The narratives that followed-James wasn't clutch, championships can't be bought, etc.-plagued James and the Heat until they broke through the following season.Īnd in a snippet of strange history, the Mavs became the first team to win a series in the old 2-3-2 format after dropping two of the first three games. In 2011, Nowitzki and the Mavs exacted revenge, and they did so in a fashion that dealt a devastating blow to the Heat and James, who were in their maiden voyage as a newly formed Big Three. Up 2-0, Dallas gave the Finals away in '06-with an assist, of course, from a boatload of Dwyane Wade foul shots. This series was significant for a handful of reasons, not the least of which was Dirk Nowitzki's redemption following a 2006 Finals collapse against a previous incarnation of the same Heat team.

Ultimately, we're out to find the best NBA Finals there have ever been.Īnd it's a good thing we're getting our ducks in a row now, because there's a strong possibility the 2014 edition will reshuffle things considerably.Īll statistics courtesy of .Īt the risk of causing temporal whiplash, we vault forward to 2011 to recount the Dallas Mavericks' six-game triumph over the Heat.

And though we're not focusing on individual performances so much as the overall quality of the series itself, it certainly won't hurt if a particular one-on-one clash, breakout effort or signature moment lends significance to the bigger picture. In ranking these series, a Game 7 certainly helps because, obviously, it adds to the drama. But more than half of the NBA gets into the playoffs, so there's something of a precedent for inclusiveness in the league's belief system. Tim Duncan is already among the NBA's best, and he's looking to put a capstone on one of the most remarkable runs of sustained success in professional sports history.Ĭonsidering everything at stake, the 2014 Finals have a great chance to rank as one of the most compelling series ever.įor context, let's check out the 15 best Finals series we've seen to this point.įirst of all, 15 may seem like a lot, especially since we've only seen 66 Finals since the championship round was created in 1947. LeBron James is a transcendent superstar at the peak of his powers, and a third straight ring would immediately put him on the short list of the game's greatest players-with plenty of career still to go, by the way. We're dealing with two teams here, but there's also a sense that two eras are about to go to war. The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are all set to square off in an NBA Finals matchup that, somehow, already feels historically significant.

Nba finals 7 game series