Great NBA Moments

What makes a sport more exciting? As a fan, it is the element of surprise that captures your attention like a hungry lion pouncing on its prey. Such are the moments that remain in infamy and become inherent in the games legacy. Every sport in the world thrives on such magic moments. They market the game around them and churn out legends.

Football (oops! Soccer in USA) is bustling with plenty of such moments, partly because of the history and enormity of the sport. When it comes to individual glory, look no further than tennis. Upsets, glories and ecstasy, the game has them all. Golf too offers its share of prominent moments, but is majorly dominated by Tiger Woods.

But let’s come back to the basketball court. NBA is not too far behind in the list of creating some of the best ‘magic moments’ in sports. And the first one that strikes the chord is Michael Jordan’s last second winner against Utah Jazz that led the Bulls to the championship. I can’t help but associate Jordon far too often with the NBA, but it was ‘Air Jordan’ that carried the game for over a decade, put it the map and the made it a global phenomena. Michael Jordan was a true champion of the game. From enchanting the crowds to blowing away the opposition, Jordon possessed the unchallenged skill and charisma that set him apart. Who can forget the arrival of Magic Johnson in the NBA? The image of an exuberant Johnson leaping on to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one for the album. But the moment that shadows Johnson’s debut is the end to his first season. With Jabbar out due to a broken ankle, Johnson turned on the magic to take Lakers to the title and capture the hearts of every basketball fan. Again coming back to Jordan (just can’t get enough of him) and his heroic effort against the Boston Celtics in 1986 finals is a story one for the ages. An injured Jordan missed most of the season due to the fracture, but returned and scored a record 63 points in the playoff final. The Bulls although lost the game, but Celtic player Larry Bird described the incident as heavenly and called Jordan as “God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

The playoff finals that stamped Jordan’s class on basketball was in 1997 against Utah Jazz (the finals produced some of the best Michael Jordan moments). Fighting flu, the Jazz, dehydration and exhaustion (he could barely walk to the bench during timeouts) Jordan played and won. He turned in another masterful performance with 38 points to take the Bulls up 3-2 in the series. Another masterful effort was of Derek Fisher against the San Antonio Spurs in 2004. After having watched Tim Duncan hit a 20-foot fadeaway of his own with 0.4 seconds remaining, Fisher hits one of his own at the buzzer to win the game for the Lakers.

The list has much more euphoria to offer, but some of them are just pinned on my memory and will remain forever.