Taking a closer look at the 10 biggest NBA “what ifs” of the 2010s, and a few that just missed the cut
Everyone plays the “what if” game. It’s only human nature to look back at our past decisions and wonder about the possibilities. The NBA is no different.
With the decade coming to a close (it sure flew by, huh?), let’s explore some of the biggest what-ifs of the 2010s. This exercise was inspired by the legend Bill Simmons in his The Book of Basketball, so we will use some of his same rules; no injury what-ifs (Derrick Rose was always a ticking time bomb, just look at how he landed), and no draft decisions.
I would also like to avoid free agency decisions because everything that happens in this league is intertwined with where the LeBron James’ and Kevin Durants‘ of the world take their talents. We don’t need scenarios with more layers than Christopher Nolan’s Inception.
Before we count down the top 10 what-ifs of the 2010s, here are some of the ones that just missed the cut:
What if Billy King never agreed to burn away all of his assets in the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade? What if Kristaps Porzingis stayed in the 2014 NBA Draft? What if the Hornets agreed to this 2015 draft-day trade with the Celtics? What if the Cavs decided to ride it out with Kyrie Irving? What if Mikhail Prokhorov didn’t become an absentee owner? And what if LeBron James had finished this dunk in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals?
Here is the top 10 starting with No. 10.