Classic Nba Moments Fans Still Talk About
Most NBA games vanish from memory within a week. A few possessions, sometimes lasting less than a second, have been argued over for decades by people who were not yet born when they happened.
The moments below span 57 years of the league, from a night in a Pennsylvania hockey arena that no camera recorded to a shot that needed four bounces on the rim before it agreed to fall. Some decided championships.
Others decided nothing at all and are remembered anyway.
Wilt Chamberlain Scores 100 in Hershey
On March 2, 1962, the Philadelphia Warriors beat the New York Knicks 169 to 147 at Hershey Sports Arena in Pennsylvania, and Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 of those points. He made 36 field goals and, more surprisingly for a famously poor foul shooter, 28 of 32 free throws.
The announced crowd was 4,124, and no television footage of the game is known to exist. What survives is a radio recording of the fourth quarter and a locker room photograph of Chamberlain holding a sheet of paper with the number 100 written on it.
No NBA player has come within 15 points of the mark since.
John Havlicek Steals the Inbound Pass
Boston led Philadelphia 110 to 109 with five seconds left in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Division Finals when Bill Russell’s inbound pass struck a guy wire supporting the basket at Boston Garden. Possession went to the 76ers, who needed one basket to end the Celtics’ run of six consecutive titles.
Hal Greer lobbed the pass in from the baseline on April 15, and John Havlicek, counting the seconds in his head, turned and tipped it to teammate Sam Jones. Radio announcer Johnny Most’s hoarse description of the play became one of the most replayed calls in sports broadcasting, and Boston went on to win another championship.
Willis Reed Walks Out of the Tunnel
Nobody at Madison Square Garden knew whether Willis Reed would play in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals. The Knicks captain had torn a muscle in his right thigh in Game 5 and sat out Game 6, which the Lakers won easily behind Wilt Chamberlain.
On May 8, Reed limped onto the floor during warmups to a roar that reportedly stopped the Lakers mid-drill. He made New York’s first two baskets and did not score again.
It hardly mattered, because Walt Frazier added 36 points and 19 assists in a 113 to 99 win that gave the franchise its first championship.
Three Overtimes at Boston Garden
Game 5 of the 1976 Finals, played on June 4, is often called the greatest game the league has produced. Boston’s John Havlicek banked in a running shot late in the second overtime, fans flooded the court believing it was over, and officials put one second back on the clock.
Phoenix guard Paul Westphal then called a timeout his team did not have, accepting a technical foul in exchange for an inbound pass at midcourt. Gar Heard caught it, turned and hit a high-arcing jumper to force a third overtime.
Boston still won, 128 to 126, and took the title two days later in Phoenix.
Julius Erving Floats Behind the Backboard
During Game 4 of the 1980 Finals at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Julius Erving drove the right baseline and left the floor with nowhere obvious to go. Lakers reserve Mark Landsberger cut off the near side and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar waited at the rim.
Erving simply stayed in the air, carried the shot behind the backboard in one enormous hand, and spun it in off the glass from the opposite side. Magic Johnson, then a rookie watching from a few feet away, later said he was tempted to ask for a replay on the spot.
Philadelphia won the May 11 game 105 to 102 to even the series.
Magic Johnson Jumps Center as a Rookie
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sprained his ankle badly in Game 5 of the 1980 Finals and stayed home in Los Angeles while the Lakers flew to Philadelphia. Coach Paul Westhead sent 20-year-old rookie point guard Magic Johnson out for the opening tip of Game 6 on May 16.
Johnson then played every position on the floor, finishing with 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and making all 14 of his free throws in a 123 to 107 win that clinched the title. Much of the country saw it late at night, because CBS aired the game on tape delay in many markets.
Larry Bird Picks Off Isiah Thomas
Detroit led Boston 107 to 106 with five seconds left in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals and had possession on the sideline at Boston’s end of the floor. A timeout would have moved the inbound pass to midcourt, but Isiah Thomas hurried a soft lob toward Bill Laimbeer instead.
Larry Bird, who had drifted away from his own man, stepped in front of it and somehow stayed inbounds along the baseline. He fed a cutting Dennis Johnson for a layup with one second remaining, and the Celtics won 108 to 107 on May 26.
Boston needed seven games to finish the series, and that single possession was the margin.
A Junior Sky Hook Silences Boston
Magic Johnson spent years sharing a locker room with the best hook shot in history, and on June 9, 1987, he borrowed it. The Lakers trailed Boston by one in the closing seconds of Game 4 of the Finals when Johnson dribbled into the lane and lofted a running hook over Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.
It dropped with two seconds left for a 107 to 106 lead. Larry Bird’s corner jumper at the buzzer hit the back of the rim and bounced away.
Johnson called the shot his junior, junior sky hook, and Los Angeles closed out the championship in six games.
Isiah Thomas Scores 25 on One Good Ankle
Midway through the third quarter of Game 6 of the 1988 Finals, Isiah Thomas landed on Michael Cooper’s foot and crumpled with a severely sprained right ankle. He left for about half a minute, then came back and kept shooting.
By the end of the period he had 25 points, a Finals record for a single quarter, and he finished with 43 at the Forum in Inglewood on June 19. Detroit lost anyway, 103 to 102, after a disputed foul call sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the line in the final seconds.
Thomas could barely move in Game 7, and the Lakers took the title.
Bird and Wilkins Trade Baskets in Game 7
The fourth quarter of Game 7 between Boston and Atlanta on May 22, 1988, turned into a private argument between two forwards. Dominique Wilkins scored 47 points for the Hawks, many of them on jumpers with a defender in his face.
Larry Bird answered with 20 of his 34 in the final period, missing only once in that quarter by most accounts. Neither man guarded the other for long stretches, which only added to the effect of a shooting contest held inside a playoff game.
Boston survived 118 to 116 at the Garden, and the duel is still the first thing many fans mention about either man’s playoff career.
Michael Jordan Puts 63 on the Celtics
Michael Jordan missed 64 games of the 1985-86 season with a broken bone in his left foot, and Chicago’s front office wanted him to sit out the rest. He refused, the 30-win Bulls slipped into the playoffs, and their reward was a Boston team regarded as one of the best ever assembled.
On April 20, 1986, in Game 2 at Boston Garden, Jordan scored 63 points across two overtimes. Chicago lost 135 to 131 and was swept out of the series.
The point total remains the league’s single-game playoff record, and Larry Bird’s remark afterward comparing Jordan to a deity in disguise has been quoted ever since.
Jordan Hangs in the Air Over Craig Ehlo
Cleveland had beaten Chicago in all six regular season meetings in 1988-89, and with three seconds left in the deciding Game 5 on May 7, Craig Ehlo’s layup put the Cavaliers ahead 100 to 99. The Bulls called timeout.
Brad Sellers inbounded to Jordan, who dribbled to the foul line, rose with Ehlo flying past him, and waited until the defender was on the way down before releasing. The shot fell at the buzzer for a 101 to 100 win at Richfield Coliseum.
Jordan’s leaping fist pumps appear in almost every highlight reel of his career, usually with Ehlo collapsing to the floor in the background.
A Sick Jordan Wins Game 5 in Utah
Before Game 5 of the 1997 Finals, with the series tied at two, Michael Jordan spent the day in bed in a Park City hotel, dehydrated and unable to keep food down. He played 44 minutes on June 11 anyway.
Utah led by 16 in the second quarter, but Jordan scored 38 points, including a three-pointer with 25 seconds left that put Chicago ahead for good in a 90 to 88 win. The lasting image is Scottie Pippen holding him upright on the walk to the bench.
It was long described as the flu, though his trainer has since blamed a late-night pizza.
One Last Shot for Chicago
Chicago trailed Utah by one with under 20 seconds left in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals when Michael Jordan slipped behind Karl Malone in the post and swiped possession away. He brought it up the floor without calling timeout, drove right against Bryon Russell, pulled up as Russell slid past, and made a jumper from the top of the key with 5.2 seconds remaining.
Whether Jordan pushed off is still debated in Salt Lake City. The Bulls won 87 to 86 on June 14 for their sixth title in eight years, Jordan finished with 45 points, and he never played another game for the franchise.
Reggie Miller’s Eight Points in 8.9 Seconds
Indiana trailed New York 105 to 99 with 18.7 seconds left in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals, and parts of the Madison Square Garden crowd were already heading out. Reggie Miller hit a three-pointer, stole the ensuing inbound pass, stepped back behind the arc and hit another to tie it.
John Starks then missed two free throws, Patrick Ewing missed the follow, and Miller was fouled on the rebound. He made both with about seven seconds left, and the Pacers won 107 to 105 on May 7.
Indiana eventually took the series in seven games, also in New York.
Dikembe Mutombo Flat on the Floor in Seattle
Seattle won 63 games in 1993-94 and drew a 42-win Denver team in the first round, a matchup nobody expected to last. The SuperSonics won the first two games.
Denver won the next three, finishing with a 98 to 94 overtime victory in Seattle on May 7, 1994, to become the first eighth seed in league history to eliminate a top seed. Dikembe Mutombo, whose 31 blocks set a record for a five-game series, grabbed the final rebound and fell onto his back at the baseline.
Photographers caught him lying there, holding it above his head with both hands, grinning at the ceiling.
Sean Elliott on His Tiptoes
San Antonio trailed Portland by as many as 18 points in Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals and was still down two with 12 seconds left. Mario Elie’s inbound pass barely cleared a diving Stacey Augmon and reached Sean Elliott in the right corner, inches from the sideline.
Elliott kept his heels off the floor to stay inbounds, turned and shot over the long reach of Rasheed Wallace. The three-pointer gave the Spurs an 86 to 85 win on May 31, Memorial Day.
Elliott was playing with a serious kidney disease at the time and received a transplant from his brother later that summer.
Bryant Lobs to O’Neal in Game 7
Portland led the Lakers by 15 points early in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals. Then the Trail Blazers missed 13 consecutive shots, and the lead evaporated in front of a Staples Center crowd that had been close to silent.
With about 40 seconds left on June 4, Kobe Bryant crossed over Scottie Pippen, drew the defense and threw a high lob that Shaquille O’Neal dunked with one hand. O’Neal ran back up the court pointing with both arms, mouth wide open.
Los Angeles won 89 to 84 and went on to the first of three consecutive championships.
Allen Iverson Steps Over Tyronn Lue
The Lakers entered the 2001 Finals with an 11 and 0 playoff record, and few people gave Philadelphia a chance of winning even once. In overtime of Game 1 on June 6, Allen Iverson hit a step-back jumper from the right corner over Tyronn Lue, who fell at his feet.
Iverson looked down and took one long, deliberate stride across him on the way back up the floor. He finished with 48 points in a 107 to 101 upset in Los Angeles.
The Lakers won the next four games, yet the step is the image from that series most people can still picture.
Derek Fisher Beats 0.4 Seconds
Tim Duncan’s off-balance jumper over Shaquille O’Neal put San Antonio ahead 73 to 72 with 0.4 seconds left in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals. Under league rules, that is just enough time to catch and shoot.
After several timeouts, Gary Payton inbounded to Derek Fisher, who turned and released in one motion from the left wing. The shot went in, officials reviewed it and let it stand, and Fisher sprinted off the floor toward the locker room without stopping.
The Lakers won 74 to 73 on May 13 and closed out the series two nights later. San Antonio filed a protest that went nowhere.
Tracy McGrady’s 13 Points in 33 Seconds
Houston trailed San Antonio by eight with well under a minute left on December 9, 2004, and a good share of the Toyota Center crowd had left for the parking lot. Tracy McGrady made a three-pointer.
He made another while being fouled by Tim Duncan and converted the free throw. He made a third over Bruce Bowen.
Then, after a Spurs turnover, he pulled up and hit a fourth with 1.7 seconds left for an 81 to 80 win. The burst is usually remembered as 13 points in 33 seconds, though some accounts say 35, the time showing when the first shot fell.
Kobe Bryant’s 81 Against Toronto
A Sunday night game against the Raptors on January 22, 2006, was not supposed to be memorable, and for a half it was not. The Lakers trailed by 14 at the break and by 18 in the third quarter.
Kobe Bryant then scored 55 of his 81 points after halftime, finishing 28 of 46 from the field, seven of 13 on three-pointers and 18 of 20 at the line. Los Angeles won 122 to 104.
Only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 ranked higher on the single-game list until Miami’s Bam Adebayo scored 83 against Washington in March 2026.
Ray Allen Backpedals to the Corner
Arena staff in Miami had already brought out yellow rope to cordon off the floor for San Antonio’s trophy presentation. The Spurs led by three with under ten seconds left in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals when LeBron James missed a three-pointer and Chris Bosh pulled down the rebound.
Bosh found Ray Allen, who was retreating toward the right corner without looking at his feet. Allen rose with 5.2 seconds showing and tied the game.
Miami won 103 to 100 in overtime on June 18 and took Game 7 two nights later. Allen had practiced that exact backpedaling shot for years.
LeBron James Chases Down Andre Iguodala
Game 7 of the 2016 Finals was tied at 89 with under two minutes left when Golden State broke out on a two-on-one. Andre Iguodala took a pass from Stephen Curry and went up for a layup that looked certain.
LeBron James, who had been near midcourt when the break began, covered the distance in a few strides and pinned the shot against the glass. Kyrie Irving’s three-pointer on a later possession provided the winning points in a 93 to 89 Cleveland victory on June 19.
No team had previously recovered from a three games to one deficit in the Finals.
Kawhi Leonard’s Shot Bounces Four Times
With the score tied at 90 and 4.2 seconds left in Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals, Kawhi Leonard took the inbound pass in Toronto and dribbled hard toward the right corner. Joel Embiid, seven feet tall, chased him the entire way.
Leonard launched a high fadeaway over Embiid’s hand as the horn sounded. The shot hit the near rim, rose, hit it again, touched the far side twice and dropped through while Leonard crouched in the corner watching.
Toronto beat Philadelphia 92 to 90 on May 12, and it is widely cited as the first Game 7 buzzer-beater in NBA playoff history.
Replays That Never Wear Out
Few of these moments were the best play of the night in a technical sense. Several came in losses, one came in a meaningless December game, and one consisted of a man with a torn thigh muscle making two jump shots.
What they share is a clear picture that fits in a single frame, such as a sheet of paper with a number on it or a center lying on the hardwood.
That picture is what gets passed along. A fan who never saw Havlicek or Erving play can still describe exactly where each man was standing, because the clip has been shown so often that it works like a shared memory.
The games ended decades ago, and the arguments about them show no sign of following.
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