The Defining NBA Moments of the Decade, Ranked

Image via Complex Original

When the unlikeliest of ballers captivated New York for a few months in 2012, I had a very different job than my current gig. Running around the city, working for one of the tabloids as a gossip reporter, I was required to interact with a wide range of individuals on any given evening. Actors, artists, musicians, philanthropists, whoever—it ran the gamut. But the guys I always looked forward to running into and chatting up the most were the rappers because we could talk basketball. And more specifically the Knicks. And even more specifically, during the early portion of the calendar, the sensation known as Jeremy Lin. 

Out of nowhere, Lin owned the town and the sports scene as Linsanity captured the attention and imaginations of New Yorkers and basketball fans alike. It started with a 25-point performance against the Nets on Feb. 4, when the Knicks were in the middle of a rut. Six nights later, he poured in 38 against the Lakers at the Garden. Four nights after that, he hit a game-winning three against Toronto. From that point, arguably the peak of Linsanity, Jeremy Lin was New York royalty. He juiced up basketball in the big city in ways Carmelo Anthony never did and dominated the backpages of the New York newspapers for weeks and earned two Sports Illustrated covers. Celebrities flocked to sit courtside at MSG just see the sensation and feel the energy of MSG for themselves. 

On a slow news day, we made something out of nothing for the column I was working on and ran a lead story about how hot of a ticket the Knicks had become thanks to a backup point guard who was signed by the team in late December and slept on a teammate’s couch before he found an apartment of his own. Only in New York. 

Linsanity was brief—it was basically over by the middle of March when Lin hurt his knee and had to undergo surgery—but it ignited the fan base like no other player the last 20 years and Knicks fans got all in their feelings when debating the merits of keeping Lin, who was a free agent that summer. Not to name drop, but I vividly remember having legit arguments with the likes of Q-Tip and Nas about why the Knicks shouldn’t re-sign Lin. They vehemently supported bringing back the point guard, because why wouldn’t the Knicks want more of the best thing that had happened to them in a decade? We’d argue and get our points across, but it was respectful, intelligent, and a fun swerve for them, getting to talk about sports rather than being asked a music question they had already answered 100 times over. 

I get why Knicks fans wanted Lin back. Because when you’re a Knicks fan, it’s a largely joyless experience. Lin shook up basketball in the Big Apple. He ultimately got a big deal from the Houston Rockets I was personally happy New York didn’t match. The same couldn’t be said for two legendary Knicks fans from Queens. —Adam Caparell

Turns out all the stories about Donald Sterling were true and the owner of the Clippers was an abhorrent racist who had no business owning an NBA team.

When the tapes hit the public airwaves on April 26, 2014, proving to the world that the L.A. real estate mogul, who purchased the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, was as bigoted as all the rumors and whispers suggested, his downfall was as swift as it was incredible. The NBA moved quickly to oust him and force him to sell the team after his ex-mistress released audio of Sterling airing his displeasure over her “associating with Black people.”

A horribly run franchise whose only good fortune happened to be its location, the idea that the Clippers could sell for $2 billion, rivaling the iconic Dodgers and some NFL franchises in valuation, seemed beyond preposterous. But the legacy of Sterling’s ouster and the subsequent sale of the Clippers in 2014 to Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft executive and billionaire many times over, ushered in a new wave of NBA funny money.

Franchises are worth exponentially more than they were a decade ago, and some of the numbers will make your eyes bulge. For instance, the Warriors were purchased in 2010 by their current ownership group for a then-record $450 million. Ten years and three championships later, the franchise—currently playing in the NBA’s newest and most expensive arena—is worth $3.5 billion. The Knicks, who haven’t won a damn thing in 20 years, are worth $4 billion. The Lakers, having missed the playoffs the last six seasons, are worth $3.7 billion. Nine franchises are valued above $2 billion. All 30 teams are worth at least $1 billion. A decade ago, you could get an available NBA team in a smaller market for a few hundred million. Now? You better own a hedge fund or have invented Instagram if you want one.  

Ballmer’s bold purchase of what was once considered the worst team in the league, and one of the worst-run franchises in all of professional sports, opened the floodgates. It also, of course, changed the narrative around the Clippers. No longer are they a perennial laughingstock. Now they’re a legit destination for free agents and, for the first time in their long and sorry history, among the favorites to win it all. They’re even giving the Lakers a run for their money when it comes to L.A. basketball dominance. What a difference five years make. —Adam Caparell

Few moments over the past 10 years stung like the sight of a young Derrick Rose lying on the court during a 2012 first round playoff matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. For the youngest MVP in NBA history, his career and life would change forever during that game. Rose went on to miss the entire 2012-2013 season and while he’s been able to rebound into a solid NBA player, he’s never been able to reach that MVP form again.

Rose quickly shifted from a Hall of Fame trajectory into the “What If” category of NBA history, joining the likes of Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill. It happened so quickly, but the direct future of the NBA drastically changed with one injury. Not only was Rose’s career altered forever, but a promising Chicago Bulls team went from legit title contender to a footnote of the Big 3 era Miami Heat. Would LeBron and company been as dominant in the East if Rose had never have gotten hurt? It’s hard to say, but what we do know is that an MVP career was derailed. 

Rose went from one of the most explosive, high-flying players in the NBA to having to totally change his game post-injury. The “What If” moment isn’t new to NBA circles. We’ve seen it before, but when it happens to such a young and promising talent like Rose, it’s hard not to think of this as one of the most defining NBA moments of the decade. —Zach Frydenlund

“If Ray Allen hadn’t hit that shot” is an interesting game to play. Because it changes how we historically view and rank the careers of so many superstars it’ll make your head spin.

For starters, it means LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh would have won only one championship during their run in Miami.

Kawhi Leonard probably would have three NBA Finals MVPs before he turned 28.

Gregg Popovich would’ve won his sixth NBA title as a coach, putting him in third place all time and ahead of Pat Riley.

The trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili would’ve won their fifth title together, far exceeding the championship output of any major triumvirate in modern basketball history, like Magic, Worthy, and Kareem; Bird, McHale, and Parrish; or Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman. It would’ve been Duncan’s sixth, equaling Jordan and Pippen, and breaking a tie with Kobe Bryant.

Instead, Bosh rebounded a missed LeBron three and found Allen in the corner—who, through years and years of practice, knew precisely how many steps he had to take to get his feet behind the line and launch a three with 5.2 seconds left. The shot, of course, was pure, and it sent Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals to overtime. With thousands of Heat fans famously outside the arena, having given up hope their squad could come back on the Spurs, Miami rallied for the win in a bonkers game that’s still talked about as a classic and closed out the series two nights later for the franchise’s third championship.

But if the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers didn’t nail that corner trey? A lot of legacies would be a whole lot different. —Adam Caparell

If you’re fairly new to basketball and the NBA, the game didn’t always look like this.

Eons ago (aka in the 1990s), basketball was dominated by big men and those who excelled at the mid-range game. It was physical, it could be bruising, and you were lucky if you saw a game where either team scored more than 100 points. The 3-pointer wasn’t a novelty, but it wasn’t something you expected to see a lot of.

Then the NBA changed its ways, following the Pistons’ run to the title in 2004, and altered the rules to allow for a freer-flowing game. Then the smarter front offices started to embrace outside-the-box thinking and analytics—basically the Moneyball-ing of basketball—and began preaching how the most efficient means of scoring was from beyond the arc or free throw line. Then Steph Curry entered the NBA in 2009 and the game, essentially, has never been the same.

The 3-point line was adopted by the league in 1979, but over the last decade we’ve seen its importance and popularity rise to levels nobody could have imagined 40 years ago. For context, during the 2018-19 season, NBA teams averaged 932 3-pointers made, or almost double what they made a decade ago (527). And for further context, James Harden launched an average of 13.2 3-pointers per game last season, which is more than some teams shot per game a decade ago. Sure, some squads nowadays (we’re looking at you, Houston Rockets) get a little too crazy with launching it from deep and end up shooting themselves in the foot, but the shot’s importance only continues to grow, along with its acceptance as a game-changer and crowd-pleaser. Basketball fans like action. So why not let the three fly?   

We could go into all the ways the 3-pointer is transformative if you want to get bogged down with analytics, but we’ll spare you. What’s not up for debate is that the rise of the 3-pointer has made the game immeasurably more entertaining, created a new set of superstars, and influenced the next generation of ballers in ways that aren’t that different from the way Michael Jordan influenced a generation of ballers 25 years ago. A bombs-away strategy from beyond the arc is no longer a bad thing. In fact, it’s largely encouraged by many teams. Just ask the Bucks. Or, of course, the Rockets. 

Perhaps the best way to see the influence and the proliferation of the 3-pointer is to watch any video of 7-, 8-, or 9-year-olds balling. They’re barely strong enough to hold the ball above their head, yet they’re launching from deep. Hoisting it from their hip, putting all their might into an almost impossible shot. Because that’s what they see every night in the NBA. The wave is no longer the turnaround jumper or gravity-defying dunks. It’s hitting a step-back three with someone in your grill. —Adam Caparell

We’ve seen drastic player movement shifts in the NBA before. LeBron and Chris Bosh joining Dwyane Wade in Miami shifted the league. LeBron going back to Cleveland did it again. Kevin Durant taking his talents to the Bay Area was another. But no summer matched the summer of 2019, when we saw Kawhi Leonard and Paul George join the Los Angeles Clippers. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant end up in New York, but with the Brooklyn Nets. Anthony Davis finally gets to Hollywood with LeBron James. Russell Westbrook team up with James Harden in Houston. The list goes on and on.

We have seen player movement before, but the summer of 2019 completely shifted the balance of the NBA for years to come. The league went from having a sole powerhouse in the Golden State Warriors to a balance of duo-led squads. 

Even crazier than the movement was the surprise and suspense of the summer. Nobody really knew what was going to happen. The Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes was a moment. Planes were tracked. Fans stalked meetings. Could Leonard, who had just delivered the Toronto Raptors their first NBA championship, really go to the Clippers? I still remember when the news of Kawhi going to the Clippers broke. It was a jaw-dropper followed by an absolute stunner that they were also trading for Paul George. Nobody saw it coming. The league with the best drama had delivered yet another masterpiece. The Woj Bomb of all Woj Bombs sent shockwaves and altered the course of the league going forward. 

There have been a number of moments over the past 10 years that defined this decade in the NBA, but when you really look at it, it’s hard to put many over the summer of 2019. The sheer shock and awe of player movement shifted so much of what might happen in the NBA going forward. Not only did it open up the window for LeBron to win another championship, but it also probably closed the Warriors championship window. A run many figured would last for over five years, at least, was over. Just like that. That’s how quickly things can change in the NBA. We’ve seen it before, but never like the summer of 2019. —Zach Frydenlund

"You can't write something better than this.” 

Kobe Bryant is right, you couldn’t write a Hollywood script better than his final game in the NBA. Rarely do you see an athlete get the Hollywood ending they deserve, but for Kobe, you couldn't have planned it any better. Not only did Kobe put on a show, scoring 60 points in his farewell game, but he did so in the most Los Angeles way ever, with a star-studded cast in the crowd chanting as the Mamba ended his career. Think about this: on the same night that the Golden State Warriors broke the record for most wins in an NBA season the entire focus of the league was on a 17-win Lakers team playing the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. 

This was more than just a simple basketball game, but the culmination of one of the greatest NBA players of all-time. And only like Kobe could, he went out on his own terms, putting up 50 shots and outscoring the Jazz by himself during the 4th quarter. It was the definitive Kobe Bryant game. This was the only way that he could finish his career. A special moment for one of the best players in NBA history. As a moment, the stakes weren’t as high as some of the others on the list, but it was one that will be remembered forever. Mamba, out. —Zach Frydenlund

For me, a biased Cavs fan, this is not only the best NBA moment of the decade, but also the best sports moment of my life. I understand why it wouldn’t be No. 1 for everyone, but when you look at moments from the past 10 years, few, if any, reach the level of the Cavs coming back from 3-1 against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. Not only did we see insane, career-defining moments play out on the NBA’s biggest stage. Kyrie’s shot. LeBron’s block. Kevin Love’s stop. Moments within the most historic comeback in NBA history. Never before had a team fought back from down 3-1 in the NBA Finals to win the series. For it to happen like that AND against a Warriors team that went 73-9 is truly incredible. 

In LeBron’s own words, he said that series made him the greatest player of all-time. And honestly, it’s hard to argue when you look at that series. It was the moment of the decade for James. It was him fulfilling his promise of delivering a championship to his hometown. “Cleveland, this is for you” will echo through my mind as long as I live. This was the moment that LeBron’s career was building to ever since he announced his decision to leave for the Miami Heat. 

For James to put up 41, 41, and then a triple double in games 5-7 of that series, with two of those being on the road is just incredible. He obviously didn’t win the title alone, but this comeback and championship defined LeBron’s journey. It’s the most memorable NBA championship of the decade and will forever be the banner attached to LeBron’s career. 3-1 will live on forever. —Zach Frydenlund

This is another moment where you remember exactly where you were when it happened. For me, I was actually on a plane flying from Atlanta to NYC when I finally got Wifi to work on the plane and bam, the news hit. KD announced he was joining the 73-9 Warriors via an article in the Players Tribune. The basketball world stopped. Steph Curry and Draymond actually convinced one of the best basketball players in the world, who they had themselves defeated in the Western Conference Finals, to join them. 

The Super Team of all Super Teams were formed in the Bay and it was, for all intents and purposes, curtains for the NBA. Whether you like it or not, from the day KD joined the Warriors, it was their league. Despite what anyone wants to say, we had seen nothing like what was about to come with this Warriors team. They had four all-stars in their prime in an offensive system set to destroy the rest of the league. This was the peak of players doing whatever they wanted.

Kevin Durant put his career in his own hands and made a most that was heavily criticized, but also led to him winning two championships. You can argue about the why all day, but you can’t argue with the results. These Warriors changed the way we saw the NBA and that all happened because Kevin Durant joined them. His moment changed the trajectory of the league and kicked one of the most dominant dynasties we've ever seen. KD did that. —Zach Frydenlund

Perhaps the ultimate legacy of The Decision was it showed a generation of athletes what not to do. When you’re young, rich, and famous, it’s tough to listen to the people telling you no. And there were people in LeBron James's camp who thought The Decision—it should be italicized because, never forget, it really was a TV show—was a bad idea.

On the evening of July 8, 2010, I was at a bar in Manhattan’s NoMad district with a bunch of Knicks fans, hoping against hope that LeBron James was going to shock the world and choose New York. Despite reports he was probably picking Miami, it felt like the entire sports world was watching, riveted over this incredibly over-the-top spectacle that was televised by ESPN and attended by Kanye West at the Stamford, Connecticut, Boys & Girls Club just so LeBron could announce where he was going to play next season. Knicks fans were overly optimistic. Meanwhile, Cavs fans were ready to ignite every LeBron jersey in a 30-mile radius if their hometown hero was really peacing out. Heat fans were about to be gifted a legend entering his prime. 

It was surreal, to say the least. Because never before had a free agent, in any of the major North American professional sports leagues, blocked off a chunk of time on a cable network to announce his next home. But James and his close associates decided in 2010 the right move was to make a big deal a much bigger deal that would ideally foster future business ventures. It didn’t quite work out that way, since The Decision was widely, and rightfully, ridiculed. It’s unfortunate that lost in the whole fiasco was the fact that LeBron raised a lot of money for the Boys & Girls Club that day. But who remembers the good, announced toward the end of the telecast, when everyone tuned out after LeBron uttered those famous words, “I’m taking my talents to South Beach”? 

LeBron’s Miami residency officially stamped the era of big threes in the NBA as the move set the stage for Chris Bosh to join the Heat and form the triumvirate with Dwyane Wade. The Heat, of course, would go on to dominate the Eastern Conference and win two titles over the next four seasons. More than anything, The Decision changed the way LeBron was viewed by the basketball public. Before James left Cleveland the first time, he was widely respected and, dare we say, admired by many NBA fans. When he booked it to South Beach, all the love and good vibes went right in the dumpster. LeBron, for the first time, was the bad guy, and it was a role he really wasn’t suited for. The run in Miami was successful, since the Heat reached four straight NBA Finals. LeBron became a champion in Miami and morphed into the kind of player who would one day rival Michael Jordan for GOAT status, arguably playing the best basketball of his career. But the damage to LeBron’s image, to his legacy, thanks to The Decision, he’s never been able to shake. It was a rare public misstep for a superstar who is incredibly self-aware. Then again, if that's the worst look of LeBron’s career, it tells you awesome and inspiring James has otherwise generally been. —Adam Caparell