The Top 100 Things About the 2013-14 NBA Season: 10-1
With the draft wrapped up and Summer League already less than a week away, we decided that it's time for one last extended look at the moments that defined everything that was great about the NBA during the 2013-14 season. Join Andrew Unterberger over the next week as he counts down his list of the 100 best things about the year that was in the Association, including all of the best games, highlights, performances, images, memes, bloopers and other ephemera that made last season such a joy to follow.
Check out Nos. 100-81 here.
Check out Nos. 80-61 here.
Check out Nos. 60-41 here.
Check out Nos. 40-21 here.
Check out Nos. 20-11 here.
10. Warriors-Thunder I
The best ball of the regular season was reserved for these two teams, and it all started on November 15th, with a high-scoring, highlight-strewn, back-and-forth affair. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant both took turns taking over, the teams already had 15 threes between them by halftime, and the ball-movement and shooting on both sides was just insane on both sides.
The Warriors seemed to have this thing won in the fourth, up 14 with less than eight to go, but OKC battled back, and with four seconds left, Russell Westbrook hit what appeared to be the game-winning three from the wing. But with the clock expiring, Andre Iguodala hit a fall-away three at the other end to take back the W, sending the Oracle crowd into a frenzy and even leaving a couple of them hanging. Doesn't get much better than that.
9. Warriors-Thunder II
Sequels may rarely better the originals, but there was a real argument to be made for Warriors-Thunder II this year. Another brilliant, triple-digit-scoring display of shooting, passing and everything in between, another box score of eye-popping numbers, and this time, as if specifically to outdo OKC-GSW I, we even got a bonus period when KD's missed fadeaway at the buzzer sent the game to OT.
And then, we got maybe the play of the regular season, when Thabo Sefolosha just barely saved the offensive rebound off a Serge Ibaka miss with seconds left and the Thunder down two, kicked it out to Westbrook, who deked his defender and barely got off an off-balance three to win it...and swish. The Empire Strikes Back of the NBA's regular season, at the very least.
8. Kawhi Leonard's putback slam
YouTube replays will never be able to do this one justice. It's impossible to recreate the moment when you know it's coming, but at the time, Kawhi arrived on the scene in this one so dramatically from out of nowhere that when his putback came, it made you jump out of your seat and make weird and mostly involuntary noises with your mouth.
Coming with the Spurs already up 20 in a critical Game 4, and with Kawhi playing the best, most aggressive ball of his career, it seemed like this dunk was already providing the deathblow to the Heat's title chances, the kind of demoralizing play that sucks all the life out of your team and - at least in this case - turns the home crowd against you. You had to feel a little bad for Miami, but mostly, you just couldn't wait to see what else this future star (and eventual Finals MVP) had in store for you the rest of the series.
7. Jeff Green's buzzer-beater in Miami
For the most part, Jeff Green couldn't have had a more inconsequential season for the Celtics this year if he'd tried. But he was part of perhaps the most amazing single play of the entire NBA year, a buzzer-beater with the C's down two in Miami and under a second to go, the likes of which you may legitimately never see again. First, there was the Gerald Wallace skip pass, all the way to the far corner from the opposite wing, over a handful of Miami defenders. Then there was the Green catch, which he had to do on the run and with no time to really gather the ball or himself. Then there was the shot, which he had to get up before a) he stepped on the line, b) he stepped out of bounds or c) the clock expired.
There was maybe a 1-15 chance of any of these three things working out, the fact that all three did puts the odds in the one-in-thousands range. But somehow, the shot went in, the Heat had maybe their most improbable loss of the seaosn, and the Celtis had one truly happy memory to brighten their rebuildingest of rebuilding years. If Jeff Green could only play the Miami Heat in big games, he'd probably be James Worthy by now.
6. The Clippers-Warriors rivalry
The best on-court drama of the regular season was provided by the Warriors and Thunder, but the best off-court drama was easily between the Warriors and Clippers. It started back in October, in an epic Chris Paul vs. Stephen Curry season-opening duel that also sparked a mini-scuffle between DeAndre Jordan and Andrew Bogut. Then a couple of months later, their Christmas showdown was preceded by the Clippers declining to share chapel services with the Warriors, and then punctuated during the game by an Andrew Bogut kerfuffle with Blake Griffin that led to both (eventually) getting ejected. Then there were countless other technical fouls, mini-dust ups, and off-court call-outs, like Blake calling the Warriors "cowardly" and Klay Thompson putting Blake on blast for flopping.
Oh yeah, and then they faced off in an epic seven-game first-round series which at times seemed like a bloodbath that neither team would be able to survive. It was all love at the end, but even then, there were reports of a hallway altercation after Game Seven between the two teams. Lee Jenkins of SI predicted preseason that this would end up as the next great NBA rivalry, and brother, he wasn't kidding on that one.
5. Carmelo 62
I'll never forget the night when Carmelo went for 62 against the Bobcats, when I was sitting among media at a Sixers game and every few minutes I would hear someone whisper "Did you see Melo's up to 45 now?" "He just passed 50!" "He's up to 56!" It was impossible to be an NBA fan and not get swept up in Anthony's Friday night performance, in front of Knicks fans at the Garden, going for the scoring record for one of the Association's most historic franchises.
It just felt special, even more so than when LeBron went for a similar total a month-and-change later, probably because it was the Knicks and MSG, but also because it came at such a low moment for the team - they'd just lost five in a row to drop back to a season worst 12 games under .500 - and because it felt like Melo could have gone off for even more, checking out with over half the 4th quarter still remaining.
On the telecast, Mike Breen wondered if nights like that could help play a part in convincing Carmelo to stay in New York once his contract was up. That part remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Carmelo gave New York fans (and himself) one of the great memories in recent franchise history, something that should long outlive his Garden tenure, no matter when it ultimately ends.
4. Kevin Durant's MVP Acceptance Speech
Search for "Kevin Durant" on YouTube, and the first result that comes up isn't one of his dozens of dagger threes or game winners, or one of his countless highlight dunks, or even any of the countless enormous games he's been involved in. Instead, it's his MVP acceptance speech - the one that so enraptured the NBA, fans, players, coaches and announcers alike, even in the midst of one of the greatest beginnings to the postseason we've ever had.
Of course, this wasn't just any acceptance speech: It was one of the most thoughtful, humble, sincere, and impossibly moving public displays of affection an NBA player has ever professed for his teammates, coaches, staff, friends and family. And it just kept going, getting more and more emotional over the course of nearly a half-an-hour, until you weren't sure you could keep watching much longer.
Long after we've forgotten the specific details of Kevin Durant's MVP-winning season - the incredible single-game performances, the months of keeping the Thunder on top without primary running mate Russell Westbrook, the up-and-down swings in the playoffs - we'll remember the feeling of watching this clip. And we'll absolutely beam with pride the NBA is capable of producing a superstar like KD.
3. Adam Silver's Sterling-Banning Press Conference
The only off-court moment of the year to elicit a stronger reaction than KD's MVP acceptance speech was the conference held by recently minted commissioner Adam Silver in response to the uproar caused by Clippers owner Donald Sterling, when tapes leaked of him making abhorrently racist comments with his then-mistress V. Stiviano. We weren't sure what to expect from Silver in his first major act as commissioner: Would he kowtow to pressure from the owners and go light on Sterling? Would he try to stall for time as he tried to find a diplomatic solution to the problem, one clearly upheld by league bylaws? Or would he submit to the will of the NBA fans and drop the hammer on the despised owner.
Shortly into Silver's remarks, we got our answer: HAMMER TIME. "I am banning Mister Sterling...FOR LIFE!" proclaimed the commissioner, showing uncharacteristic (for our prior commish, anyway) feeling that felt a little too uncomfortable to be forced. The rest of his conference demonstrated similar fury and irreverence for the NBA owner, and was greeted with unanimous praise from everyone associated with the Association. The scourge Sterling had been banished, gross racial prejudice had been met with the response it merited, the incredible postseason could resume, and league fans could rest secure in the knowledge that we had a commissioner who could be a nice guy 95% of the time but still a total hardass in the 5% when the situation unequivocally called for it.
2. Damian Lillard's series-winning walk-off three
"It's Lillard...HE GOT THE SHOT OFF...OH MY GAWWWWWD!!!!!" I can't say anything more about Damian Lillard's immortal three-point buzzer-beater than Mike Tirico and I already have, really - it was the shot of the year, probably beaten only by Ray Allen's all-timer in Game 6 of last year's Finals for the shot of the decade. And it was also easily the single-moment highlight of this year's postseason, one which the rest of the playoffs that followed failed badly to even approach matching for drama, excitement and historical significance.
The Blazers would lose handily to the Spurs in the second round, thus raising the possibility that the magic of this shot will be lost somewhat on subsequent generations of NBA fans. But the true legacy of this year's postseason should be that it was the greatest first round in NBA history, and it was Lillard's shot that truly cemented that status while standing as its most enduring memory. It could be a long time before we see another shot this powerful.
1. The Spurs winning ring No. 5
This year's Finals wasn't that lose - in fact, by total score differential, it was the biggest blowout series in the history of the NBA Finals, even with the Heat winning Game 2. But don't you dare call it boring. It wasn't suspenseful, but it was never boring. In fact, after those five games of basketball, I don't think we're allowed to ever use the word "boring" in a sentence connected to the San Antonio Spurs again. Because that was some of the most beautiful basketball that you or I have ever seen played, as inspired and lyrical as we could ever hope to watch 12 guys sharing one basketball to be.
The Leonard putback. The Boris Diaw behind-the-back pass. The Manu Ginobili dunk. The Tiago Splitter block. The Diaw-Leonard alley-oop. The Patty Mills hot streak. So many individual moments stand out from the Spurs' play in that series, and yet, the team's performance was so much more than the sum of its plays. It was the joy of getting to watch basketball as the purists intended, with no one player elevated above his team - Leonard won MVP, but it very easily could've ended up going to Ginobili, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, maybe even Diaw or Danny Green - and all players playing a crucial cog in the machine.
Whether or not you were rooting for the Spurs, you had to acknowledge the beauty of their performance, and the sheer achievement of winning a fifth ring in the span of 16 seasons - all as a small-market team in a one-sport town, with a team built mostly from late draft picks, free-agent dumpster dives, and two totally unassailable Hall-of-Famers, one on the court and one on the bench. We can't know how much longer we'll get to see the Spurs playing at this level, so we'd be damn well advised to appreciate it while we can.