Players from the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors will try to add their names to the list of great performances in NBA Finals history. And as the NBA concludes its 75th anniversary season, it's an ideal time to look back on the best individual efforts we've ever seen in the league's championship round.
We'll be doing so on a game-by-game basis throughout the 2022 Finals, choosing a six-player team -- all five positions plus a sixth man -- from each game during the series (Game 1s, Game 2s and so on).
There's no specific formula for what constitutes Finals greatness, though I will be leaning on the game score metric developed by John Hollinger for games where it's available from Basketball-Reference.com since player turnovers were first tracked in the 1977-78 season.
The all-time Game 4s feature a famous shot in the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers rivalry, a duel between a reigning MVP and a two-time defending champion, and one of the NBA's all-time greats. Let's take a look back.
Point guard: Magic Johnson | 1987 Lakers vs. Celtics
Stats: 29 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
From a performance standpoint, this wasn't even necessarily Magic's greatest Game 4. (He had better game scores in both 1980, coming within an assist and a rebound of a triple-double, and 1982.) So consider this a recognition of one moment in particular.
Trailing by one after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar split two free throws, the Lakers had possession in the closing seconds. They went to Johnson, then a first-time NBA MVP. Magic delivered the winning score on what he famously referred to after the game as "my junior, junior sky hook" -- his version of Kareem's famed shot.
"You expect to lose on a sky hook," Bird said afterward. "You don't expect it to be from Magic."
When I ranked NBA Finals games in 2016, this one came in sixth all-time thanks to the classic finish.
The Lakers went up 3-1 in the series, and then beat Boston in six games -- their second title in three head-to-head matchups between the NBA's best teams of the 1980s.
Shooting guard: Michael Jordan | 1993 Bulls vs. Suns
Stats: 55 points, 21-37 FGs, 8 rebounds
Chicago needed just about every bucket to outlast Charles Barkley and Phoenix. After a triple-OT Game 3 three days earlier, Jordan had plenty left in the tank. He delivered the game's biggest score with the Suns down just two inside the final 30 seconds, hitting a runner with a foul on Barkley for a three-point play.
Jordan shot 21-of-37 from the field, scoring 13 more points from the foul line, in his only 50-point Finals game ever. Afterward, teammate Scott Williams supposedly joked that he was proud the two former Tar Heels on the Bulls combined for 57 points -- Williams having contributed two off the bench in 14 minutes.
Only Elgin Baylor in 1962 has ever scored more points in a Finals game than Jordan did in Game 4 in 1993.
Small forward: Kawhi Leonard | 2019 Raptors vs. Warriors
Stats: 36 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals
Golden State hoped to even the series at home in pursuit of a third consecutive title, and got Klay Thompson back in the lineup after he missed Game 3.
Leonard had other plans. Reversing the Warriors' usual dominance after halftime, Kawhi scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the third quarter alone as Toronto went from down four at the break to up 12 entering the fourth quarter en route to a 105-92 road win.
Leonard finished with 36 points, a new career high for the Finals, making five 3-pointers and all nine of his free throw attempts. He also led the way on defense with 11 defensive boards and four steals.
Power forward: Charles Barkley | 1993 Suns vs. Bulls
Stats: 32 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists
Barkley came out on the losing end of the matchup with Jordan, but he was still dominant. Between his own 10 field goals and 10 assists, Barkley was responsible for more than half of Phoenix's 38 field goals as he recorded his fourth career postseason triple-double and his first in the Finals.
On an ordinary night, Barkley's 12-of-15 foul shooting might have been a bigger story. But on that count, as in the game and the series, he was outshined by Jordan.
Center: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1974 Bucks vs. Celtics
Stats: 34 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists
True to his reputation, Abdul-Jabbar was metronomic in his consistency during the 1974 Finals. He had at least 34 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists four times during the seven-game series against Boston.
Milwaukee needed a win down 2-1 on the road, and Abdul-Jabbar outperformed Dave Cowens in a matchup of the past two MVPs. Abdul-Jabbar shot 14-of-24 from the field and blocked three shots while limiting Cowens to 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting and seven rebounds. As a team, the Celtics shot just 41% from the field in a 97-89 win for the Bucks, although Boston would go on to win the series.
Sixth man: Jerry West | 1970 Lakers vs. Knicks
Stats: 37 points, 18 assists
For a second consecutive game, Game 4 of the 1970 Finals went to overtime at the Forum. While West's game-tying 60-footer hadn't prevented a New York overtime win in Game 3, this time the Lakers had the upper hand in the extra session.
West was the primary reason, as he was involved in 31 of the Lakers' 46 field goals between his own team-high 13 scores and his 18 assists (five more than West had in any other Finals game). The Lakers also got 30 points from Elgin Baylor and 18 points, 25 rebounds and 7 assists from Wilt Chamberlain as they tied the series at 2-2. The Lakers eventually lost in a Game 7 remembered for Willis Reed's inspirational playing through injury.