The "what if" moment that changed every NBA team forever

Boston Celtics: What if Len Bias and Reggie Lewis hadn't died?

Len Bias' death at the age of 22 ranks as one of the most tragic moments in NBA history. Bias overdosed just two days after being selected second overall by the Boston Celtics in 1986 and was widely considered to be an elite prospect. Had he lived, he would have joined a Celtics roster that featured three Hall of Famers: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.

Had that happened, he could have propelled the Celtics to even more success in the 1980s after having already won three championships before drafting Bias. While they went back to the NBA Finals following his death, they came up short in 1987 and lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1988 to the rising Detroit Pistons. That spelled the end of their dynasty, not the middle of it, with Bias supposed to carry the Celtics heading into the 1990s.

He wouldn't have been alone, however. In 1987, the Celtics drafted Reggie Lewis 22nd overall, and he quickly emerged as a star, becoming an all-star just four years into his career. With Bird forced to retire in 1992, Boston needed a new generation of stars to lead the team into a new era, but, like Bias, Lewis died suddenly due to a heart condition in the summer of 1993.

Both of their deaths led to a long title drought, lasting 22 years, before being snapped in 2008. Had they both not died tragically, it's possible that the Bad Boy Pistons would never have won a championship, and the Jordan Bulls might have won fewer titles. It's impossible to say for sure, unfortunately.