NBA Time Capsule: Ranking every NBA Finals series since 1990

19. 2017 – Golden State Warriors over Cleveland Cavaliers (4-1)

I’ll be honest, the games aren’t great in this series. The only one really worth watching all the way through is Game 3, where Kevin Durant hits the shot that is the defining moment of his career so far and puts them up 3-0. I could argue for Game 5, but the final score is closer than the game really was.

Instead, the reason this series cracks the top 20 is the sheer amount of offensive firepower. Of the 31 NBA Finals on this list, none feature two offenses more capable of exploding at any time than 2017.

I truly think this Cavaliers team is better than the one that won in 2016, but once the Warriors added Durant to their already stacked roster it was game over. The Cavs played pretty well in this series, but you have to be perfect to beat this Warriors team and the Cavs weren’t perfect.

Also, if you don’t think the 2017 Warriors are the best team in NBA history then I don’t know what to tell you besides go watch this series.

18. 1990 – Detroit Pistons over Portland Trail Blazers (4-1)

The series that started my 31-year journey and forced me to quickly adapt to a time when analytics were non-existent and we apparently didn’t have the medical technology to stop a bloody nose. Seriously, Isiah Thomas sat several minutes in the fourth quarter of Game 5 just holding a towel under his nose and waiting for it to stop bleeding so he could go back in. Someone who was around at the time needs to explain to me how that was the best we could do.

Oh yeah, the games. Once you get used to every possession ending in a mid-range jumper it’s actually pretty fun to watch. Except for Game 3, every game in this series comes down to the final few minutes. And for all of the weird things that Isiah Thomas does today, starting with his historically bad run as GM of the Knicks, I think it gets forgotten how great he really was as a player and this series is a prime example.

Thomas averaged 27-7-5 for the series, shooting 54 percent from the field and a ridiculous 69 percent from 3. It was only 16 3-point attempts, but come on. If sports analytics were a thing in 1990 he would have been shooting 10 per game and scoring 30-plus with ease.