Memorable Game 7s: As of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, there have been 19 Game 7s in league championships. Some were rather amazing, while others fell short of expectations. The NBA Finals’ memorable game 7s are listed below in order of significance.
The NBA Finals’ most memorable Game 7s
1. 2016: Cleveland 93, Golden State 89
The NBA championship won by the Cleveland Cavaliers is without a doubt the greatest sporting achievement in Cleveland’s history. Due to a 73-win regular season, Golden State enjoyed the home-court advantage and led the series 2-0. The Cavaliers defied the odds to become the first team in NBA history to come back from such a deficit and win the title when the Warriors finally went ahead 3-1. With 20 lead changes and 11 ties, Game 7 was definitely something extraordinary, which is largely why it comes in first place on our list. After trailing by seven points at the half, Cleveland outscored the Warriors 51-40 in the second half and kept them scoreless for the last 4:39 of regulation.
With the score knotted at 89-89, LeBron James’ block of Andre Iguodala’s layup off the backboard may have been the game’s most memorable play. With 53 seconds left, Kyrie Irving made a game-winning 3-pointer to give the Cavaliers their historic triumph.
2. 1957: Boston 125, St. Louis 123, 2OT
The Celtics’ road to their first NBA championship began with a double-overtime contest and came to a successful conclusion in the only Finals Game 7 that was settled similarly. Despite this being a long, high-scoring game at the time, no team’s shooting percentage went beyond 38.2 percent. But Bob Petit’s 39 points and 19 assists for the Hawks will always be remembered in the annals of Finals history. By one or possibly two points, Boston’s Tommy Heinsohn outperformed it with 37 points and 23 rebounds. Then, of course, there were the 19 points and 32 rebounds of illustrious Celtics rookie Bill Russell.
3. 1962: Boston 110, Los Angeles Lakers 107, OT
The Celtics participated in the only two NBA Finals memorable game 7s that were decided in overtime, as we shall see. While Boston was in the middle of its run of eight straight championships, it would play the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time, officially starting one of the most storied and contentious rivalries in sports. The tenacious Lakers pushed the Celtics to their limit, and Game 7 required overtime to defeat them. Bill Russell, a standout for Boston, had a staggering 40 rebounds in addition to his 30 points. Elgin Baylor of Los Angeles scored 41 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, while Jerry West of the same squad scored 35 points.
Oh, and in the last seconds of regulation, Frank Selvy of the Lakers missed a wide-open 12-foot baseline jumper that would have knotted the game.
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4. 1970: New York 113, Los Angeles Lakers 99
Willis Reed’s incredible comeback from a thigh injury that kept him out of Game 6 earlier in the series will live on in the annals of this game. But in a remarkable turn of events, Reed entered the game for warm-ups and scored the first four points of this championship game for New York. He subsequently focused on guarding Walt Chamberlain of the Lakers. Reed had a significant role in Chamberlain’s failure to make seven of his opening nine shots, which led to a fairly meagre 21 points for the game. Walt Frazier’s 36 points and 19 rebounds, which were the real factors in the Knicks winning their first NBA championship, are sometimes overlooked in favour of Reed’s early heroics.
5. 1988: Los Angeles Lakers 108, Detroit 105
James Worthy, a standout for Los Angeles, was the focus of this memorable Game 7. At halftime, the Pistons were up 52-47, but Isiah Thomas was unable to play his whole game due to an injury. Early in the third session, Los Angeles re-entered the contest and finally gained control, leading 90-75. Despite the Pistons’ efforts to get back into the game, which included 25 points from Joe Dumars and 43 from their bench, Los Angeles proved to be the tougher opponent. Especially thanks to Worthy, who contributed 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists to the team’s 11th NBA title.
6. 1969: Boston 108, Los Angeles Lakers 106
In 1969, Los Angeles won the first two games in a memorable Finals series between the two rivals. After Games 5 and 6 were tied, it was left with a much-anticipated Game 7 at The Forum, which the Celtics won the next two. In case his team won, Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke had balloons ready to pop. But as they lead 91-76 heading into the fourth, the Celtics’ euphoria came to an end. Eventually, they were able to maintain their grip thanks to Don Nelson’s vital bucket. Even though Jerry West, the NBA Finals MVP, scored 42 points, Boston became the first away team to win a Game 7 in a Finals series.
7. 1955: Syracuse 92, Fort Wayne 91
As was mentioned, Syracuse came close to winning the team’s first NBA championship in 1954. The then-Nationals, though, required just a year to climb all the way to the summit of the NBA mountain. And this time, Syracuse was successful in avoiding a Game 7 loss. The Nationals won in one of the NBA’s most thrilling and maybe contentious games when George King sank a tiebreaking free shot with 12 seconds remaining in the regular season and then a steal in the closing seconds to clinch the victory. A fascinating side aspect is that it has long been claimed that several Pistons players received payments from gamblers to toss the series. Notably, Fort Wayne led by 10 after the first quarter of Game 7 and by 16 after the second.
8. 1966: Boston 95, Los Angeles Lakers 93
The eighth consecutive league championship won by the Celtics. With a 3-1 series lead over the rival Lakers, who are now playing in Los Angeles, it seemed as though Boston would have no trouble continuing their illustrious record. However, by winning Games 5 and 6, the Lakers undoubtedly made things interesting. Boston led 76-60 after three-quarters of the all-or-nothing Game 7, but the Lakers weren’t willing to give up and rallied 33 points in the fourth to even the score before the Celtics won. Sam Jones and Bill Russell of Boston scored a combined 47 points, while Jerry West of Los Angeles led the way with 36 points in a losing effort.
9. 1951: Rochester 79, New York 75
In the first two memorable Game 7s of NBA Finals history, the Knicks took part but lost both occasions. The franchise’s first and only NBA title was won by the Sacramento Kings, who are now known as the Royals of Rochester, in 1951. Rochester won the first three games of the series before the Knicks took the next three. The final five games of the series were all decided by seven points or fewer. Arnie Risen (24 points, 13 rebounds), Bobby Wanzer, and Arnie Johnson all scored double-doubles in terms of points and rebounds in the victorious Royals’ Game 7 effort, while Bob Davies contributed 20 points.
10. 1984: Boston 111, Los Angeles Lakers 102
The Celtics and Lakers faced up to determine the NBA title for the ninth time this season. The intense heat in Boston Garden, which was particularly oppressive during Game 5, was the series’ defining feature. Even though it was in the mid 90s indoors for Game 7, the Lakers shot an even hotter 48.8%. However, Boston maintained control of the game for the majority of the time until Los Angeles trimmed a 14-point lead to three in the closing seconds. However, the squad managed to pull away in the last minutes by making 43 of 51 free throws. Three Celtics scored at least 20 points, with Cedric Maxwell leading the way with 24 after a late steal of Magic Johnson.
11. 1954: Minneapolis Lakers 87, Syracuse 80
The Lakers had to do it once again to complete a run of three consecutive NBA championships two years after they battled to win their third crown. Neither Minneapolis nor Syracuse (now the Philadelphia 76ers) were able to sweep the series by winning two straight games. It was obvious that the Lakers profited from having a home-court advantage. Despite this, Game 7 was highly competitive because at least 45.0 percent of each team’s shots were successful. Jim Pollard of Minneapolis scored 21 points, and George Mikan and Clyde Lovellette scored 25 points and grabbed 28 rebounds collectively.
12. 2005: San Antonio 81, Detroit 74
The 2005 Finals were the first to require a Game 7 in 11 years. The Pistons finally forced this pivotal game after San Antonio won the first two games of the series at home. The Spurs succeeded on the defensive end in a series that was all about defence (Detroit’s 102-71 victory in Game 4 was the only time either team topped 100 points). They overcame a nine-point deficit in the third quarter and limited the visiting Pistons to 2-of-14 shooting from outside the arc in Game 7. They also did not permit any Detroit player to score more than 15 points.
13. 2010: Los Angeles Lakers 83, Boston 79
This legendary rivalry was revived with the NBA’s top prize on the line for the second time in three seasons. The 2008 champion Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games, and it appeared that they were prepared to repeat that feat this year. Boston took the following two games to take a 3-2 lead as the series moved back to the West after Los Angeles won two of the first three games. But after trailing by nine after the first quarter and as much as 13 in Game 7, L.A. surged to a 22-point victory in Game 6. In spite of their overall shooting percentage of 32.5 percent, the Lakers fought back, scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter while limiting Boston to 40.8 percent shooting.
14. 1994: Houston 90, New York 84
Even though the Knicks were one win away from capturing their first NBA title in 20 years, Houston made the most of hosting Games 6 and 7. The Rockets used a 46.6 percent shooting percentage and Hakeem Olajuwon’s 25 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in Game 7 to win their first NBA championship after prevailing by a two-point margin in the sixth game. It was probably a close game the whole time because of the Knicks’ inability to overcome difficulty and John Starks’ poor shooting performance (2 of 18), which included missing all 11 of his 3-point attempts.
15. 2013: Miami 95, San Antonio 88
