Which finals loss is doing the most legacy lifting?

[Kblaze8855]

Some players have runs that kinda put a magical cap on careers and they often end in the finals. You have guys like AI, Reggie, and Barkley who only made one and have the run to it listed in every career recap. Guys like Kidd who made 3 and won 1 but has those first two as the peak of his career. Ewing I’d say really needed that 94 run. His career would probably be seen as a joke if their only finals trip was when he was hurt in 99. He’d be more Alonzo Mourning than whatever he currently is.


09 with Dwight was major for him I guess but nobody even cares it happened anymore.

Whos career suffers the most minus…not a ring…but that one big finals run?


Its Iverson, Reggie, or Barkley right?

Maybe Barkley since he’s the highest regarded of the group.

Barkley without 93 has a much shorter career highlight montage to look back on right? Though it shouldn’t be…the 93 run is like 60% of any 5 minute Barkley tribute thing.

[SouBeachTalents]

Definitely Iverson. I feel like so much of his legacy is built upon that run to the Finals and that iconic play over Lue to hand the Lakers their only loss of the playoffs.

A Finals run that I feel gets totally forgotten about when discussing the player is Hakeem in '86, which I understand considering his epic b2b title runs in the 90's. But in '86 he and the Rockets knocked off the defending champion Showtime Lakers, the only time from '82-'89 they didn't win the conference, then in the Finals they took a team many consider to be the GOAT to 6 games.

[ShawkFactory]

I would say Iverson as well. Without that I feel like he's looked as even more of a high volume, low efficiency chucker and potential team cancer.

[FultzNationRISE]

I would say Lebron in 07.

Got there at 22 years old after single-handedly knocking off the dynasty Pistons by dropping a Top 5 all-time playoff performance, his epic "25 points in a row" game.

That was the actual moment his legend was born. And the game has never been the same.

[Kblaze8855]

I would say Iverson as well. Without that I feel like he's looked as even more of a high volume, low efficiency chucker and potential team cancer.

One of my favorite things in such discussions is pointing out how many efficient people never actually won anything even on teams full of talent. Shoot 53% with 2-3 all stars in a shit conference with only one other serious team and do absolutely nothing with it. But never hear about it because shooting percentages are such a blanket for keeping out the loser talk even when it proves no more effective.

I can have fun with such discussions.

[ShawkFactory]

One of my favorite things in such discussions is pointing out how many efficient people never actually won anything even on teams full of talent. Shoot 53% with 2-3 all stars in a shit conference with only one other serious team and do absolutely nothing with it. But never hear about it because shooting percentages are such a blanket for keeping out the loser talk even when it proves no more effective.

I can have fun with such discussions.

Yea Adrian Dantley says hello. As does Tobias Harris.

[tpols]

Definitely Iverson. I feel like so much of his legacy is built upon that run to the Finals and that iconic play over Lue to hand the Lakers their only loss of the playoffs.

A Finals run that I feel gets totally forgotten about when discussing the player is Hakeem in '86, which I understand considering his epic b2b title runs in the 90's. But in '86 he and the Rockets knocked off the defending champion Showtime Lakers, the only time from '82-'89 they didn't win the conference, then in the Finals they took a team many consider to be the GOAT to 6 games.

Iverson wasn't even close though. He was lucky to even make the Finals tbh. Jason Kidd vs the Spurs was close. Barkley and the Suns were close. I feel like those two would gain the most clout. Kidd took a 20 win team to B2B Finals. He would be considered top 20-25 with that win and Barkley with a title over MJ would be considered top 15-20.

[Axe]

I would say Lebron in 07.

Got there at 22 years old after single-handedly knocking off the dynasty Pistons by dropping a Top 5 all-time playoff performance, his epic "25 points in a row" game.

That was the actual moment his legend was born. And the game has never been the same.
:whatever:

The 2000s pistons were consistently in the conference finals for six times in a row but i doubt they're exactly what you can call a dynasty.

[Kblaze8855]

Yea Adrian Dantley says hello. As does Tobias Harris.

Its just funny to me the people we choose to attribute blame to and why despite all evidence winning is largely just about luck and health once you’re halfway contending. 15 things that can go wrong and you only have 3 while the next team has 11 and suddenly you’re no longer a loser.

The play style of one guy is the reason for the W or the L as if the other 700 shots from the series they didn’t take couldn’t swing it. Winning or losing in a season of NBA basketball is such a complicated matter and we see it all boiled down to the simplest of shit just for easy consumption by people who are lazy.

[ShawkFactory]

Its just funny to me the people we choose to attribute blame to and why despite all evidence winning is largely just about luck and health once you’re halfway contending. 15 things that can go wrong and you only have 3 while the next team has 11 and suddenly you’re no longer a loser.

The play style of one guy is the reason for the W or the L as if the other 700 shots from the series they didn’t take couldn’t swing it. Winning or losing in a season of NBA basketball is such a complicated matter and we see it all boiled down to the simplest of shit just for easy consumption by people who are lazy.

If Iverson never made a finals run I think there could be something to be said about his temperament and what kind of chemistry that leads to. Whether that would be fair or not is a different story.

[Norcaliblunt]

Theses finals run legacies are dumb because half the time the real finals happens between two teams in the same conference.

I feel like there needs to be more stock put into players who lead their teams to the regular season best record.

[Im Still Ballin]

Regarding Iverson, there are two camps:

- Those who underrate him because of his efficiency
- Those that overrate him because of his flashy play

The most accurate assessment is somewhere in the middle. That Philly team had to use the personnel available. As a team, they weren't going to win playing offense any other way. Like with Kobe, the high volume of shots provided the 76ers bigs with many offensive rebounding opportunities.

That 2001 team was first and foremost a defensive squad. Iverson, plus good offensive rebounding was enough to make them a solid team.

What I do think is underrated, or at least underappreciated, is AI's performance as a 2nd option in Denver. He was able to scale down his role effectively, taking less shots while increasing efficiency.

[Norcaliblunt]

AI is overrated because that Philly team doesn’t even come close to sniffing a finals if they played in the west.

[Phoenix]

Iverson wasn't even close though. He was lucky to even make the Finals tbh. Jason Kidd vs the Spurs was close. Barkley and the Suns were close. I feel like those two would gain the most clout. Kidd took a 20 win team to B2B Finals. He would be considered top 20-25 with that win and Barkley with a title over MJ would be considered top 15-20.

Iverson was the only one to get a game off that Lakers team though, and chiefly through his own herculean effort. And while the series was lopsided in terms of result, the final score tallies weren't outright massacres. The Spurs by comparison were getting blown off the floor in the WCFs.

[SouBeachTalents]

Iverson was the only one to get a game off that Lakers team though, and chiefly through his own herculean effort. And while the series was lopsided in terms of result, the final score tallies weren't outright massacres. The Spurs by comparison were getting blown off the floor in the WCFs.
Yeah, what's not talked about is Games 2 & 3 were also competitive in that series and came down to the final minutes, with each game decided by a dagger 3 by Fisher & Horry. The Kings series was semi competitive (for a sweep at least), but the Finals were the toughest the Lakers were challenged.

[1987_Lakers]

Isiah Thomas in '88 should get a mention. People marvel at his game 6 performance while ignoring/not knowing how mediocre he played throughout the rest of that Finals.

[tontoz]

Isiah Thomas in '88 should get a mention. People marvel at his game 6 performance while ignoring/not knowing how mediocre he played throughout the rest of that Finals.


I agree. Didn't they almost win game 7 without him?

[fsvr54]

Barkley
Drexler
Kidd
D Howard

[Reggie43]

Kidd probably. He made the Finals twice when the East what at its all time weakest. Put those Nets teams in the west and there is a good chance he doesnt even make it out of the first round like the years he had before in phoenix.