Hoops Habit
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The 5 best NBA Finals losers since 2000

By Luke Duffy

Allen Iverson (L) of the Philadelphia 76ers and Kobe Bryant (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers (R) exchange words at the end of game two of the NBA Finals 08 June 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Lakers won 98-89 to tie the seven-game series 1-1. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo by JEFF HAYNES / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
Allen Iverson (L) of the Philadelphia 76ers and Kobe Bryant (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers (R) exchange words at the end of game two of the NBA Finals 08 June 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Lakers won 98-89 to tie the seven-game series 1-1. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo by JEFF HAYNES / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Golden State Warriors
NBA (Photo credit should read BECK DIEFENBACH/AFP via Getty Images) /

4. 2016 Golden State Warriors

You could make the case that the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors are the greatest team of all time. They probably are. But they didn’t win a championship, despite posting the best-ever regular season record of 73-9 and being up 3-1 over the Cavaliers in the finals. You could put them on top of this list as well, but not all the criteria go their way.

Although watching Stephen Curry destroy the league made him everybody’s favorite player, there came a point where the dominance of the Warriors began to wear on people. We hadn’t totally gotten there yet, that didn’t happen until Kevin Durant joined in the summer of 2016, but between the Draymond Green punch that suspended him for a crucial Game 5 and their swashbuckling ways, they weren’t everybody’s cup of tea.

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Not least James fans, who were desperate to see him bring a title to the Cavaliers. There is no doubt they were amazing to watch though, unlocking a level of offensive basketball that hasn’t been seen before or since. Defensively they were just as strong, and that was the real fear with them. They could play tough, switch it up and cool opposing stars down.

The Warriors have gotten enough plaudits and credit for winning three championships in five seasons without being added to another list, but even in losing they had everybody tuning in. There were Hall of Famers all over their roster, and we mean all over, and in Steve Kerr they had a head coach who seemed extremely likable.

In some ways losing to the Cavaliers in this series, although blowing the chance to really be seen as the best team of all time, was a positive for the rest of the league as it allowed James to get a title for his hometown and it showed that despite being among the best dynasties ever, the Warriors could still be beaten.

With LeBron’s mission complete in Cleveland he then went to the Lakers, allowing the Raptors to finally emerge from the East and hand the Warriors another finals loss in 2019. As mentioned already it was also the catalyst for Durant heading to the Bay Area in the summer of 2016 as well. Never has a defeat seemed so important to the league in hindsight.