2010s NBA Finals, Ranked: 6-5
Looking back at the 10 NBA Finals played during the 2010s, I bring you the third of a seven-part series where I rank them
I’ll be honest: I looooove the 2010s decade of NBA basketball. I might be somewhat biased towards it, simply because it’s the period of time in which I got into watching, enjoying and talking about basketball, but it’s still great nevertheless. The amount of all-time greatness we witnessed in it is startling and would take a while to put into words, but those that have been around know how great basketball was during that span.
In terms of talent alone, the decade might go down as the second-best (behind the 2000s), and the historic moments that happened on the basketball court are ones that will live forever. More specifically, the moments we witnessed during some championship series were remarkably great, and deserve their spot in a museum to celebrate basketball's greatest moments. However, since I'm not a museum director, I'll do the best I can to commemorate my favorite decade of NBA basketball and its moments: rank those series.
In appreciation of the 2010s and all those memorable moments it gave us, let's reminisce on the very best matchups (in most cases) each season had to offer: the NBA Finals of the decade. As the series that crowns a champion and acts as a ladder that a player can use to establish himself as one of the best in history, we saw some great series and individual performances during the 10 Finals of the 2010s. With that in mind, let's rank 'em! (because what else are we doing?).
Before I resume my rankings, let’s look over the criteria I used:
Historical Precedent: record(s) broken in series, impact series had on a player’s legacy, and everything else like that.
Competitiveness: number of games in series and margin of said games.
Rewatchability: being able to rewatch the series and enjoy it impartially.
Injuries: key injuries that impacted the result of the series.
This is part three of a seven-part series. You can find part one here, and part two here
Without any further adieu, let’s continue the ranking with 6 and 5 on my list:
6. 2014: Miami Heat vs San Antonio Spurs (Spurs won 4-1); MVP: Kawhi Leonard (17.8pts, 6.4reb, 2.0ast, 1.6stl, 1.2blk on 61.2/57.9/78.3 shooting)
One year removed from losing in the Finals after being up 3-2 in the series, including a six-point lead in the final minute of Game Six, the Spurs came back with a vengeance to make it back to the Finals, and they unearthed a collective style of play that no one had ever seen: they won 62 games in the regular season with no player averaging over 17pts per game, had nine players average eight or more points per game, and had no one average 30+ minutes.
Once in the postseason, however, their opponents gave them a legitimate run for their money. Right off the gate, the eight-seeded Dallas Mavericks (who had lost their chance at the seventh-seed and at 50 wins by losing to the Mavericks in OT on the final day of the season) gave them a run for their money, taking them to seven games (whole first round in the West was crazy this year, with one series going to six and the other three going the distance).
Their second round was easier as they dispatched of an underrated Blazers squad on a gentleman’s sweep. In the conference Finals, it was time to avenge another loss as they faced an OKC Thunder squad that had eliminated them in the Conference Finals two seasons prior. The series in general wasn’t competitive as both teams exchanged double-digit wins (sans OKC’s nine-point victory in Game Three) entering Game Six in OKC, with the Spurs having an opportunity to close it out.
Game Six was a tight affair to start until the Thunder took a seven-point lead to head into halftime. But, although Tony Parker wasn’t available in the second half due to an ankle sprain, the Spurs outscored OKC 37-20 (including a 14-4 run at the end of the period) to take a ten-point lead into the fourth. The Thunder closed the gap to as less as two (93-91), but still trailed by six entering the final two minutes of action, which made it seem like their season was over. At that point, madness ensued, and oh boy did the Spurs have to fight. Nevertheless, they were able to hang on.
17 lead changes and 14 ties later, the Spurs were back in the Finals, where they faced the Miami Heat for the second year in a row, albeit a completely different Heat team; yes, the Big Three were still the same, and they had a lot of the same role players, especially the key ones outside of Rashard Lewis and Toney Douglas. As Ray Allen and Dwyane Wade can attest to, this season was grueling for Miami. Thanks to injuries (key one being Dwyane Wade only playing in 54 games) and inconsistent play, the Heat ended the regular season with 54 wins (lowest win percentage of the Big Three era), and finished second in the East behind the Indiana Pacers.
Getting the second seed might’ve been a blessing in disguise, as they drew the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round and swiftly dispatched them in a sweep (best moment of the series didn’t even involve someone on the Bobcats’ roster). The second round was interesting as they faced a Nets team in their first season with a revamped roster after adding Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, and who had won the season series against the Heat (4-0).
Everyone was picking Brooklyn to win because of that, but Miami showed they were still the team to beat as they beat them in five. LeBron added another fine performance to the “Reasons why Paul Pierce hates me” collection by dropping 49pts with 6reb on 16-24 shooting from the field, 3-6 from three and 14-19 from the foul line. The Nets had a chance to extend the series beyond five as they entered the fourth quarter of Game Five up by nine, but Miami went on a 13-3 run at the end of the game to win by two.
When it came time to face the Pacers, Indiana just didn’t have what it took to conquer Miami; they had a deeper roster and had the better season, but Miami had their number. The series would’ve been over in five if not for Paul George’s heroics in Game Five, scoring 31 of his 37pts in the second half and 21 in the fourth quarter (also had 6 steals in the game). But even with that, Miami came back home and dominated Game Six from start to finish to become Eastern Conference champions for the fourth year in a row. When it was all set and done, Miami had had an inconsistent regular season, but were able to turn on the switch to get by the first three rounds and look for that elusive three-peat.
The Heat and Spurs were set to clash in an epic rematch of a stellar series the year prior, with Miami searching for that illustrious three-peat, while San Antonio was seeking redemption after their loss in 2013. Both teams proved to be a solid match for one another early, with them splitting the first two games in San Antonio; the Spurs won Game One by 15 behind their Big Three’s performance (Tim Duncan had 21pts and 10reb, Tony had 19pts and 8ast, and Manu had 16pts and 11ast off the bench) and a huge fourth quarter.
Entering the final period, the game was 78-74 in favor of the road team, but Miami couldn’t handle the heat (pun intended); the air-conditioning system at the AT&T Center wasn’t working, which caused a really bad time for everyone in the arena. Nevertheless, San Antonio outscored the Heat 36-17 in that quarter, including going on a 16-3 run to close the game after LeBron exited due to cramps. San Antonio was an extremely efficient 14-16 from the field in the fourth (record for best shooting in any period in NBA Finals history), which was a sign of things to come...
The Spurs also started hot, shooting 10-15 in the first and getting an 11-point lead in the second, but Miami responded; after he only had 2pts on 1-4 shooting and 3 turnovers, LeBron had 33pts in the remaining three quarters of play (22 in the second half), added 10reb and Miami stole home-court advantage with a 98-96 victory.
After these two outings, both squads entered a two-game set in Miami tied at 1-1, which would go either way. And while Miami had stolen home court advantage, the Spurs entered Games Three and Four with something much better: a chip on their shoulders; San Antonio entered American Airlines Arena looking to face the demons that were haunting them since June 18th, 2013, the date in which they lost their perfect chance to closeout the franchise’s fifth championship. When those two games were set and done, not only did the Spurs succeed in facing their demons; they did it in historic fashion.
With the addition of Boris Diaw into the starting lineup (Tiago Splitter moved to the bench), the Spurs added more shooting and ball movement, and it payed off in a big way; they scored 41pts in the first quarter on 13-15 shooting (16 on 5-5 from Kawhi), led 71-50 at the half, and ended up winning by 19. Kawhi Leonard led them with his then career-high playoff scoring outing (29pts on 10-13 shooting).
Game Four was much of the same: San Antonio won the first quarter (26-17), took a double digit lead into the half (55-36) and never looked back. Kawhi had a 20pts/14reb double-double on 7-12 from the field to lead the effort. Just like that, the Spurs had done the job they couldn’t do the season prior: win the most important games in South Beach. Now, they were one win away from finishing the job.
The Heat, however, weren’t finished yet: they started the first quarter of Game Five on a 19-5 run, and ended the first 12 minutes of action up 29-22, with LeBron scoring 17 on 5-7 shooting. San Antonio, however, responded at the end of the first and during the second with a 39-15 run to close the second period up by seven. They blew the game open in the third led by Patty Mills’ 14pts in the period (5-5 from the field, 4-4 on threes), and it was smooth sailing after that.
They closed out the series at home with a 17-point win with Kawhi scoring 22pts (7-10 from the floor) and grabbing 10 boards, culminating with him being recognized as the Most Valuable Player of the series. At surface level, this series could be looked at as a boring one where one team dominated. And while that’s certainly true, when you look at everything closely, you can see that their dominance was something out of this world. Their performance can’t be overshadowed, so here’s a couple of stats to certify San Antonio as the team with the most dominant stretch in NBA playoff history with their performance in the Finals:
-Their four wins in the series were by more than 15pts, in which they had an average 14.5 point differential and a total 70 point differential, both the highest for a single NBA Finals series in history.
-Their 52.8 percent shooting from the field for the series is the best field goal percentage in a single Finals series in NBA history.
-In Game Three, the Spurs scored 41pts in the first period on 13-15 shooting (86.7 percent, an NBA Finals record for a single quarter), and became the first team to score at least 70pts (they scored 71) in any half of a Finals game since the 1987 Los Angeles Lakers (scored 75pts in the first half of Game Two of that series). Those 71pts came on 25-33 shooting (75.8 percent) from the floor and 7-10 from beyond the arc, breaking the record for highest field goal percentage in a half in Finals history.
-They averaged 118.5pts per 100 possessions and an effective field goal percentage of 60.4 percent for the series, both the highest amount by a team in a Finals series since the inception of the 3-point line in 1979-80.
-The Spurs passed the ball 472 more times than the Heat (they averaged 157 more passes than Miami between Games Three through Five).
-They attempted 23.6 threes per game, second highest attempts per game in NBA history at the time, and made 44.8 percent of them
-12 of the 16 wins during their entire playoff run were by 15+ points, the highest amount of such games in NBA history (including 12 of their last 13 wins being by more than 15).
-They became the fourth franchise in history to win at least five championships (Celtics, Lakers and Bulls being the others).
-They became the first team since the 1988-89 Detroit Pistons to win a championship the season after they lost in the Finals in seven games
-The period of time between the first and last championship of Gregg Popovich and Tim Ducan is the longest for a coach/player duo in NBA history (15 years between 1999 and 2014). In terms of players alone, the 15 years between Duncan’s first and last chip is only behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar (17 years between 1971 and 1988).
-Tim Duncan became only the second in history to win a championship in three different decades (John Salley is the other).
-Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker became the first trio to win four championships together since the “Showtime Lakers” core of the 1980’s.
-And, at the end of this postseason, the legendary Spurs trio reached 117 postseason wins as teammates, the highest amount for any trio in NBA history.
For San Antonio, this ended up being the last title of their 20+ year dynasty, and it was the best of all. If you hesitate on that, consider this: they entered the series as only slight favorites, their opponent had beaten them the year prior in one of the heartbreaking losses ever, and dominated the series in historic and convincing fashion, which culminated an already dominant postseason run. In life, it’s not about how hard you fall, but rather how strong you get back up; the Spurs suffered one of the most agonizing losses in sports history the season prior, they used it as motivation, and proceeded to win the championship by exacting their revenge after one of the most dominant three-game stretches by any team ever.
Was it a close series? Absolutely not. Did it have memorable games? No. But it was one of those instances where one of the highest levels of beautiful basketball by an NBA team was on full display, and will forever be remembered as a perfect “How To Play Team Basketball” tutorial, and as a treat to all basketball enthusiasts. The series wasn’t very competitive (outside of Game Two, Miami’s comeback in Game Three and majority of Game Five), but that doesn’t take away from the greatness in this series. San Antonio’s dominance was so amazing that, even as a Heat fan, you have to tip your cap off to them.
Their combination of amazing shooting and crisp ball and player movement in that series (and the playoff run in general) established a prototype for the rest of the league to follow. After this, with the NBA being a copycat league, a team came and perfected the formula established by the Spurs, and they were led by a man who ended up becoming one of the most transcendent players in basketball history. This team wasted no time to establish themselves as the next big thing in the NBA...
5. 2015: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors (Warriors won 4-2); MVP: Andre Iguodala (16.3pts, 5.8reb, 4.0ast, 1.3stl on 52.1/40.0/35.7 shooting)
The 2015 Warriors were the breakout team of the season; they had won 47 and 51 games under Mark Jackson the previous two seasons, but took their play to another level with Steve Kerr at the helm. Tweaks to both the starting lineup (starting Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green over Andre Iguodala and David Lee) and the style of play on both sides (more switching on defense and fast-paced offense with constant screening and movement) that revolutionized the game unlocked the greatness that Golden State could achieve. It also did wonders for Stephen Curry.
Curry had had some good seasons, the previous two being All-Star caliber (in 2013 he was snubbed and in 2014 he was an All-Star starter), but in 2014-15 he turned it up a notch: 24pts/4reb/7ast on 48/44/91 shooting, winning the regular season MVP in the process (controversial one over James Harden, but nonetheless he got it). Large part of his argument came in the fact he led the Dubs to win 67 games, the most out of any team that season. But the Warriors were a great team because of the pieces around him: Klay Thompson made his first All-Star Game, Draymond proved to be a versatile two-way player, and the bench unit of Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Marresse Speights (who didn’t miss a mid-range shot), Festus Ezeli and company showed out. In general, though Curry was the clear best player, it was a total team effort.
On the other side, the Cavaliers made the Finals after a tumultuous return season for LeBron James in the franchise. Although they had reached expectations of coming out of the East at minimum, the road to making the Finals was a messy one to say the least: they began the season with little to no depth, tasked Shawn Marion with the starting Shooting Guard role after Dion Waiters lost his spot among the starters (didn’t fit well with LeBron), and depended on the acquisitions of Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to be the big pieces they needed (funny how Mozgov went from being the missing piece on a LeBron team to overpaid in the span of two seasons).
Both teams faced immense adversity to get to the Finals, and each deserve more praise for the obstacles they faced in their road. Let’s start with Golden State: in the first round, they rallied down 20 to start the fourth, outscoring the Pelicans 39-19 in the period and winning in overtime (led by Steph’s 40pts/9ast/5reb, 7pts in OT). In the second round, they trailed 1-2 against the Memphis Grizzlies with Game Four on the road, but a masterful defensive adjustment on Tony Allen helped them neutralize the Grizzlies’ offense, which helped them close out the series by winning three straight.
On the Cleveland side, they battled against tough circumstances and opponents at the same time: Kevin Love got injured in the first round against Boston, and Kyrie Irving dealt with foot issues during the run, causing him to struggle in some games of the second round against Chicago and to miss two of the four Conference Finals games against Atlanta.
In the action itself: Cleveland was down 1-2 heading into Game Four of the semifinals on the road against the Bulls before LeBron hit a game-winner to tie the series (not what coach David Blatt drew up), and he went for 38pts (24 int the first half)/12reb in the next game to take the lead and close it out in six games. And even though Atlanta had home-court advantage for the Conference Finals and the Cavs had one and a half stars available, Cleveland came in and dominated in a sweep (J.R. Smith shined in Game One off the bench, LeBron dominated Game Two and pulled through in Game Three after an 0-11 start from the field to lead the way).
Two completely different journeys, two completely different contexts in which those journeys took place, and two different trajectories met in the Finals: on one hand, it was the veteran team led by the savior of the franchise on his return, looking to cap off an epic year by fulfilling his promise to bring a championship to the city. On the other, it was the dawn of a new guard with what seemed to be (and ended up being) the next great dynasty in the league, led by a player that, if he led his team to victory, would change the game forever...
The first two games were highly entertaining, both going to overtime (first time in NBA history that happened in a Finals series) and being split by each side. Game One was won by the home team behind the 26pts/8ast effort from Steph Curry, while LeBron went off for 44pts/8reb/6ast in a lost cause. This game is notable for another reason: Kyrie Irving (23pts/7reb/6ast) suffered a fracture in his left kneecap in the OT period, which kept him out for the rest of the series and made him join Kevin Love (out since the first round after dislocating his left shoulder) on the sidelines.
Playing without his two best teammates, LeBron was tasked with carrying the load for his team, and he did just that: a monster outing of 39pts/16reb/11ast in Game Two to tie the series at one game a piece (in a game they almost blew by allowing a 15-4 run in the final 3:12 of action to go into OT, but held on), and a 40pts/12reb/8ast performance in Game Three at Cleveland to take a 2-1 lead (s, again staving off a near Warriors comeback at the end). Matthew Dellavedova also played amazing, scoring 20pts (10 in the third) with 5reb and 4ast, and even had to be taken to the hospital after the game due to dehydration.
Down 1-2 yet again, Steve Kerr made the biggest adjustment he could’ve made (which he even lied about making to protect the strategy): he went with a “small-ball” starting five, inserting Andre Iguodala into the lineup and benching Andrew Bogut. This gave Golden State new life and helped them tie the series at 2-2 in Game Four. The Cavs started strong, up 16-9, but Golden State outscored them 22-8 for the remainder of the period and never looked back. Cleveland cut the deficit to as much as four in the third, but the Warriors held on after a 27-12 fourth period. The Iguodala substitution paid off massively on both ends, with him scoring 22pts with 8reb, and also locking down LeBron on defense (including holding him to 0pts in the fourth).
Game Five in Oracle was a must-win for both with the series tied 2-2. LeBron performed out of his mind once again, having a 40-point triple-double (40pts/14reb/11ast), including a 16-point fourth quarter with the Cavs down six entering the period. However, it was Steph’s stellar 37pts/7reb/4ast/2stl on 13-23 from the field and 7-13 from three that led the victory for the Dubs; his 17-point fourth quarter (including tough shots down the stretch) seemingly shut down the talks of Dellavedova being the “Curry stopper”.
As Game Six back at the Q rolled around, it was closing time for the Dubs, and they took full advantage of the chance: they won the first 12 minutes of action by double digits (28-15), and even though Cleveland closed the gap to two at the end of two (45-43), a 28-18 third-quarter blitz helped them end the season on top. Stephen Curry had his second great performance in a row (25pts/6reb/8ast), Iggy had another fantastic start (25pts/5reb/5ast), Draymond had a triple-double (16pts/11reb/10ast), and the Warriors closed out their first championship in 40 years on the road.
In the series’ first three games, LeBron broke the record for most points scored in the first three games of a Finals series (123pts), Beyond the first three games, LeBron had a legendary series:
-He averaged 35.8pts, 13.3reb and 8.8ast in the series, and scored 40+ three times (including a then-Finals’ career-high of 44 in Game One).
-He triple-doubled twice in the series (Game Two and Five), and nearly had a third one in Game Three.
-He was responsible for 38.3 percent of the Cavs’ points in that series, the second highest percentage in Finals history (first being 38.4 percent of Michael Jordan in the 1993 Finals).
-Became the first player in history to lead both teams in a Finals series in points, rebounds and assists.
It was a historically great performance overshadowed by the start of the Warriors’ dynasty and Cleveland’s injuries, which many see as ones that gravely impacted the result of the series. Iguodala was brilliant in that series and made him the deciding factor, making him the first player to win Finals MVP without starting a game in the regular season prior to the Finals. The series was extremely close (only two games were decided by double digits, both becoming blowouts in the second half), but the circumstances of injuries prevents me from putting it any higher in my ranking. The series was really good, don’t get me wrong, but the asterisk it has is too much for me. Having said that, the Warriors deserve credit for overcoming adversity down, making adjustments and winning, and their triumph makes my top five because of how tight it was and the impact it had on the legacy of LeBron, Curry and everyone on the Warriors’ side.
No matter how you spin it, James had a historic performance, and Golden State began the historic run that would place them among the NBA’s best teams in history and a team that forever changed the way basketball was played around the world (Steph and the team’s shooting, small-ball lineups, switch-heavy defense, and constant ball and player movement).
It also changed the way front offices league-wide viewed team-building, it disproved the stereotype that existed about jump shooting teams being unable to win a championship, and Steph helped in the development of changing the game (for better or for worse, depending on who you ask) and in the next generation of basketball players; those that discovered they didn’t need to be the strongest or tallest to dominate a game defined throughout history by it’s tall and strong players. In the process, it served as the first chapter between LeBron and the Warriors. However, as great as the first of something is, sometimes the sequel is better…
More on that in part four of this ranking, which can be found here
NOTE: The remainder of the Finals will be released in one article each. Why? Because the top four of my ranking are the pantheon of 2010’s NBA Finals… they are hands down the best of this bunch, not even close, and are four of the best Finals of all-time.