So Was That the Greatest Game We Ever Saw?

So where does Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals rank on the list of the greatest games we've ever seen? The Complex squad couldn't wait to weigh in.

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Game 7. Instant classic. 

In the immediate aftermath of arguably the most dramatic and historic game in NBA history, putting into perspective what we saw from the Cavaliers and Warriors should probably require at least a 24-hour waiting period. But we've got no chill and we're way too hyped right now. 

Cleveland completed the unthinkable Sunday, erasing a 3-1 deficit for the first time in NBA Finals history as LeBron James captured his third ring, and third Finals MVP, dethroning the greatest team in regular season history in the process. So, yeah, this was one was unforgettable. 

But with all that said, where does Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals rank on our list of the greatest games we've ever seen? The Complex squad couldn't wait to weigh in.

Of course Game 7 is the greatest.

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Game 7 had it all.

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The only thing missing was an epic ending.

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The weight of the game clouded people’s perception.

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What a game? Game 7 was everything we could’ve hoped for in terms of a narrative. This was a heavyweight fight, with Steph Curry and the Warriors as Frazier and LeBron and the Cavs as Ali. For the first three quarters, haymakers were answered with haymakers, but then the fourth came and, truthfully, it was a little anticlimactic until the last two minutes. LeBron’s block on Andre Iguodala’s layup and Kyrie’s three over Steph were the only action in that quarter. The weight of the game clouded people’s perception of how good the game actually was. I mean both teams combined for 1-of-17 down the stretch. So I wouldn’t say it was the best game I’ve ever seen.

I’m going to go with Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Up 3-0 in the series, the Bombers take a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth with Mariano Rivera on the mound poised to close out the sweep. First, Boston’s Dave Roberts steals second base, then, Bill Mueller hits a 1-1 pitch up the middle to tie it up and send it into extras.

Three innings later in the 12th, David Ortiz hits a walk-off two-run shot into the right field stands to set off the greatest comeback in American major sports history and eventually win the World Series to end an 86-year drought and the Curse of the Bambino. I’m a diehard Yankees, so I’m a bit biased. It’s going to be hard for a game to top that one for me.—Angel Diaz

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