The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors will play the 19th NBA Finals Game 7 in history Sunday night. The tightest margin of victory so far in this series has been 11 points, so a close contest could go a long way to ranking it high in the pantheon of ultimate games.
Related: Game 7 by the numbers
In the history of those NBA Finals Game 7s, few have been true classics. Here are the ones that stand out:
2010: Lakers 83, Celtics 79
Aesthetically, this was hardly a great game. The Los Angeles Lakers shot 32.5 percent, while the Boston Celtics turned the ball over 15 times. This was also peak Kobe Bryant, scoring 23 points on 6-of-24 shooting. Yet when the dust settled the Lakers had come back from a 13-point second half deficit to win by four and vanquish their rivals from Boston.
1988: Lakers 108, Pistons 105
The Lakers staved off a furious late-game Detroit Pistons rally to hold on for their fifth NBA title of the 1980s. The Pistons' Isiah Thomas played on a severely sprained ankle, while the Lakers' James Worthy posted a triple-double with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists.
1957: Celtics 125, Hawks 123 (2OT)
This game was the coming out party for one of the league's all-time great players and teams. Rookie Bill Russell scored 19 points and grabbed 32 (!) rebounds as the Celtics won their first of 17 NBA titles.