Yahoo Autos 25 (of 75) greatest moments in NBA history: From LeBron's first title to Bird's steal to Jordan's 'The Shot'
During NBA All-Star Weekend, the league will honor its 75 Greatest players as it celebrates its 75th anniversary.
Such a list is always tough to assemble. So imagine how tough it would be put together a list of the NBA's 75 greatest and most memorable moments?
There have been too many special moments to recount. But some iconic ones stand out as truly special. There's Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in March 1962. There's Dr. J's dunks. There's Kobe Bryant's career finale, Gar Heard's "Shot Heard Round the World," LeBron James' block that helped secure the Cavaliers' unlikely Finals comeback and all the Michael Jordan moments. But there were also some memorable moments that the league would love to forget.
25 (of 75) memorable moments in NBA history: From Heat-Knicks fight to Dream Team to Bulls' two 3-peats
25 (of 75) greatest moments in NBA history: From Kobe Bryant's finale to Willis Reed's walk-out
Here's our list of the greatest 75 moments, which will run in three sets of 25 (in random order).
Cavs stage historic comeback for NBA title
No team in NBA Finals history had come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship until the Cleveland Cavaliers came along in 2016. They stunned Golden State, winning Games 5, 6 and 7 with great plays in the closing minutes of the series finale by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, culminating with James and teammates bringing Cleveland its first pro sports title in 52 years.
Magic Johnson retires in 1991 due to HIV
On Nov. 7, 1991, Johnson shocked the world with his announcement that he was retiring from the Lakers immediately after learning he was HIV positive. “Life is going to go on for me, and I’m going to be a happy man. When your back is against the wall, you have to come out swinging,” he said at the time. At the time of his retirement, Johnson was the NBA’s all-time assists leader with 9,981, a three-time winner of the NBA MVP and Finals MVP, and a 11-time NBA All-Star. Johnson would go on to play in the 1992 Olympics and eventually return to the Lakers.
Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points
Chamberlain scored 100 points in the Philadelphia Warriors’ 169-147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962. It is widely considered one of the greatest records in the sport’s history. Chamberlain set five other league records that game, including most free throws made, a notable achievement considering he was regarded as a poor free throw shooter. Since Chamberlain’s historic game, just five players not named Chamberlain have eclipsed 70 points in a game: Kobe Bryant (81), David Thompson (73), David Robinson (70), Elgin Baylor (71) and Devin Booker (70).
MJ’s 63-point game in playoffs vs. Boston
The Boston Celtics tried to stop Michael Jordan. It wasn’t an easy drive to the bucket. Oh, the Celtics put a hand in Jordan’s face and used different defenders, but he was unstoppable. He set a record for most points in a playoff game, dropping 63 on the Celtics. In the double overtime contest, Jordan went 22-for-41 from the field and 19-for-21 from the foul line. He didn't attempt a 3-pointer. Celtics fans will point out that the Bulls lost that Game 2 and the next game, sweeping the Bulls in the first round in 1986.
Blake Griffin dunks over a car
Griffin became a YouTube sensation when he won the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest in Los Angeles by leaping over a car after teammate Baron Davis fed him the ball through the car’s sunroof. Griffin would say afterward that he grew up watching and re-watching every dunk contest on videotape, studying the event’s evolution. He said the car dunk was his idea from the very start – a perfect way to show off his combination of raw athleticism and Hollywood flair.
Celtics usher in Big 3 era, win 2008 title
The Celtics had two consecutive losing seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07, and they hadn’t won a title since 1986, the longest stretch in franchise history without a championship. The fans and the franchise were getting restless. So, front-office exec Danny Ainge, a former Celtics player who understood the franchise’s history, pulled off trades, acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to play alongside Paul Pierce. Boston started the season 27-2 and finished 62-20. The playoffs weren’t easy. They needed seven games to beat Atlanta, Cleveland and Detroit and finally six to beat the Los Angeles Lakers. It marked the beginning of the modern Big 3 era in which teams tried to put three stars together to win a title.
Klay Thompson’s 37-point third quarter
After scoring 13 points in the first half, Thompson enjoyed arguably the best 12 minutes of any player in NBA history. In a Jan. 23, 2015, game against the hapless Kings, Thompson scored 37 points, setting an NBA record for points in a quarter and 3-pointers in a quarter (nine) and tied a league record for field goals made in a quarter by going 13-for-13 from the field. The third-quarter linescore: 9-for-9 on 3-point shots, 13-for-13 from the field, 2-for-2 at the free-throw line. He outscored the Kings 37-22.
Julius Erving’s 'Rock the Baby' cradle dunk
In a January 1983 game against the Lakers, Dr. J stole the ball near half court. As he got to the key, he palmed the ball with one hand, rocked it and jumped for the dunk as defensive whiz Michael Cooper tried to block him.
Elgin Baylor 61-point Finals performance
The Celtics beat the Lakers to win the NBA title in seven games after fighting back from being down 3-2 in the series. But those 1962 Finals will be most remembered for Baylor’s Game 5 performance. He scored 61 points – a record that would stand for 24 years until Michael Jordan broke it – and grabbed 22 rebounds in a 126-121 Lakers victory at the Boston Garden that gave Los Angeles the series lead. Before Julius Erving and Jordan turned in nightly acrobatics, there was Baylor. The 6-foot-5 forward played a major role in revolutionizing basketball from a ground-bound sport into an aerial show.
Larry Bird steals ball from Isiah Thomas
The Celtics were facing the prospect of heading to Detroit down 3-2 in the 1987 Eastern Conference final. So after Bird's potential go-ahead layup was blocked and the ball touched one of the Celtics on the way out of bounds, Bird stole an inbounds pass from Thomas with five seconds remaining. Before falling out of bounds, Bird found Dennis Johnson cutting to the hoop for a twisting layup with one second left, and the Celtics escaped with a 108-107 win. They went on to win the series but fell to the Lakers in the Finals.
Raptors bring 2019 championship to Canada
Toronto traded for Kawhi Leonard in the offseason and made the most of his one year with the team, becoming the first franchise outside the United States to win the NBA title. The run featured Leonard’s epic Game 7 winner to beat the 76ers in the conference semifinals and a 4-2 series win over the two-time defending champion Warriors in the NBA Finals.
