NBA: Ranking the top 10 moments of the decade

10. Isaiah Thomas scores 53 points in the playoffs, four days after attending his sister’s funeral on what would have been her 23rd birthday

What Isaiah Thomas did on May 2nd, 2017 must not be forgotten with the passage of time. Even without context, this moment is incredible. Isaiah Thomas is 5-foot-9, wasn’t drafted until the second round of the draft, bounced around from team to team without making much of a name for himself and then exploded onto the scene culminating with him being a top MVP candidate and becoming the shortest player to score 50 points in the playoffs ever surpassing his idol Allen Iverson in this regard with a similar play style to boot.

When you add context to this moment it becomes one of the all-time special moments in playoff history. Isaiah Thomas was born in the state of Washington and just went to the Washington Wizards this summer so it only makes sense the most legendary game of his career would take place against his hometown Wizards in Game 2 of the second round of the 2017 NBA playoffs.

Isaiah dazzled fans by speeding past three defenders at once who seemingly looked twice his size or hitting a jump shot after using his speed and handles to dribble much taller defenders out of their shoes.

Isaiah did this all for his recently deceased sister Chyna who passed away right at the start of the playoffs and had her funeral four days prior to this legendary performance. Isaiah scored 40 points in regulation including over half his points in the fourth quarter and overtime for one of the most clutch performances you will ever see.

After the game, he said that his sister was fueling him and although she passed away at the young age of 22, this day would have been her 23rd birthday and he played as a tribute to her in one of the most heroic moments in NBA history.