5 Favorite NBA Moments from the past Decade
The Deal
As we’re all half punch-drunk with nostalgia this time of year and reflecting on the past decade, I thought it appropriate to look back on the NBA these past ten years. This isn’t a “best moments” compendium, but rather a small set of moments that I just liked, for one reason or another, the most.
In no hierarchical order, here’s my list:
1. The One When Giannis Tackled Mike Dunleavy (2015)
It was Giannis’ first taste of the playoffs and after winning games 4 and 5, the Bucks were back in the series, but down 3 games to 2. Game 6 started horribly and the Bulls were pummeling the Bucks 58-28. Mike Dunleavy had been a real heel that game. He’d been provoking the Bucks throughout and then in the second when former-ROY (😬) MCW went up for a board, Dunleavy punched him.
Shortly after that bit of Dunleavy B.S., Derrick Rose was pushing the ball up court and kicked to Dunleavy on the wing. He caught it and fired a 3 and then, like John Lynch in NFL Blitz 2000, Giannis barreled in and threw his shoulder into Dunleavy’s gut and knocked him back into the first row.
Was it petty and juvenile? Yeh. It was also a moment that demonstrated two of Giannis’ most signature qualities--loyalty and competitiveness. He wasn’t gonna let Dunleavy mess around with his point guard. On the brink of elimination, he couldn’t handle that the Bucks were getting destroyed and his desire to win boiled over. We knew he was a different type of dude from that moment on.
2. The One When Kyrie Spoiled The Warriors Magical Season With A Finals Game-Winner (2016)
To be clear, I wanted the Warriors to win the 2016 Finals, but man, ya gotta appreciate the weight of that shot and its context in League history. The narrative of the 2015-16 season centered so much around the Warriors and Steph and their blistering pace and proficiency of shooting 3s. It was a 9-month heat check of swish after swish.
It’s 89-89, with about a minute left. Cleveland screens to get Klay off of Kyrie. Now Steph is guarding Kyrie and the moment suddenly feels very personal. Kyrie’s isolated on the far wing and hits Steph with a couple half-moves, but clearly wants to shoot a 3. Curry plays him tightly, Kyrie rises and with a close contest by Curry, buries a stone-cold 3 in his eye. For all the 3s that Steph and the Warriors drained that season, it’s Kyrie’s 3 that I most clearly remember.
3. The One When KD Couldn't Watch Russ Shoot FTs (2014)
OKC had just outlasted Memphis in a tough 7 game series. They were even with the Clippers after four games. Russ and KD were trading baskets, battling peak-Lob City. Down two with 6 seconds left, Russ (all-time terrible 3 point shooter) launches a 3 (of course) and draws a foul (also, of course). Then KD does a weird thing. He walks to the opposite end of the court and sits down. Like a kid daydreaming, he stoops to the hardwood and wraps his wiry 7-foot wingspan around his knees and stares off into the crowd.
Russ would nail the three shots and the Thunder would win the game and the series before losing to the Spurs in the Conference Semis.
I loved those OKC teams as they were coming up and cutting their teeth in the playoffs year after year. KD and Russ were both so good so quickly. Drafted in back-to-back years, the rarity of their co-ascension coupled with their youth made the duo, and that team, feel really special. They’d been to the Finals already and had their hearts broken several times. While it seemed like they’d have plenty of playoff runs together, it was also apparent that success wasn’t gonna be easy or frequent.
All of that seemed bound up in KD’s reaction and in the space and time in which Russ shot those three free-throws.
4. The One When Kobe Dropped 60 In His Farewell Game (2016)
It was the last night of the NBA regular season. The Warriors and the Lakers were playing separate games. Golden State and Steph were set to break several records that night, most notably, the Bulls’ 72-game single season win total. I was at a BWWs on the U of M campus that night with my wife and some friends. Both games were on and the restaurant was packed.
As the night wore on, it was clear that the crowd was focusing on the Lakers game and Kobe’s mounting point total. I can’t remember specific shots, just the incredulity I felt as he kept scoring buckets. He hit the 40 point mark early in the fourth quarter. It seemed like a perfect ending. But then he hit 50. Everyone forgot the history the Warriors were making. The Lakers game was meaningless, they weren’t making the playoffs, but we couldn’t stop hollering as we watched Kobe one last time. Nothing on the line, just Kobe gunning for points. He was splitting double-teams out of the pick-and-roll, launching fadeaway 3s, he even sort of dunked--twice! Students were tearing around the restaurant in Lower-Merion jerseys. I had wing sauce in my beard. And then he got 60.
In terms of NBA history, it was a small moment. Holding my breath with my wife and friends while Kobe put up shot after shot is what really made it golden. And the Parmesan Garlic.
5. The One When Ray Allen Back-pedaled into Finals Glory (2014)
The Spurs were up 3-2 in the series and in control most of the game. The Heat drew even in the fourth and the two teams traded baskets most of the rest of the way. Spurs were up two with twenty seconds left, and baby Kawhi went to the line. Biggest spot of his career and he was having an awesome series. If he makes both, it’s likely the Spurs take the Larry O-B home that night. He misses the first, makes the second.
Pop subs out Duncan (STILL NO CLUE WHY). Bron comes down and misses a 3. Bosh collects an awkward, contested rebound over Manu and Danny Green (while Timmy’s drinking Gatorade). He flips the ball to a back-pedalling Ray Allen who, of course, buries it and cuts out the heart of the entire southern portion of Texas.
If the folks at Boston Dynamics programmed a robot to travel backwards 12 feet, catch a ball, jump and make an obstructed 22 foot shot, they’d struggle to design a bot more efficient than Ray Allen and how he pulled it off. Allen had his steps perfectly measured, even leaving plenty of space between his front foot and the arc to ensure it was a clear 3-point shot *chefs kiss*
🚨 SOUND THE ALARM 🚨
Welcome to this fun segment of the Parlor Games newsletter where I get to contribute my thoughts. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Scott’s wife. When he and I first met, I barely liked watching sports, and basketball was nearly at the bottom of the list. I genuinely think I probably would have preferred golf. But alas, here we are almost 10 years later and the love is shared. I even have my own Eric Bledsoe jersey (Please don’t @ me. I got the jersey before the playoffs.).
What got me hooked on the NBA really had nothing to do with what was happening on the court. What got me hooked were the stories happening off the court -- for example. Did you know that people didn’t want Steph on their team because he was small and had weak ankles and was never going to amount to much? Also did you know that there was a time when KD, Russ, and Harden were all on the same team AT THE SAME TIME and it wasn't even the Rockets?
So while Scott has shared his favorite on-court moments from the 2010s, I’m going to share my favorite off-court ones.
LeBron Returning to Cleveland
You know when you watch a movie, and the teenager’s parents get divorced, and the teenager just really wants their parents to get back together, even though the divorce was incredibly messy, and one parent cheated on the other, and the other parent has sort of moved on, but it doesn’t matter because deep in the teenager’s heart, they still really just want their family back together again? I think that was sort of what it was like with LeBron and the Cavs. He left in a terrible way, and it was heartbreaking, but I tell ya what. When he decided to come back to Cleveland to finally win them a championship (and let’s not forget that Ohio doesn’t have much to boast about by way of professional sports), I think he won back the hearts of many LeBron Haters.
Riley Curry’s Post-Game Interviews in the 2015 Finals
One of the most lovable things about Steph is how much of a family man he is. It helps that his kids are freaking adorable. Bringing Riley to the post-game interviews endeared me to Steph and the NBA a lot. If you’re looking for a way to get your less-than-interested significant other to be interested in the NBA, showing clips of one of the best NBA players of the time trying to answer questions while his daughter burps and then says “excuse me” into the microphone is a good place to start. And the fact that he was willing to keep bringing her even though the media rolled their eyes (you can hear one interviewer literally say “we’re gonna do this again?” in one clip) is also very endearing. Maybe these athletes are also just dads, after all.
KD’s MVP Speech
First you have the built in drama of who’s really the heart of the Thunder--Russ or KD (answer: not the guy who leaves the team later to chase rings.). So much of their relationship felt like a true brotherhood. They fought like brothers, but they also supported each other like brothers. KD giving credit to Russ is just the start of what makes this speech special, because let’s be honest: there’s nothing like watching a grown man cry about his momma (it’s possible I especially feel this way because I have a son.). The Thunder version of KD was just so easy to love, and this speech was a big part of that.
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