7) 2023 Nuggets VS Heat
As hot as the Heat were (no pun intended) coming into June, they were no match for Denver. Miami’s ragtag group of scrappy two-way players fought their way from the Play-In to the finals, but their offensive inconsistencies were magnified in contrast to Denver.
Led by the Jokic- Murray tandem, the Nuggets were firing on all cylinders and blew through Miami in 5. Jimmy Butler and the Heat did make it interesting with a nail-biting game 2 victory. But as a whole, this series was fairly uneventful.
6) 2022 Warriors VS Celtics
This is the part of the list where the finals start to get exciting. The Warriors make a lot of appearances on this list, but none of the other runs feel like this one. Entering the season, Golden State was largely considered a dynasty of the past.
By June, however, the excitement of Curry and Klay on the biggest stage was back, accompanied by some big moments from the new additions of Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. The young Celtics held their own on the other side, though, and extended this feud to 6 games.
The core of Tatum and Brown were the driving forces to Boston’s success, and surrounded by DPOY Marcus Smart, Robert Williams’ elite paint presence, and Payton Pritchard’s ability to hit seemingly every buzzer-beater imaginable, this battle was one full of memorable moments.
5) 2019 Raptors VS Warriors
Three games were decided by five points or fewer, including a classic 106-105 game 5 that kept the Warriors alive. Ultimately, Kawhi Leonard’s 28.5 points per game helped Toronto outlast the Warriors, ending their reign to the relief of much of the NBA world.
4) 2020 Lakers VS Heat
The circumstances definitely make this a weird one, but the finals in the bubble get overlooked in terms of great series. The Lakers duo of LeBron and Anthony Davis were dominant, but Jimmy Butler didn’t make their win easy.
He carried yet another underdog Heat team way past expectations, averaging a near triple double, and pushing the series to six games. Despite big contributions from an impressive rookie Tyler Herro and a savvy group of vets, the Heat just didn’t have enough to take down LA's legend-filled roster.
LeBron fans rejoiced as the king added to his list of accolades, fans were elated to have basketball back to any capacity, and we got a finals that deserves more credit than it gets.
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