The 10 greatest NBA Playoffs performances of all time

3. Allen Iverson, Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals, June 6, 2001

The 2001 LA Lakers were seen as an unstoppable team whose appearance in the NBA Finals was to be more of a coronation of their greatness than an actual series. The team was led by 29-year-old Shaquille O’Neal and 22-year-old Kobe Bryant. Having two of the best players of all time in their prime on the same team gave them an aura of invincibility.

The Lakers ran through the first three rounds of the playoffs, putting their dominance on display by amassing 11 wins and zero losses. That set the stage for them to host the NBA Finals against the Eastern Conference Champions, the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers were led by that season’s MVP, Allen Iverson. Iverson was a fearless competitor; he did not care if the public viewed his team as a mere subplot to the Lakers’ story. He was there to win.

Stopping a prime Shaquille O’Neal would prove to be no easy task. In spite of the fact that Philadelphia’s starting center was that season’s Defensive Player of the Year, Dikembe Mutombo, O’Neal erupted for 44 points. Kobe Bryant had an off-shooting night and scored 15 points for the game, well below his usual contribution. However, the Lakers received an unexpected scoring boost from defensive specialist Rick Fox, who scored 19 points. The team was able to erase Philadelphia’s 15-point lead and force the game into overtime.

Once the game went into an extra period, it appeared LA had taken Philadelphia’s best shot and would now go on to close out the game in front of their fans at the Staples Center. However, Allen Iverson had other plans. Down by one point with just under a minute and a half remaining in overtime, Aaron McKie passed the ball to Iverson in transition. Iverson pulled up from behind the arc on the left side of the court and nailed a 3-pointer that gave his team a two-point lead.

With just under a minute left in the game, the Sixers still clung to the two-point advantage they’d gained from Iverson’s last basket. The team wisely gave the ball to their franchise player again, this time on the right side of the court. Iverson made a penetrating dribble to the baseline, then pulled back from a crossover-step-back jumper move that sent the defending Tyronn Lue crashing to the floor. Iverson made the jump shot and then stepped over Lue on his way back up the court.

The shot gave his team a four-point lead, and they would go on to win the game by a score of 107 to 101. Iverson scored 48 points in total that evening.

Without his offensive eruption and clutch shot-making, the Sixers would not have been able to hand one of the greatest teams of all time their only playoff loss. Although the Lakers would go on to win the series, Allen Iverson’s performance in Game 1 is undoubtedly one of the greatest in the history of the playoffs.