9. 2015 NBA Finals – Game 1: Warriors vs. Cavaliers
The 2015 NBA Finals marks the beginning of the Warriors’ dominance over the rest of the league. It marks the shift in the old way of thinking that jump-shooting teams can’t win championships. And it sets the stage for their record-breaking 73-9 2016 season (we’ll get to that too).
The series went six games but Game 1 is easily the most important. It changed the series in the worst possible way – injury.
Kyrie Irving fractured his left kneecap in the first game of the series, joining his fellow All-Star and member of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ “Big 3”, Kevin Love, who injured his shoulder earlier in those same playoffs against the Celtics.
What followed was perhaps the worst (and funniest) starting lineup in NBA Finals history: LeBron James, Matthew Dellavedova (creator of the Delly 1 sneaker), Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson, and Timofey Mozgov. Yikes.
The Delly/LeBron power duo was able to push the series to 6 games, but a healthy Kyrie Irving could have swung the series entirely.