Steve Jones

To my way of thinking, what makes a NBA finals quite memorable is the pressure that exists given the circumstances of the two teams involved, what happens in the series to intensify that pressure, and how the teams respond to it. Based on that criteria, here are my top 5 NBA finals of all time:

1985: Lakers over Celtics, 4-2
At Boston, the Lakers were absolutely crushed in the first game, 148-114, a contest remembered as the "Memorial Day Massacre." Celtics fans went looking for brooms, figuring on a sweep.

How does a team that gets humiliated like that come back to win the next game, which the Lakers did, 109-102, and the series? Well, Los Angeles used the devastation of the opener to its advantage. It heard and read that it didn’t belong in the championship series, and out of that came the motivation to prove all those skeptics wrong.

The Lakers came back, and showed their real character. Everyone picked it up: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott, Michael Cooper, Mitch Kupchak, and Jamaal Wilkes, not to mention players of lesser prominence like Kurt Rambis, Bob McAdoo, Larry Spriggs, and Mike McGee.

The whole team got some resolve, especially Abdul-Jabbar, who was badly outplayed in Game 1 by his counterpart, Robert Parish. Abdul-Jabbar personally apologized to his teammates, and vowed that such a beat down would not happen again. Lakers coach Pat Riley ended up terming the blowout a blessing in disguise.

The teams split Games 3 and 4, but Los Angeles won Game 5 at home, and then closed out Boston on the enemy court, 111-100 in Game 6. After Game 1, the Lakers had their courage, commitment, and effort questioned. They answered those questions by winning a championship. Sweet redemption for the Lakers, and for Abdul-Jabbar, who was named the finals MVP. Los Angeles had never beaten Boston in eight previous NBA finals.

1970: Knicks over Lakers, 4-3
The Knicks’ chances at winning this series should have ended in Game 5 when their center, Willis Reed, MVP of the All-Star Game and also league MVP, tore a muscle in his leg after tripping over Wilt Chamberlain’s foot. At that point, the series was tied 2-2, but the Knicks, despite Reed being out and Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain having miserable second halves, managed to win Game 5, 107-100. The Lakers came back to take Game 6, setting up one of the most dramatic Game 7’s in NBA finals history.

The big question was would Reed be able to play in the deciding game? He had missed Game 6. Madison Square Garden erupted in noise when Reed surprised the fans and his teammates coming onto the court during warmups. He wound up starting the game, and scored the Knicks' first two field goals. Those were his only shots of the game, but his presence gave the Knicks inspiration, and his defense was superb for a hobbled man as he pestered Chamberlain, and forced him into a poor shooting effort.

Playing on emotion, the Knicks pulled away from the Lakers. They got a great performance from point guard Walt Frazier, who hit 12-of-17 from the field, and 12-of-12 from the line to finish with 36 points and 19 assists. Also starring for the Knicks were Dave DeBusschere with 17 rebounds, and Dick Barnett with 21 points. But the night belonged to Reed. Not only had a championship been won, but one of the greatest moments in NBA finals history had taken place.

1984: Celtics over Lakers, 4-3
This ended a 15-year drought in which the Celtics had not faced the Lakers in the NBA finals. It also raised the question of another drought: Would Los Angeles be able to beat Boston for the first time in the championship round. The Lakers were 0-7 against the Celtics when playing for the title.

There was no bigger storyline than this being the first NBA finals showdown between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The anticipation was overwhelming. Sure it was Showtime vs. Celtic pride and tradition. But as intriguing as that was, bigger and more intriguing was Bird vs. Magic. The first of three times they would face off in the NBA finals in the mid-1980s.

After winning 137-104 in Game 3 in Los Angeles, the Lakers had taken a 2-1 lead in the series. The Celtics were upset, and vowed to become more mentally and physically aggressive. That’s all Boston’s Kevin McHale had to hear. In the second quarter of Game 4, McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup. That stirred things up on the court, but more so it lit a fire under the Celtics, waking them up. For his part, Lakers coach Pat Riley referred to the Celtics as a bunch of thugs. Boston took Game 4 by four, and extended to a 3-2 series lead by winning at home in Game 5.

But the Lakers weren’t done yet. They got some aggressiveness of their own in Game 6 when James Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. With Kareem-Abdul Jabbar scoring 30 points, the Lakers prevailed, 119-108, to force a seventh game in Boston.

In Game 7, however, it wasn’t Magic or Bird who stole the show, but rather Maxwell, perhaps still smarting from his shove from Worthy. He was too much for the Lakers to handle, finishing with 24 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Boston won by nine, its 15th championship. Bird was chosen finals MVP after averaging 27.4 points, 14 rebounds, 3.2 assists and two steals per game, but it was McHale’s rough statement in Game 4 that changed the tone of the series and put Boston in command.

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