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 it's available from Basketball-Reference.com since player turnovers were first tracked in the 1977-78 season.
The all-time great Game 6s feature Michael Jordan's final game in a Chicago Bulls uniform, Isiah Thomas gritting through injury, Bill Walton putting together one of the great all-around performances in Finals history and Magic Johnson jumping center. Let's take a look back.
Point guard: Isiah Thomas | 1988 Pistons vs. Lakers
Stats: 43 points, 8 assists, 6 steals
Having won the previous two games in Detroit, the Pistons headed back to L.A. for Game 6, one win away from knocking off the defending champion Lakers for their first title in franchise history. Thomas did everything in his power to drag Detroit there. With the Lakers ahead, Thomas scored 14 consecutive points before an ankle sprain forced him to leave the game.
Although clearly hampered, Thomas returned to the court 35 seconds later and led a 15-5 Detroit run -- scoring 11 points to give him a Finals-record 25 for the quarter -- to take the lead into the fourth.
Alas, Thomas' heroics weren't enough as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored the winning free throws on a controversial foul against Bill Laimbeer to produce a 103-102 Lakers win. The Lakers would go on to win another back-and-forth matchup in Game 7 (with Thomas limited to 28 minutes after the ankle swelled up) to repeat as champions.
Still, the Lakers respected Thomas' effort. "What Isiah Thomas did in the second half was just incredible," L.A. coach Pat Riley said postgame.
Shooting guard: Michael Jordan | 1998 Bulls vs. Jazz
Stats: 45 points, 4 steals
Chicago was closing in on a sixth championship in eight years but was on fumes after being pushed to seven games by the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals. Utah needed only to win two home games to end the Bulls' dynasty, and Jordan's co-star, Scottie Pippen, was playing through a back injury that he aggravated on a dunk for the game's opening score.
With Pippen limited to eight points, Toni Kukoc (15) was the lone other Chicago player to score double digits.
Yet, as always, Jordan found a way, scoring the highest percentage of his team's points (52%) of any player in any Finals game in the shot-clock era, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Jordan scored 15 points in the second quarter, then 16 more in the fourth as the Bulls rallied from a five-point deficit entering the final period.
The last minute of Jordan's Chicago career is the stuff of legends. He made two free throws to tie the game at 83, then after a John Stockton 3-pointer, a quick 2 to cut the deficit to one.
With Karl Malone posted up on his favored left block, Jordan sneaked in from behind for a steal and advanced the ball without a timeout. Isolated against Bryon Russell, Jordan unleashed a crossover, helped guide a slipping Russell to clear space, and knocked down the go-ahead jumper with 5.2 seconds left for the last of his 45 points.
When John Stockton missed at the other end, the Bulls had their final title before Jordan's retirement and the dissolution of the roster.
"I think it was the best performance I've seen in a critical situation and critical game in a series," Chicago coach Phil Jackson said of Jordan's game.
Small forward: LeBron James | 2016 Cavaliers vs. Warriors
Stats: 41 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds
There might never have been a more impressive stretch of NBA play than James' final three games of the 2016 Finals given the circumstances of a 3-1 deficit to a 73-win Golden State team.
After scoring 41 points in Oakland to keep Cleveland's hopes of a first title alive, James did it again three nights later in Game 6.
Unlike Game 5, a tag-team effort with Kyrie Irving, James was more single-handedly dominant in Game 6. He led all players on either team with 41 points, 11 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks (Teammate Tristan Thompson did surpass him with 16 boards). James shot 16-of-27 from the field as the Cavaliers took a 20-point lead after the first quarter and held off a push by the Warriors in the fourth largely thanks to James' 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the period.
"It's LeBron being LeBron," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "He's one of the greatest of all time. Our back was against the wall and he took it upon himself, him and Kyrie, they put us on their backs. They've got us to where we wanted to be -- and that's Game 7."
Power forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo | 2021 Bucks vs. Suns
Stats: 50 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks
Milwaukee was in position to close out the 2021 Finals at home after coming back from a 2-0 series deficit to win three consecutive games.
Antetokounmpo made sure the Bucks took advantage with a transcendent performance that resoundingly answered any criticism of his performance in past postseasons.
Antetokounmpo's 50 points tied Bob Pettit (in 1958 as the St. Louis Hawks closed out the Boston Celtics in Boston's lone series loss during a stretch of nine championships in 10 years) for the most in a Game 6 or any Finals closeout game.
Antetokounmpo struggled at the free throw line early in the playoffs as opposing fans counted to highlight how long he was taking at the line, but he made 17 of 19 foul shots, his best percentage to date in a game with more than seven attempts.
"People told me I can't make free throws, and I made them tonight," he said afterward. "And I'm a freaking champion."
Despite Giannis already scoring 37 points, the two teams entered the fourth quarter tied. Antetokounmpo dominated down the stretch, scoring 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting, grabbing four boards and blocking two shots in the period as Milwaukee claimed the title.
Center: Bill Walton | 1977 Trail Blazers vs. 76ers
Stats: 20 points, 23 rebounds, 8 blocks, 7 assists
The Blazers won three in a row after falling into a 2-0 hole in the series and had the opportunity to close out the favored Philadelphia 76ers at home. Walton was the centerpiece of an incredible team effort as Portland won 109-107 to claim the first and only championship in franchise history.
With Walton as the hub of coach Jack Ramsay's balanced offense, three Blazers starters scored at least 20 points, led by Bob Gross with 24. Walton handed out a team-high 7 assists, dominated on the glass with 23 boards and set a Finals record with his 8 blocks that lasted until Dwight Howard surpassed it in 2009.
"I've never coached a better player," Portland coach Jack Ramsay said in the victorious locker room. "I've never coached a better competitor. And I've never coached a better person than Bill Walton."
Sixth man: Magic Johnson | 1980 Lakers vs. 76ers
Stats: 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists
It's only fitting to put Magic in this positionless spot, considering how his performance helped the Lakers close out Philadelphia at home with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar injured.
Separating myth from legend about Johnson's Game 6 was difficult even before it was immortalized in the show "Winning Time." (No, a pre-commissioner David Stern surely didn't fix the MVP voting to give it to Magic.)
Coach Paul Westhead suggested then-rookie Johnson play center in Abdul-Jabbar's place to begin the game, with wing Michael Cooper replacing Abdul-Jabbar in a smaller starting lineup.
"It didn't matter whether he won or lost the jump," Westhead told author Jeff Pearlman in the book "Showtime." "It was a statement, establishing that he had replaced Kareem. He needed to do that. It was never like, 'I'm the center -- throw me the ball down low like you do Kareem.' It was, 'I'm here, and we're going to win.'"
The 6-foot-9 Johnson helped in the frontcourt defensively and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, though the 6-foot-11 Jim Chones would more accurately be termed the Lakers' center, sliding over from power forward.
Whatever his position, Johnson was the best player on the court, scoring 42 points on 14-of-23 shooting (plus a perfect 14-of-14 from the foul line) and adding seven assists. He had nine points down the stretch as the Lakers extended a two-point lead with 5:12 left into a 16-point road win.
"The greatest single-game effort ever," Westhead said. "Ever."