8. 2010 – Los Angeles Lakers over Boston Celtics (4-3)
This series is cemented in the top 10 for Game 7 alone. The first six games are pretty good and have their moments, but if you’re watching this series it’s for Game 7.
Game 7 is essentially a bar fight. No one was getting easy shots, the refs either decided not to call fouls or just forgot the rules of the game, Kobe Bryant couldn’t make a shot, and every possession felt like do or die. It was so ugly, but also pretty great.
In a game with no rhythm or offensive flow, it was fitting that the Lakers won in large part due to the role players and executing the little things better than the Celtics. Ron Artest hits the famous 3-pointer to stretch the lead to six points with about a minute to play, but the game was still far from over until Sasha Vujacic iced it at the free-throw line with around 10 seconds to play.
Pau Gasol dominated the Celtics on the offensive glass all game, and shed the label of being soft that he earned in the 2008 Finals (see No. 11). His toughness in the series and especially in the final game are the reason they won the championship.
Game 7 doesn’t win any beauty pageants, but if you don’t like two championship teams going blow for blow in a heavyweight fight then you probably just don’t like basketball.