Isiah Thomas’s Game 6 of 1988 NBA Finals ranks among best playoff performances of all time
ESPN ranked the 25 greatest NBA playoff performances of the modern era, and Isiah Thomas’ Game 6 of the 1988 Finals finished 15th:
The pictures are burned into our basketball memory banks. Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas making shot after shot while hopping up and down the court on one foot. It was Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers and Thomas, playing on a sprained ankle, somehow produced a 24-point third quarter that nearly gave Detroit an upset victory and title. Thomas finished with 43 points, eight assists and six steals, but the Lakers won the game and the title in seven.
Two Pistons opponents also made the list. James Worthy in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals finished fifth:
It doesn’t get any bigger than Game 7 of the NBA Finals, so "Big Game" James really earned his nickname in this one. Playing for the title at home against the Detroit Pistons, Worthy had 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. Worthy’s first triple-double was good enough to lead the Lakers to back-to-back championships and earn him the 1988 NBA Finals MVP award.
And LeBron James in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals placed fourth:
LeBron James scored 29 of the Cavaliers’ final 30 points against the Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills to lift his team to within a game of the NBA Finals. In this double-overtime thriller, James attacked the rim time and time again, throwing down numerous thunderous dunks. James finished with 48 points on 18-of-33 shooting from the field. He also had nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
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Jun 21, 2012 • 2:40 pm
by Desolation Row
Revisionist history right there. LeBron with the #4 performance all time? HAH! They should have given it to the refs for that performance, not LeBron himself.
Jun 21, 2012 • 2:43 pm
by Joel
Of course Isiah gets pushed down to 15th. Because it was in a loss and because of who he is, that performance is as low as it is. Should be higher and should be recognized as one of the top 10 greatest finals performances. And while we are disrespecting the greatest little man to ever play the game, how about his 1984 performance against the Knicks where he scored 16 points in 94 seconds to single handedly force overtime. He may not be the greatest coach or NBA exec but he was the best true point guard of his time and his performances in both the regular season and playoffs prove that. Give the man his due!
Jun 21, 2012 • 4:06 pm
by elshark81
Amen! It was actually a 25 point quarter, which is still an NBA record for the finals! With a title at stake in game 6, it should at least be top 10.
Jun 21, 2012 • 9:44 pm
by noone
he scores 25 in a quarter in the finals and only 15?! that list is obviously faulty