12. 2009 – Los Angeles Lakers over Orlando Magic (4-1)
Could it be criticized to say a five-game series is a borderline top-10 series from the last 31 years? Probably, but I don’t care because this is the most entertaining five-game series I’ve ever seen.
If you’re a Magic fan who doesn’t have the occasional night terror and wake up screaming about Courtney Lee then are you even a real fan? Because I’m not even a Magic fan and I was sick to my stomach watching this series. It’s not your fault, this is a safe space.
I’ll set the stage – Game 2 in L.A., Orlando’s ball with roughly 10 seconds to play in a tie game. Courtney Lee gets a great look under the basket and misses the layup that would have won the game. On the next possession, Kobe Bryant gets his shot blocked and Orlando advances the ball via timeout with 0.6 seconds left. The Magic run an awesome out of bounds play that gets an (admittedly tough) layup attempt for, you guessed it, Courtney Lee, and he misses again. The Lakers win the game in overtime to go up 2-0 in the series.
But the pain isn’t over yet. After bouncing back strong in Game 3, the Magic again had a great shot to win in Game 4 and tie the series. They were up five points with 40 seconds left with Dwight Howard playing one of the best games I’ve ever seen from him, finishing with 16 points, 21 rebounds, and 9 (!) blocks.
Dwight’s performance didn’t matter though, because with 11 seconds left and a 3-point lead, he went to line with a chance to end it and missed both free throws. The rest was predictable – the Magic don’t foul on the next possession and Derek Fisher makes a 3-pointer to force overtime. Then Fisher hits another three with 30 seconds left in overtime that pushes L.A. to a commanding 3-1 lead.
I don’t know if the Magic were the better team in this series – they probably weren’t. But either way, they could have easily been up 3-1 and instead lost in five games. I guess that’s basketball, but it might be the most gut-wrenching series on this list, which is why it earns the 12th spot despite only going five games.