, but the Pistons took a 3-2 lead and the last games were decided by 1 and 3 points respectively... but game six was the Isiah ankle sprain game (AND the phantom foul by Laimbeer on Kareem), so it feels a little fraudulent. Kareem went an astonishing 5 of 21 from the field over the last two games with 10 fouls in 61 minutes played. Rick Mahorn mysteriously only played three minutes in game seven, and I can't find any newspaper article saying why, so it was probably racism.
Again I think 1962 leads comfortably, but this compares very well with 1969. Dynasty aging out of its prime, injury to opposing star, FMVP was some scrub.
1994 - this one is decent too. Again the eventual champion Rockets were better and had homecourt for the last two and needed it after going down 3-2, and the games were close: two points and a series saving block from Hakeem in game six, six point win in game seven as John Starks went 0 of 11 from three. It was a brutal series to watch and the specter of Jordan hangs over it, but on paper it was a decent comeback.
What really puts it over the top is the "don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion" line, which is unfortunate because Rudy gave that line in 1995, not 1994.
2005 - the Spurs were favored and up 2-0 and 3-2. Not a comeback. Duncan is one of the ten all time greats and 2003 was one of the all time great Finals performances, but he laid an egg this year. FMVP probably should have gone to Manu. Such is life.
2010 - Like 88 and 94, the champs came back from 3-2, but were favored and with homecourt. Game six was hideous, the Celtics didn't break 70. Game seven started just as ugly: even after losing defensive anchor Kendrick Perkins to MCL/PCL tears the Celtics held Los Angeles to 34 points at half. 57-53 after three quarters. The infamous 6 for 24 game from Kobe. Crunch time featuring dueling Rasheed Wallace and Metta World Peace threes. Woof. I'm not saying greatness has to be pretty but can you clear a five? Is that too much to ask? No chance it catches 1962, so unless there are any other comebacks...
2013 - Oh yeah! Yet another favored team with homecourt, but this time we got some quality basketball. Game six saw the Spurs up five with thirty seconds left. LeBron drains a three. Kawhi misses a free throw. LeBron misses a three. Bosh rebounds. Allen gathers. Allen rises. Allen shoots...
...and he scores! Tie ball game! Get those whackadoodle ropes outta here! The big city fat cat Spurs make an illegal substitution to try and cheat the small market Heat but karma for one night at least is in effect and Tony Parker misses a floater. It gets ugly in overtime but the win is sealed by back to back defensive highlights from noted stalwarts Ray Allen and Chris Bosh - the former ripping Manu Ginobili on a drive, the latter sprinting the width of the court to block a Danny Green game tying three point attempt. LeBron James comes face to face with elimination and records a triple double double you.
Game seven is somewhat of a letdown on the court, but it's all over the history books: LeBron ties Tommy Heinsohn's record for most points in a game seven win, LeBron joins Russell and Jordan as only the third player to win MVP on championships in back to back seasons, LeBron joins 1987 Magic Johnson and 2003 Tim Duncan as the only players to lead their Finals team in points, rebounds, and assists...
...which sounded a lot more impressive before he did it four times in a row. And that's the biggest problem with 2013: LeBron's future heroics are so unbelievable that his past heroics can't help but seem muted by comparison.
.
For me it's gotta be 1962 or 2013. I lean 2013 because both elimination games were dramatic, but 30 points and 40 boards, setting a personal standard of greatness that won't be touched for thirty years, I mean, I won't argue with someone who picks 1962.
