50% bonus on deposit plus free entry into $150,000 bracket contest mybookie.website/BetWithArnett What sus moment of Basketball history can you not let go of? CORRECTION: I say in the video that Kyrie Irving injured his ankle in the 2015 Finals, but it was actually a fractured kneecap.
Side note now that you mention that series: In those years it feels like the conference finals on both sides as a group were better matchups and series than the actual finals.
@Lou I'm sure some Lakers fans noticed the NBA fixed the WCF to push the series to seven for money and another night of good TV ratings to prevent the talented small-market Kings from reaching the Finals.
To this day I have never seen anything as bad as that quarter. It wasn't one or two bad calls but a series of calls so bad that it's inexcusable and very likely intentional.
Any series that is affected by injuries should never have an asterisk because injuries are an organic part of the game regardless if all the main players are injured...
I wouldn't fault players for it but as teams, it's definitely part of the game. As in every sport, home advantage goes way beyond fans. Support staffs and other tricks are all parts of what make teams more successful. In soccer, good teams would train ball boys to throw the out of bound ball quickly or slowly depending on the state of the game. Similarly, teams that managed their players injuries better are more likely to be successful, same goes for training, coaching, head office etc... it's no excuse unless it's truly a freak accident.
nah thats so illogical. In the 2016 championship if all the allstars on the Warriors were injured it wouldn't be such a big deal that the Cavs beat em.
Personally, both the 2015 Finals and the 2020 Finals feel substantially different from the other three, in the sense that, even with the bad luck in 2015 and the extreme circumstances in 2020, they didn't feel malicious in any way. They were a direct result of the basketball happening on the floor. No rigging, no cheating. So in my opinion, they shouldn't have an asterisk on them. You can put one if you feel it's the right thing to do, but we can agree to disagree.
Of course. Only NBA fans are putting an asterisk next to their 2020-2021 season. I've never heard a single NHL fan acting that way. Everyone competed under the same conditions. It wasn't perfect, but people didn't knew what to expect...
I mean, it’s fine. I’m a Lakers fan so all I hear is “Mickey Mouse” or “Bubble Ring” every day, people act like they DID NOT WANT the NBA to resume, and pretend like a lot of players weren’t playing at their best. It’s fine I guess Lebron & AD should’ve stepped in and stopped Covid before it even happened. Lakers were the 1 seed & people doubted them the whole year, they said they would lose to HOUSTON🤣 enough said, it’d be treated differently if Brooklyn, Toronto, Clippers, Bucks, Heat, etc. won And 2015 honestly you’re right it is completely different and it was just basketball BUT, if I’m being fair (I know it will piss off all the Curry & GSW stans) any time the Warriors beat the Cavaliers it was a handicap. *2015: Love & Kyrie get hurt so they lose in 6* *2016: APPARENTLY Steph is hurt, Kevin Love missed game 1 (wasn’t much of a factor honestly), but healthy Kyrie, Lebron, & Love beat GSW* *2017: Warriors get KD, Cavs are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, they got gentlemen swept* *2018: The infamous year where Lebron terrorized the East, got a roster change, led the team to 50 wins with no Kyrie, dominates in the playoffs, has a chance to steal a game from GSW but JR Smith was being dumb and forced OT so they got swept cause it’s the KD Warriors Vs LeBron, Kevin Love, & JR Smith…*
And it's ridiculous because the lakers already had tools to win it all, they were first in the west, deep, versatile defensively and had star power for days
Things like this are why I say if you made the conference finals, you’ve had a decent season for yourself at least. A number of teams who have championships that people put asterisks on still did that, as did the potential immediate teams hurt by some of the bad calls if that’s a factor. Sure, you can find bad calls before the last two rounds, but a lot of the worst appear to have occurred in the last two rounds. And if you’ve made the conference finals, you’ve made the playoffs and won a couple playoff series even if they were against teams we’d favor you to beat, or if you didn’t, you qualified when fewer teams did.
The '88 Lakers-Pistons series is historical, because it's really the moment when the bias - real or perceived - against small-market teams (even though Detroit is more mid-market, if you will) - really began to be something people talked about. As a Pistons fan myself I think it's a grey area. 99% of the time I don't think games are outright rigged, but referees are people and people are biased, consciously or not. It's in the air. The Lakers were infinitely more popular.
I wonder, though, if it isn't completely small market vs. big market, but rather that everyone outside of Detroit strongly disliked the Pistons. When your M.O. is just straight-up violence, then how about a taste of some corruption? Try your best to flagrant foul your way out of that.
Re: the '88 Finals: The Game 6 Phantom Foul has been pretty thoroughly covered, but outside of Pistons circles, I don't think I've ever seen someone shine a light on all of the shenanigans that went down in Game 7, especially someone with your degree of clout. So thank you!
I’ve always been bummed about the weird circumstances of the 1988 Finals because I love James Worthy, and I’m so happy he won the Finals MVP. It’s a shame it couldn’t be for a more respected series. He’s an underrated player.
Definitely gotta mention the 07 finals. That was the suns best chance to win during the 7SOL era. Banning Stoudemire and Diaw was a major hit to the team especially for a BS reason.
@@exiledknight3961 that's not the only thing. Their were bad calls in that series series Tim Dounaughty. Amare and diaw went to help his teammate when Horry shoved Nash
2002 is the only time I’ve ever watched a game and knew it was rigged. I was only 14 years old at the time, watching live, and I was so confused at what was transpiring. It was that obvious.
The only other moment in sports that was as egregious as that series in 2002 was the nfl nfc championship game in 2019 with the missed pass interference
I was 15 years old when this happened.. My mother who watches sports heavy was saying the whole time that something was off in that series.. I remember we use to talk about it in school among my classmates.. We all were talking about it at the time.. and damn it we were all right..
The fact that my Pistons should have had a 3-peat in the middle of the Magic-Bird and then Jordan eras is maddening. Having two is crazy enough, but that phantom foul and then refs letting thousands of people storm the floor during the last seconds?! ARGH
So you clearly did not not see bill jump into Kareem in the middle of the shot ???that's a foul definitely bc it alter his shot now how the last seconds in game 7 I will give you that one but not the lambeer one
Right....that sh't goes unnoticed and unspoken...but Isiah and Pistons walking off the court after being defeated by Chicago in 1991 is like the worst thing thats ever happened...hypocrsy at its highest level
@@dmongru Kareem didn’t retire as champ. He played one more season and Pistons beat them in the 1989 Nba finals in a sweep. Learn your history before spreading misinformation, youngin.
@@Theterminato2013 you know what. My bad. I watched that as a kid and must have forgotten that. Got my history mixed up there. But yeah Kareem retired the first year the Pistons won. Thx for the correction. 🙌🏽
If anyone is hurt by that in particular it’s Adrian Dantley. He’s obviously a Hall of Famer, but he would be a player with a championship and likely a finals MVP
@@fortynights1513 Not a part of the controversy, but on the Pistons' final possession of Game 6, Isiah and AD collided, blowing up the play and forcing Joe Dumars to force an off-balance shot at a time of the game he rarely looked to shoot that early in his career. But what portended AD's imminent acrimonious departure from the Pistons is that the part of the play which upset him the most was that due to the collision, he didn't get the ball. AD wanted to shoot. And that, in a nutshell, is why the Pistons jettisoned him in '89 for Aguirre. AD cared more about getting shots and scoring than winning. Aguirre sacrificed his offensive game so the Pistons could win a championship. Or as Isiah Thomas succinctly put it, "Mark Aguirre flushed a Hall of Fame career down the toilet so he could be a champion."
But the Pistons got revenge by sweeping the Lakers the following year because Byron Scott hurt his hamstring in practice before Game 1 and Magic Johnson pulled his hamstring on a fast break during Game 2. Breaks go both ways.
What I love about the first 3 entries to this list(2015 finals, 06 Finals, 88 Finals) is that all of losing teams eventually beat the teams that they lost to in the Finals the next year/ next few years. They were resilient
@@dougedert1223 Bogut was out due to injury, Steph tweaked his knee slipping near halfcourt before the playoffs and so played injured, I believe Iggy was injured, and Draymond (is an idiot and) got suspended for the key momentum turning game of the series. I'm not TOO mad at the league for suspending him for game 5, but I still think his final infraction wasn't that extreme and the league overreacted because they wanted to extend the series (and a 3-1 comeback would be legendary). Lebron coming back from 3-1 against the 73-9 Warriors? The league officials were drooling at the notion.
this dude says 2015 championship was a fluke and yet didn't even say a single thing about that 2016 championship, where dray got a FISHY suspension, and bogut was injured in game 5. hypocrisy at its finest... tbh, that 2016 finals has one of the BIGGEST asterisk in my mind, second one is the "bubble ring" where lakers faced an injured miami heat as well
Don't forget 1998 Bulls vs jazz game six, Isley three pointer waived off at the shot clock that should of counted but the bulls shot counted that shouldn't when the shot clock expired.
@Lumumba Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Darrell Armstrong, Devin Harris, and even Dirk drove to the basket for the Mavs throughout that season. They were not just a mid range shooting team.
Dirk has some fault in 2006 too. He shot just 39% from the field and 25% in 3's, Jason Terry averaged the same points as him (in 48% shooting) and often times looked reliable than Dirk in that series
Great video, but I think that if you included the 2015 championship bc of the injuries, you should also include the 2019, bc the Warriors also lost 2 of their best players, wich is the same situation that hapened to the Cavs
Honestly 2020 is the least impacted unfairly because it was the same rules same place same thing for everyone. No tripping or calls or shadiness just learn how to adapt or fall 🤞
Yeah, one could argue 2020 deserves an asterisk less than any other playoffs ever. Basketball in its purest form. No travel, no home/road games, no fans. Same rules for everyone.
These players either didnt play or suffered injuries: Curry, Klay, KD, Kyrie, Beal, JJJ, Sabonis, Dame, Westbrook. CP3, Pat Bev, Hayward, A. Gordon, 8 ENTIRE TEAMS, etc opted OUT! Then there’s no fans, which are a huge part of the game considering most losses for good teams are away games when there’s crowd pressure. Was it EASY? No, but it wasn’t as difficult as most! #LeMickey 💍
The 4th quarter of game 7 in the 2000 Western Conference Finals between Portland and the Lakers. I remember ESPN having an article come out the following day where 19 calls in the 4th quarter alone favoring the Lakers were questioned. The article was removed rather quickly and I've never been able to find it again.
I agree, Portland either choked or they were hoping time would expire fast with them ahead. As soon as Rasheed Wallace blew that uncontested dunk, I had a bad feeling that Portland was going to lose that 2000 WC Finals after all the work Scottie Pippen did practically willing a nearly lifeless Blazers team from a 1-3 series deficit to a double-digit lead entering the 4th quarter of game 7.
@@markcowser2403 re-watching it, Portland did shit the bed on offense, but so did the Lakers. Difference was the Lakers were getting bailed out on free throws. The 3 quick fouls on Sabonis that fouled him out early in the 4th were questionable as well. Knowing that Portland outscored the Lakers whenever Sabonis was on the court.
wth are you talking about? I'm assuming you've talked with all parties involved in the accident (incuding the dead) to be making such an asinine comment. Like they say, haters just hate
2016 Finals. lelose goes to the NBA crying like a you know what, and all of sudden, they suspend Draymond. That would not have happened if it were any other player. And, although people say it was 'just' one game, it prolonged the series and GS was hurt. It's like removing 1 spark plug out of a 8-cylinder car. For those who know a little about cars, they know the engine and every thing else may be working fine, but that car will run like crap and shudder and shake like crazy!
It would of happened because he had broke the nba rule for to many tec yall love making up shit but the fact is Jordan went to David stern about pistons facts vs fiction
Draymond was suspended, because he went over the technical foul limit. And to put it bluntly, they should have thrown Draymond under the bus, for kicking Adams in the nuts. Draymond was playing on borrowed time.
Sort of surprised to not see Torontos chip towards the bottom of this list. Warriors fell apart immediately after Thompson and KD went out. No way that series is even close if that doesn't happen
2016 when Lebron cried in an interview and got Green suspended and Bogut got hurt and the lane opened up wide for Lebron halfway through the series? IMO that should be swapped with 2020. sure the bubble was in a shortened season with no travel, and the Lakers did play one of the weakest finals teams in recent memory, but there was nothing too fishy about the series itself. nobody manipulated the series by removing defensive obstacles off one team like 2016.
I think the 2020 playoffs is legitimate, every team went through the necessary adjustments to continue the league and the teams that met in the finals were actually having astounding runs. Heat were surprising everyone with their strategies to contain superstars and Lakers were winning in 5 games consistently. It's farfetched to put an asterisk on it.
You sound ridiculous put all the players in a bubble and they no one wanted to be there and then take away all the fans from the games so it’s like you are playing a pick up game at the YMCA then on top of that give them a few months off to rest and heal 😂
Fuck outta here 😂😂😂. That’s like saying it’s fair that everyone had to be quarantined when CoVid Happened. Everyone has to stay at home. So it doesn’t matter about the job you went to, your daily outdoor activities, the city you live in. Everyone is quarantined, so everything is fair 😂😂😂
@@gnielsen07 Bron and Kyrie didn’t go off till Bogut got injured. They were averaging like 23-25 a piece thru the first 4 games. This isn’t even mentioning Drays suspension
Those 1988 and 2002 championships still piss me off. Also, before anyone mentions 2016, Bron dropped 41 with Draymond on the floor. Can we stop this narrative that Draymond’s suspension actually changed anything when the Bogut injury was more impactful? Also, 5 of Curry’s 6 fouls looked legit to me.
@@poly_g6068right on. I said the same thing to heat fans at the time. The heat surprisingly played better with Kelly olynyk, kendrick nunn, etc. the heat were getting destroyed before bam and dragic got injured. Afterwards, they managed to make it close. Once bam and goran returned, it was over, the heat got pummeled and jr smith went shirtless before the game was even over
Yeah, it was Giannis, who were forced to cause injury on Kyrie's ankle in 2021. The Nets were about to eliminate the Bucks, and Giannis had to do something to advance. It was round two, but should've resulted in a ban over the finals. Finals, that, of course, the Bucks won.
@@fortynights1513 We saw MIL go onward, and win the chip. And, KD nearly won MIL by himself. Harden had a hamstring-injury during the MIL-series. But, with a healthy Kyrie, they'd probably win the chip.
I kinda think the bubble championship requires more of a "context" asterisk rather than a true asterisk. Just because everyone was under the same conditions. The Lakers were catching fire heading into the season shut down and wouldve had home court in every series. It's important for the history of the league to understand what was going on, but I think it's more of a weird title than an asterisk title.
@Chase AReal1 someone else shouldve won it then if it was so fuckin easy to win! It was the strangest season ever but they won 4 playoff rounds against 4 NBA playoff teams, nowhere near as big of an asterisk as the league potentially rigging the actual games
@@duydo6924 a 20 ppg scorer having a great stretch shouldn’t discredit a whole playoffs, if the bubble made it so easy for lesser players to become great, why didn’t anyone beat the 1 seed lakers
@@duydo6924 but it still was an even playing field, it was “easier” for every team. Also the heat were a shot away from the finals last year and Donovan Mitchell is borderline first team all nba this year. Plus the suns looking great before popping off the next year, so it wasn’t that outside the realm of reality besides TJ warren
@@duydo6924 Well every ring should have an asterisk if that's what you're saying. That bubble basketball removes all the disadvantage and advantages a team has over the other. It's basketball at it's purest form, just plain talent and the most talented team would win it all. It's that simple. This wouldn't be a big fuss if the Lakers didn't win it. Admit it. Because LeBron won another ring, everybody wanted to put an asterisk on it to discredit him since the Lakers can't be called a superteam and aside from winning it inside the bubble, there's really no real argument or criticism to throw at LeBron winning his 4th ring.
I completely disagree with 2020. No home court advantage makes it... less fair? The 2 best teams that year made it to the finals. I don't understand this narrative.
Game 6 of the last dance should have an *. Dick Bavetta was reffing. Howard Eisley hit a 3 that was clearly off in time, but was called a shot clock violation. Later in the game Ron Harper hit a 3 that was clearly after the buzzer, and it counted. That is a 6 point difference. MJ would have probably still pulled it out, but I remember it was very sketchy to see that live.
A 2 by Harper! 😊 Definetely bad for Jazz fans but going back to the game there is no indication that the game was called in the Bulls' favor. The Eisley one was a very bad call, but the Harper one was super close and very hard to tell without a replay.
@tech-no-logic tech True, and there was a LOT of blown calls before replay was brought in. You could also argue that even if the league wanted MJ to win, they would have wanted a Game 7 first for the boatloads of extra money
@@jonnyarnett What would have been a cool matchup in my opinion would have been if the big three Rockets in 1997 (Hakeem, Drexler, and Barkley) played the Bulls in the finals. Chicago very likely takes it, but it would have been interesting, because the center position was Chicago’s weakest, and that player would have faced Hakeem in his last all-star year.
@@fortynights1513 hakeem didnt do anything notable after 1995 . But in 1994-95 when he was a beast , it would have been lit to see a finals between the 2
He needs more views and acceptance from “that side” of the crowd, simple RUclips politics don’t take it too serious I don’t even believe he believes it should have an asterisk lol
Dwayne Wade earned all his trips to the line in 2006. That was a valid championship anyone that actually knows ball knows the Mavs just couldn't guard him. Just cause you got more FTs doesn't mean its "Rigged".
Reminds me of the chiefs winning the SB this year. Whether it was outright rigged or not clearly the refs had some sort of bias towards Mahomes and the cheifs
That kings/lakers series was my first year watching basketball and being from the Sacramento area the kings were my team. That series made me hate Kobe and Shaq for a long time. But now I’ve grown to love both and respect their greatness. That series had huge impacts on the league
@@poly_g6068 If you count play-in participants, then yes. They technically still need one more win or Minnesota loss though to clinch not having to go through the play in tournament.
I'm surprised that u forgot the 2016 finals. Draymond gets a tech in game 4 which was upgraded to a 1 game suspension the next day then u had game 6 where they were calling tic tac fouls on the warriors especially on curry
Bc they still had game 6&7. The 73 win team could’ve still won. It to mention game 7 was at home for them. Did game 5 swing the momentum a bit, yes but it’s not like green was suspended game 6 or Game 7.
LOL he's supposed to be suspended for his nut fetish. He's been dirty all season long. He did that to himself and no one has to be blamed for his stupidity. Even so, the warriors had 2 games with him and their "Death Lineup" and a homecourt advantage to win it, but...... THEY CHOKED BIG TIME. Steph looked like Westbrook turning over the ball multiple times and shooting bricks in the clutch.
Draymond got away with a lot of missed calls during that year. He was lucky. A call was ignored in the WCF when he kicked Steven Adams in the groin. Draymond had it coming.
Anybody remember Celtics vs lakers game 7 2010 NBA Finals? The Lakers shot 32% for the game and still won which should have been impossible. The key stat for this game was the disparity in free throw attempts which was a whopping 37 versus 17 in favor of the Lakers. The lakers shot more free throws in the fourth quarter than the Celtics shot the entire game. Clearly the fix was in.
@@MistahJay7 If one team gets more free throws in the 4th quarter than the other team gets the entire game then it would be ludicrous to assume anything other than rigging and even a casual would know this so long as they have eyes.
@@jeremyquinn4426 the lakers were the more aggressive team and deserved those freethrows you must be a salty Boston fan that wasn’t close to a rigged game🤡 😂
As much as Lakers fans are biased same thing can be said for detractors as well. Celtics would have won had Perkins not got injured! But in 2008 Bynum and Ariza were injured. 2002 the fix was in Lakers got all the calls…..yet game 5 had horrid officiating, Kings shot more free throws and a obvious push off. I can go on more about 89 and 04. Be non biased!
What about the NBA 2019 Finals? I find that final extremely similar to the 2015 NBA Finals. Ironic too considering that it happened to the Warriors this time.
KD was already injured and yes that would’ve been a game changer. But many forget that OG Anunoby was out for the entire playoffs and has been the Raps defensive stopper since he was a rookie. He would’ve focussed entirely on KD allowing Kawhi to cover elsewhere and remain fresher on offence while double teaming KD when needed. Klay played the vast majority of the series too
If you’re throwing in the 2015 and 2020 ship in, you gotta for sure throw in the raptors Championship with Durant and klay going down. As far as 2020 goes, think the lakers got screwed because they were the best team and coulda had home court through out the playoffs but covid made everything equal but I understand about the injuries on the Miami side.
Anytime 2015 is mentioned, 2016 should be as well. The 73-9 Warriors went only 15-9 in the playoffs for a reason. Steph was hobbled. Iggy was hobbled. Bogut was out. Draymond missed the crucial game 6. If the Warriors were 100%, the Cavs most definitely don't win that series. Warriors would've likely won in 5.
I'm a lifelong Laker fan and I 100% agree that 2020 and 2002 deserve to be first and second. They're the only ones I really have questions about. I didn't remember the 1988 finals, but I think you can reasonably say they might have just been bad refereeing _(I think it's also reasonable to think the fix was in, but it really was just a couple calls at the end of a hectic game)._ Watching highlights of the 2002 WCF is painful. The Lakers just got every call and barely eked out a win over the much more fun Kings _(for those who might not remember, the Kings were a really exciting team at the time. They were more like a modern team with lots of passing and shooting, whereas the Lakers played a slow dump-it-into-the-post style)._ Normally I would just chalk that up to bad refereeing, but if Donaghy says the fix was in you have to at least consider that. He's not the most credible witness, but that's certainly something he might know about. 2020 just needs an asterisk, period. It was different than every other championship before it. Regardless of who won, it was just so different that it needs its own category. I don't know if the odd circumstances made things easier or harder, favored youth or experience, discipline or emotion, but it wasn't the same as previous finals. In some ways it was more "legitimate" in the sense that injuries and exhaustion weren't as big a deal so the teams were more at peak performance, but you could also argue that that made it less "legitimate" because the usual stress and pressure and travel were reduced. Either way it was definitely unique and deserves an asterisk, not to minimize the achievement, but just to remind us that it really wasn't like the other titles.
Kings beat the Lakers 5 out of 7 games in 2002.Shaq really only has 3 rings(Wilts 2 rings don't look so bad,Hakeem only had 2 rings too)and Koby really only has 4 rings.The cheating in that series was so blatant.I played in games where the refs were cheating,it's so obvious.
Yeah, I say the same about 2020, and people just seem to not comprehend. Lebron and AD were super injury prone and would have had an extremely rough time staying healthy through the whole grueling regular season and then heading straight into the playoffs. I'm like 90% sure one of them would have gotten injured at some point before or during the finals, if they made it. That huge break almost exclusively benefitted old and injury prone teams, whereas young and hungry teams with momentum during the season got screwed. Those teams got almost no benefits from the break and mostly downsides, whereas it was a godsend for the Lakers. They all had the same conditions, but those conditions affected every team very differently. It was still impressive basketball, but I heard someone describe it as "they won an NBA tournament, but not an NBA title," because it was so different from a typical title that it needs a new name.
Really stupid points regarding the 2020. The Lakers were the NUMBER 1 SEEEDDDD. And every player got the same rest. And the Lakers would have home court. So they won with a disadvantage. Sorry. Way off on that one
I hate it when people use injuries as an asterisk. Part of winning a championship is staying healthy. If a player gets hurt then they aren’t taking enough care of their body and it’s not unfair if the other team wins because they were sitting out.
@metalpale94 Only sorta. The "real MVP" series is a kinda similar concept. Would be interesting to basically rank the most 5 undeserving MVPs. Would get the comments section all riled up. lol
Pretty solid list. When I saw the title I made my own list beforehand: 1. 1988 Lakers 2. 2002 Lakers 3. 2015 Warriors 4. 2016 Cavs (Steph got hurt, could qualify depending on view of LeBron) 5. 2019 Raptors (if KD didn’t get hurt the Warriors would’ve won pretty convincingly) I never understood the hate for the 2020 Lakers title, as everyone had time off to prepare and the environment was as consistent as it could be in competitive sports but that’s me.
@dvonn lynch The argument is that there SHOULD have been natural advantages, but the bubble eliminated those. No home crowds meant that regular season seeding was almost pointless. Also a break late in the season is gonna benefit older veteran players who need it.... like the Finals MVP, LeBron James. I still think it's a weak excuse if your team lost that year, but it was definitely one of the most unnatural developments in NBA History
the Rap swept the GSW that season in the regular season 3-0 in 2019 when they had all healthy players playing, and its not just if KD didnt go down that the GSW win every series 4-0, it would go to 7 and it could go either way.
You can also add the 2016 NBA finals that Cleveland Cavaliers championship is also sketchy at best They did Lebron a favor in that finals in my personal opinion.
@@thecensoredmuscle563 Non perfect calls don‘t equal rigged. The reason why finals series like 06 and 02 are called rigged is because of clear favoring and to some extent scandals that were involved in those finals. 2013 and 2012 don’t even come close to that. There were some miss calls and bad oversights involved in those finals that effected both teams and you see it all the time especially in the playoffs. Duncan being illegally subbed in game 6 comes to mind. I at least see an argument to 2016 but that series wasn’t any more rigged than 2010 and neither were.
@Blazing Exil 2012 was on par with 06, and 2013 was way way worse. I almost quit watching the nba entirely solely because of that year, because it was so obviously rigged.
As a Laker fan I have to say bubble is definitely a big Asterisk I mean Jimmy was getting buckets on Rachel Nichols and we know hoopers ball harder when motivated like that
2015 shouldn't get an asterisk And here's why. Yes Kyrie got hurt in game 1 but Cleveland straight up took the very next 2 games. After game 3, so many people had Cleveland taking the crown even with the injuries. The only thing that turned the series in the Warriors favor was literally LeBron performance in game 4 of that series. If Bron has a good game 4, Cleveland takes 2015 in either 5 or 6 without Kyrie and Kevin Love.
Injuries don't deserve asterisks period. If happens all the time and a lot of champions benefited at one point or another from injuries on other teams, whether they faced them in the playoffs or not
99 season was a shortened season. However the season did not stop before playoffs. They played regular season and playoffs all in one, which is why there is no asterisk. Where as 2020 they stopped playing near the end of the season, which ruins chemistry etc.
@@thecensoredmuscle563 Then everybody experienced all the "Disadvantage" that everybody was crying about and no one benefitted from it. If it benefitted anyone, according to everyone who discredits the bubble, it's every team who played in the bubble as well since every team had injuries with their key players that they were able to rest out during the break. The 1999 playoffs featured a best-of-five first rd series in which lower seeded teams had a higher chance of upsetting anybody and vice-versa also it gives a higher seeded team who are really stacked and dominating, a chance to close out the series earlier for more rest. That warrants for more "asterisk" compared to an even playing field when no one really had a glaring advantage over the other. In fact, the team who won it (the Lakers) lost their home court advantage, which ironically other internet losers are pinpointing as the reason why the top dogs lost to who they perceive as the "weaker" team which is the reason why they are putting an asterisk to this season. Lakers did their part and should not be faulted to other's inability to do their part and lose to an "inferior" team based on the standings before they face the team everybody wanted to lose, the Lakers. I'm 100% sure you're gonna be one of the others who would say it's a legitimate ring if let's say the Clippers, Bucks, Nuggets or Raptors won that season.
@Nick Samp well..... no. Use your brain a bit. If a season stops at the end of the year right before playoffs, it prevents any of the natural flow of a typical nba season, and chemistry going into playoffs. Which in turn changes the trajectory of what would be, and the results thus changed.
Yeah, the Pistons should've had an indisputable & historic three-peat.. I watched that game with my daddy live with his homies.. the whole house went crazy 🤌🏾
I was gonna say 2002 coz i remembered the Kings vs Lakers series that year, man you read my mind. I wouldn't considered 2002 either because of the brutal fixing that year
Can you imagine if the Pistons won in 1988 and proceeded to 3 peat. Isiah Thomas would have 3 chips while Magic only 4. There would literally be a debate in that category who would be the best point guard to ever play.
I don’t really get the 2020 one, surely if theres no homecourt advantage that would be at the expense of the 1 seed lakers? At that point you’re getting angry at a team for, being healthy? Its a bit weird to just say that “oh they would’ve been injured if it happened normally” why does that even matter?
Funny that the phantom foul is referenced far more often, but in actuality, it's the end of Game 7 that's even more sketchy. With two seconds left, there was plenty of time for a long inbounds pass and last second three to tie the game. But this was an era when fans (and benches) routinely rushed the court early at the end of championship clinching games, and the rather specious consensus seemed to be that the game was over and the Lakers had repeated. That narrative couldn't be denied, so they let it go, and oddly, the Pistons didn't seem to complain at all thereafter, and even the press failed to mention it until RUclips rekindled interest in this thoroughly bizarre ending to a great Finals series.
Heat Spurs when the air conditioning conveniently shut off in game 1 while Lebron was having a monster game. Like 5 min later he couldn’t play anymore bcuz his legs cramped up
Heat got straight up dominated that entire series vs spurs. LeBron getting a little cramp in 1 game for not hydrating, does nothing. Now 2013 has an asterisk, take away the refs helping heat and spurs win 4-1. Take away the refs helping heat and heat would not have gotten past the eastern championship.
Not Really, The Only “Asterisk” was that bogut was injured, Other than that The Warriors Just Simply Choked, Curry Played horrible those last 2 Games, and before anyone mentions draymond, Draymond was doing too much, He Got himself Ejected, but that’s about it.
I remember seeing the Cavs getting to play 90’s style defense against Curry and Klay for the 2015 & 2016 finals. Delly should have been fouled out in the first half of most of those games in 2015.
What asterisk? Draymond's nut fetish all season long which cost him a 1 game suspension after going at LeBron's nuts? Or a role player's injury which Warriors fans and LeBron haters treats the same level as having the 2nd and 3rd best player of Cleveland getting injured in the previous finals? Or the minor injury that iggy and curry had when kyrie was also nursing a foot injury he got from game 6 of the same series? Or is it the Warriors flat out CHOKED their 3-1 lead and homecourt advantage that's why it should have an asterisk??
If you put an asterisk on the Warriors 2015 title then you have to put one on the Cavaliers 2016 title. 1) Bogut was out. 2) Iguodala was injured. 3) Curry was injured. People tend to over look this but if you watch him you can tell he's not moving well. 4) Lebron had to play the diva card and get Green ejected. 5) Warriors were definitely fatigued from chasing the single season wins record. So in my eyes it took the perfect sh!t storm for the Cavaliers to still BARELY win.
Curry Dropped 36 pts to put the Warriors up 3-1. GTFO with that Curry is injured trash also you're a casual for comparing Bogut being injured to the Cavs missing Kyrie lmao Zero IQ
As someone who watched the 2015 NBA finals I can guarantee you that throughout the first 3 games the Cavs had a good chance to win it all. The whole Warriors squad was struggling throughout that series while LeBron was on fire that I was actually biting my nails the Cavs can pull off the upset
Lol u criticizing 2015 Warriors How bout 2019 Raptors. they basically face Half of the Star members of the Team being Injured Worst of all they treating Kawhi like he was the best Player better than Kobe/Mj for beating the Warriors Bench members💀
Biggest asterisks are: 2016 Cavs (super rigged Finals) 2019 Raptors (half the Warriors were injured) 2020 Lakers (Bubble ring. Lakers got an advantage being able to practice together during pandemic)
2015 Cavs were more injured than 2019 Warrirors. Warriors also lucked out in 2017 as the Spurs would've won if Zaza wasn't a dirty player and injured Kawhi
If 2015 is a fluke because star players were injured, then the raptors’s 2019 win is a fluke for the same reason. Injuries are part of the game. You never want to intentionally hurt any other player, yet the Toronto crowd was loudly cheering for Kevin durant’s fall. Literally the only 2 reasons this series gets a pass for “not being rigged for injuries” is because it’s Toronto’s first win ever, Or because people simply hate the warriors.
What about teams that earned home court advantage? The bubble made that obsolete. For example, do the Clippers lose to the Nuggets if they actually had home court?? We'll never know...
It didn't affect everyone evenly. Injury prone squads that were all banged up before the stoppage were given a huge break. The Lakers being the best example. The grind of the season determining what the playoff rosters look like is a big part of things that we talk about every year in a lamenting fashion that so many teams are depleted. They totally bypassed it that year.
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What sus moment of Basketball history can you not let go of?
CORRECTION: I say in the video that Kyrie Irving injured his ankle in the 2015 Finals, but it was actually a fractured kneecap.
Your the goat Jonny ngl 🐐
@alfie.prodzz Happy to hear you love the channel! Appreciate you man
@@jonnyarnett np 🐐
Paul pierce poop incident
2002 Western Conference Finals
Anyone who watched the 4th quarter of that Lakers King game, knows it was fixed. The league embarrassed itself
All for money and good tv ratings
Side note now that you mention that series:
In those years it feels like the conference finals on both sides as a group were better matchups and series than the actual finals.
As a lakers fan that series and title never sat right with me.
@Lou I'm sure some Lakers fans noticed the NBA fixed the WCF to push the series to seven for money and another night of good TV ratings to prevent the talented small-market Kings from reaching the Finals.
To this day I have never seen anything as bad as that quarter. It wasn't one or two bad calls but a series of calls so bad that it's inexcusable and very likely intentional.
Any series that is affected by injuries should never have an asterisk because injuries are an organic part of the game regardless if all the main players are injured...
True but ppl will still whine and try to discredit great teams bc “muh other team injured”
It doesn't necessarily need an asterisk, but I also am not particularly impressed by titles won due to injury
It might be organic, but it's still lucky.
I wouldn't fault players for it but as teams, it's definitely part of the game. As in every sport, home advantage goes way beyond fans. Support staffs and other tricks are all parts of what make teams more successful. In soccer, good teams would train ball boys to throw the out of bound ball quickly or slowly depending on the state of the game. Similarly, teams that managed their players injuries better are more likely to be successful, same goes for training, coaching, head office etc... it's no excuse unless it's truly a freak accident.
nah thats so illogical. In the 2016 championship if all the allstars on the Warriors were injured it wouldn't be such a big deal that the Cavs beat em.
Personally, both the 2015 Finals and the 2020 Finals feel substantially different from the other three, in the sense that, even with the bad luck in 2015 and the extreme circumstances in 2020, they didn't feel malicious in any way. They were a direct result of the basketball happening on the floor. No rigging, no cheating. So in my opinion, they shouldn't have an asterisk on them. You can put one if you feel it's the right thing to do, but we can agree to disagree.
True but has to cater to a certain crowd
Of course. Only NBA fans are putting an asterisk next to their 2020-2021 season.
I've never heard a single NHL fan acting that way. Everyone competed under the same conditions. It wasn't perfect, but people didn't knew what to expect...
I mean, it’s fine. I’m a Lakers fan so all I hear is “Mickey Mouse” or “Bubble Ring” every day, people act like they DID NOT WANT the NBA to resume, and pretend like a lot of players weren’t playing at their best. It’s fine I guess Lebron & AD should’ve stepped in and stopped Covid before it even happened. Lakers were the 1 seed & people doubted them the whole year, they said they would lose to HOUSTON🤣 enough said, it’d be treated differently if Brooklyn, Toronto, Clippers, Bucks, Heat, etc. won
And 2015 honestly you’re right it is completely different and it was just basketball BUT, if I’m being fair (I know it will piss off all the Curry & GSW stans) any time the Warriors beat the Cavaliers it was a handicap.
*2015: Love & Kyrie get hurt so they lose in 6*
*2016: APPARENTLY Steph is hurt, Kevin Love missed game 1 (wasn’t much of a factor honestly), but healthy Kyrie, Lebron, & Love beat GSW*
*2017: Warriors get KD, Cavs are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, they got gentlemen swept*
*2018: The infamous year where Lebron terrorized the East, got a roster change, led the team to 50 wins with no Kyrie, dominates in the playoffs, has a chance to steal a game from GSW but JR Smith was being dumb and forced OT so they got swept cause it’s the KD Warriors Vs LeBron, Kevin Love, & JR Smith…*
And it's ridiculous because the lakers already had tools to win it all, they were first in the west, deep, versatile defensively and had star power for days
Nicely said sir 👌🏼
It's refreshing to have such an objective view point. I know you're a Lakers guy, yet you know several championship are fishy at best.
Things like this are why I say if you made the conference finals, you’ve had a decent season for yourself at least.
A number of teams who have championships that people put asterisks on still did that, as did the potential immediate teams hurt by some of the bad calls if that’s a factor. Sure, you can find bad calls before the last two rounds, but a lot of the worst appear to have occurred in the last two rounds.
And if you’ve made the conference finals, you’ve made the playoffs and won a couple playoff series even if they were against teams we’d favor you to beat, or if you didn’t, you qualified when fewer teams did.
Wasn't an easy video to make, but I gotta be honest. Sick profile pic btw
@@jonnyarnett Thanks!
@@LuckyBeerCamper what pfp is that? I can’t rly tell, but it looks sick
@@tdl8472 It's an art rendering of Halo
The '88 Lakers-Pistons series is historical, because it's really the moment when the bias - real or perceived - against small-market teams (even though Detroit is more mid-market, if you will) - really began to be something people talked about. As a Pistons fan myself I think it's a grey area. 99% of the time I don't think games are outright rigged, but referees are people and people are biased, consciously or not. It's in the air. The Lakers were infinitely more popular.
kings, bucks, cavs, grizz...all small market teams gone first round this year. 3 of them were top3 seeds too...
@@iluvugoldenblue kobe > king james > mj
I wonder, though, if it isn't completely small market vs. big market, but rather that everyone outside of Detroit strongly disliked the Pistons. When your M.O. is just straight-up violence, then how about a taste of some corruption? Try your best to flagrant foul your way out of that.
I had never seen the 88’ finals thing. That was HORRIBLE, completely wild that ever happened.
Re: the '88 Finals: The Game 6 Phantom Foul has been pretty thoroughly covered, but outside of Pistons circles, I don't think I've ever seen someone shine a light on all of the shenanigans that went down in Game 7, especially someone with your degree of clout. So thank you!
Also given he is a Lakers fan I give him extra props for being objective.
Laimbeer got robbed like 3 times bro 😂
That last play from game 7 of that finals when Magic tripped Isaiah and the Ref didn't even blow the whistle definitely was SUSPECT.
Well David Stern in the 80s did his dream Final was Lakers vs Lakers
I’ve always been bummed about the weird circumstances of the 1988 Finals because I love James Worthy, and I’m so happy he won the Finals MVP. It’s a shame it couldn’t be for a more respected series. He’s an underrated player.
Definitely gotta mention the 07 finals. That was the suns best chance to win during the 7SOL era. Banning Stoudemire and Diaw was a major hit to the team especially for a BS reason.
Does that team beat Utah and Cleveland in your opinion?
Spurs still beat Steve Nash overrated ass
Why were they banned?
they cam off the bench to fight, thats usually a suspension.
@@exiledknight3961 that's not the only thing. Their were bad calls in that series series Tim Dounaughty. Amare and diaw went to help his teammate when Horry shoved Nash
2002 is the only time I’ve ever watched a game and knew it was rigged. I was only 14 years old at the time, watching live, and I was so confused at what was transpiring. It was that obvious.
The only other moment in sports that was as egregious as that series in 2002 was the nfl nfc championship game in 2019 with the missed pass interference
Mam it was sooooooo obvious I could barely watch games for a while cause they really was just playing the fans like a fool ... 😊
I was 5 years old and remember my dad yelling at the TV because he was so mad. Sacramento fans have never been so upset 😞
I was 15 years old when this happened.. My mother who watches sports heavy was saying the whole time that something was off in that series.. I remember we use to talk about it in school among my classmates.. We all were talking about it at the time.. and damn it we were all right..
@@Joemama.. lol you mean 2009
Agree with 4 of out those, but the 2020 arguments are completely empty because all the teams faced the same situation
7:50 Every NBA team was in the same situation in 2020, just like strike shortened years. No asterisk.
The real asterisk is the Heat had injuries to 2 of their starters.
The fact that my Pistons should have had a 3-peat in the middle of the Magic-Bird and then Jordan eras is maddening. Having two is crazy enough, but that phantom foul and then refs letting thousands of people storm the floor during the last seconds?! ARGH
So you clearly did not not see bill jump into Kareem in the middle of the shot ???that's a foul definitely bc it alter his shot now how the last seconds in game 7 I will give you that one but not the lambeer one
Right....that sh't goes unnoticed and unspoken...but Isiah and Pistons walking off the court after being defeated by Chicago in 1991 is like the worst thing thats ever happened...hypocrsy at its highest level
@@dmongru Kareem didn’t retire as champ. He played one more season and Pistons beat them in the 1989 Nba finals in a sweep. Learn your history before spreading misinformation, youngin.
@@Theterminato2013 you know what. My bad. I watched that as a kid and must have forgotten that. Got my history mixed up there. But yeah Kareem retired the first year the Pistons won. Thx for the correction. 🙌🏽
@@derekgallegos2842he didn't even touch him
I'm glad you included the Lakers-Pistons finals Jonny. The Pistons got absolutely hosed. They should have won game 6 for sure
If anyone is hurt by that in particular it’s Adrian Dantley.
He’s obviously a Hall of Famer, but he would be a player with a championship and likely a finals MVP
@@fortynights1513 Not a part of the controversy, but on the Pistons' final possession of Game 6, Isiah and AD collided, blowing up the play and forcing Joe Dumars to force an off-balance shot at a time of the game he rarely looked to shoot that early in his career. But what portended AD's imminent acrimonious departure from the Pistons is that the part of the play which upset him the most was that due to the collision, he didn't get the ball. AD wanted to shoot. And that, in a nutshell, is why the Pistons jettisoned him in '89 for Aguirre. AD cared more about getting shots and scoring than winning. Aguirre sacrificed his offensive game so the Pistons could win a championship. Or as Isiah Thomas succinctly put it, "Mark Aguirre flushed a Hall of Fame career down the toilet so he could be a champion."
But the Pistons got revenge by sweeping the Lakers the following year because Byron Scott hurt his hamstring in practice before Game 1 and Magic Johnson pulled his hamstring on a fast break during Game 2. Breaks go both ways.
@@everhart541 True, and Aguirre was a better fit in retrospect, but that said, if Detroit wins, could Dantley have been the finals MVP?
@@fortynights1513 Isiah would have been finals MVP after his game 6 performance
What I love about the first 3 entries to this list(2015 finals, 06 Finals, 88 Finals) is that all of losing teams eventually beat the teams that they lost to in the Finals the next year/ next few years. They were resilient
If people are going to say the 2015 finals was an asterisk then they should say 2016 finals is an asterisk as well
@@f.t.sgoldtron7442how 😭
@@dougedert1223 Bogut was out due to injury, Steph tweaked his knee slipping near halfcourt before the playoffs and so played injured, I believe Iggy was injured, and Draymond (is an idiot and) got suspended for the key momentum turning game of the series. I'm not TOO mad at the league for suspending him for game 5, but I still think his final infraction wasn't that extreme and the league overreacted because they wanted to extend the series (and a 3-1 comeback would be legendary). Lebron coming back from 3-1 against the 73-9 Warriors? The league officials were drooling at the notion.
this dude says 2015 championship was a fluke and yet didn't even say a single thing about that 2016 championship, where dray got a FISHY suspension, and bogut was injured in game 5. hypocrisy at its finest... tbh, that 2016 finals has one of the BIGGEST asterisk in my mind, second one is the "bubble ring" where lakers faced an injured miami heat as well
The Warriors shouldn’t have been in the finals to begin with. Why didn’t Draymond get suspended after he kicked Steven Adams in the nuts.
2015 and 2016 injuries are not at all comparable warriors fans are fucking ridiculous
Don't forget 1998 Bulls vs jazz game six, Isley three pointer waived off at the shot clock that should of counted but the bulls shot counted that shouldn't when the shot clock expired.
That 2006 was a pain to watch. Glad that Dirk got his championship against MIA.
Dirk should have 2 though
Yeah it killed all my love for the NBA, never seen it as a legit sport again after that. Still don't to this day
@Lumumba Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Darrell Armstrong, Devin Harris, and even Dirk drove to the basket for the Mavs throughout that season. They were not just a mid range shooting team.
@Lumumba riiiight because the ref working that series went to prison and confessed to betting on games.
Dirk has some fault in 2006 too. He shot just 39% from the field and 25% in 3's, Jason Terry averaged the same points as him (in 48% shooting) and often times looked reliable than Dirk in that series
Great video, but I think that if you included the 2015 championship bc of the injuries, you should also include the 2019, bc the Warriors also lost 2 of their best players, wich is the same situation that hapened to the Cavs
@@eddiezS5 Then why is this video even a thing lol
Exactly also the 2016 finals as well
@f.t.sgoldtron7442 but nobody wanna admit that. They conveniently are blinded to that cause they're upset by it 😂
The 2020 Bubble championship was DEFINATELY under par and manufactured for another LeBron chip.
Typical LeBron hater with 0 Basketball IQ
Just like Kobe’s when the league gifted him a trip to the finals
1988 WAS CRAZY. LAKERS GET EVERYTHING
Honestly 2020 is the least impacted unfairly because it was the same rules same place same thing for everyone.
No tripping or calls or shadiness just learn how to adapt or fall 🤞
Yeah, one could argue 2020 deserves an asterisk less than any other playoffs ever. Basketball in its purest form. No travel, no home/road games, no fans. Same rules for everyone.
That’s not what nba basketball is about thoug. It’s definitely different from all other championships and that should be noted
@@shanesawyer5103facts, and that 2020 Lakers team is a lot greater than given credit for, they were going to win 2020 regardless.
These players either didnt play or suffered injuries: Curry, Klay, KD, Kyrie, Beal, JJJ, Sabonis, Dame, Westbrook. CP3, Pat Bev, Hayward, A. Gordon, 8 ENTIRE TEAMS, etc opted OUT!
Then there’s no fans, which are a huge part of the game considering most losses for good teams are away games when there’s crowd pressure.
Was it EASY?
No, but it wasn’t as difficult as most!
#LeMickey 💍
@@Mercurial. Excuses Excuses, Everyone had the same leverage in the bubble, stop coping
The 4th quarter of game 7 in the 2000 Western Conference Finals between Portland and the Lakers. I remember ESPN having an article come out the following day where 19 calls in the 4th quarter alone favoring the Lakers were questioned. The article was removed rather quickly and I've never been able to find it again.
Not Rigged Portland blew it
Just a coincidence, Portland just sold the bag hard
I agree, Portland either choked or they were hoping time would expire fast with them ahead. As soon as Rasheed Wallace blew that uncontested dunk, I had a bad feeling that Portland was going to lose that 2000 WC Finals after all the work Scottie Pippen did practically willing a nearly lifeless Blazers team from a 1-3 series deficit to a double-digit lead entering the 4th quarter of game 7.
@@markcowser2403 re-watching it, Portland did shit the bed on offense, but so did the Lakers. Difference was the Lakers were getting bailed out on free throws. The 3 quick fouls on Sabonis that fouled him out early in the 4th were questionable as well. Knowing that Portland outscored the Lakers whenever Sabonis was on the court.
No coincidence most of these potential fixes involve Lakers...why is that??? The answer is money, eyeballs, ..its Hollywood tinseltown favoritism
Top 3 have Lakers in it. This coming from a diehard KOBE fan! Gotta respect that 😎
wth are you talking about? I'm assuming you've talked with all parties involved in the accident (incuding the dead) to be making such an asinine comment. Like they say, haters just hate
2016 Finals. lelose goes to the NBA crying like a you know what, and all of sudden, they suspend Draymond. That would not have happened if it were any other player. And, although people say it was 'just' one game, it prolonged the series and GS was hurt. It's like removing 1 spark plug out of a 8-cylinder car. For those who know a little about cars, they know the engine and every thing else may be working fine, but that car will run like crap and shudder and shake like crazy!
Facts
It would of happened because he had broke the nba rule for to many tec yall love making up shit but the fact is Jordan went to David stern about pistons facts vs fiction
Draymond was suspended, because he went over the technical foul limit. And to put it bluntly, they should have thrown Draymond under the bus, for kicking Adams in the nuts. Draymond was playing on borrowed time.
Stop saying THEY suspended Draymond. Draymond suspended himself. He racked up another 16 technicals this year.
ah yes, totally ignoring that Draymond was over the technical foul limit and a player has to be suspended for a game when they do that.
Sort of surprised to not see Torontos chip towards the bottom of this list. Warriors fell apart immediately after Thompson and KD went out. No way that series is even close if that doesn't happen
2016 when Lebron cried in an interview and got Green suspended and Bogut got hurt and the lane opened up wide for Lebron halfway through the series? IMO that should be swapped with 2020. sure the bubble was in a shortened season with no travel, and the Lakers did play one of the weakest finals teams in recent memory, but there was nothing too fishy about the series itself. nobody manipulated the series by removing defensive obstacles off one team like 2016.
I think the 2020 playoffs is legitimate, every team went through the necessary adjustments to continue the league and the teams that met in the finals were actually having astounding runs. Heat were surprising everyone with their strategies to contain superstars and Lakers were winning in 5 games consistently. It's farfetched to put an asterisk on it.
The problem is Lakers wont not be so dominant if there wasnt a long break which is not the part of a normal nba season...
You sound ridiculous put all the players in a bubble and they no one wanted to be there and then take away all the fans from the games so it’s like you are playing a pick up game at the YMCA then on top of that give them a few months off to rest and heal 😂
That is definitely asterisks ring for sure no doubt.
@@VojkanTrifunovic u act like other team didn't take the break.....
Fuck outta here 😂😂😂. That’s like saying it’s fair that everyone had to be quarantined when CoVid Happened. Everyone has to stay at home. So it doesn’t matter about the job you went to, your daily outdoor activities, the city you live in. Everyone is quarantined, so everything is fair 😂😂😂
So 2015 has an asterisk but 2016 doesn’t???
IKR
Warriors fan spotted
In what way did golden states problems exceed love and Irving injuries?
@@WhatAG23 right😂
@@gnielsen07 Bron and Kyrie didn’t go off till Bogut got injured. They were averaging like 23-25 a piece thru the first 4 games. This isn’t even mentioning Drays suspension
Those 1988 and 2002 championships still piss me off.
Also, before anyone mentions 2016, Bron dropped 41 with Draymond on the floor. Can we stop this narrative that Draymond’s suspension actually changed anything when the Bogut injury was more impactful?
Also, 5 of Curry’s 6 fouls looked legit to me.
For the 2020 NBA finals there were also injuries to BAM and Dragic.
The Heat were worse with them on the floor. Poor matchups against Caruso and AD.
You could say that about any Finals that’s why the 2015 finals shouldn’t have an asterisk
@@poly_g6068right on. I said the same thing to heat fans at the time. The heat surprisingly played better with Kelly olynyk, kendrick nunn, etc. the heat were getting destroyed before bam and dragic got injured. Afterwards, they managed to make it close. Once bam and goran returned, it was over, the heat got pummeled and jr smith went shirtless before the game was even over
Fr and even with playing with a C team heat bench they still managed to take it to 6 games. It would’ve been a sweep with heat healthy
@@SoggySlopster Keep dreaming
Kyrie fractured his knee cap in game 1
I don't believe it was his ankle
great vid :)
Dang, you're right! I'll post a correction in the pinned comment. Thanks
Yeah, it was Giannis, who were forced to cause injury on Kyrie's ankle in 2021. The Nets were about to eliminate the Bucks, and Giannis had to do something to advance. It was round two, but should've resulted in a ban over the finals. Finals, that, of course, the Bucks won.
@@penkima4923 Does New Jersey also win it all if they beat Milwaukee in your opinion?
@@fortynights1513 We saw MIL go onward, and win the chip. And, KD nearly won MIL by himself. Harden had a hamstring-injury during the MIL-series. But, with a healthy Kyrie, they'd probably win the chip.
@@penkima4923 I could see that, and did I say NJ? I meant Brooklyn
2016 definitely, Dray suspended, and a rigged game 6, too odd just to help the Cavs win against an injured Gs
Man, I know you're a Lakers fan so thank you so much for your objectivity about the 1988 Finals.
You forgot the 2016 Finals
That 06 finals still hurts to this day. Glad we got their asses back in 2011 way more sweet 😊
And... they won twice in a row
Don’t choke a 2-0 lead next time.
Mavs had a 2-0 lead in 06 but we don’t talk about that 😅…that’s aight Miami and Dallas are 1-1
Dirk should have 2 though
Dirk shot 39% from the field and 25% from 3's in that series, but let's not discuss it because he's a nice guy lol
I kinda think the bubble championship requires more of a "context" asterisk rather than a true asterisk. Just because everyone was under the same conditions. The Lakers were catching fire heading into the season shut down and wouldve had home court in every series. It's important for the history of the league to understand what was going on, but I think it's more of a weird title than an asterisk title.
@Chase AReal1 someone else shouldve won it then if it was so fuckin easy to win! It was the strangest season ever but they won 4 playoff rounds against 4 NBA playoff teams, nowhere near as big of an asterisk as the league potentially rigging the actual games
@@duydo6924 a 20 ppg scorer having a great stretch shouldn’t discredit a whole playoffs, if the bubble made it so easy for lesser players to become great, why didn’t anyone beat the 1 seed lakers
@@duydo6924 but it still was an even playing field, it was “easier” for every team.
Also the heat were a shot away from the finals last year and Donovan Mitchell is borderline first team all nba this year. Plus the suns looking great before popping off the next year, so it wasn’t that outside the realm of reality besides TJ warren
For me it has lots of asterisks. The largest one being the WCF
@@duydo6924 Well every ring should have an asterisk if that's what you're saying. That bubble basketball removes all the disadvantage and advantages a team has over the other. It's basketball at it's purest form, just plain talent and the most talented team would win it all. It's that simple. This wouldn't be a big fuss if the Lakers didn't win it. Admit it. Because LeBron won another ring, everybody wanted to put an asterisk on it to discredit him since the Lakers can't be called a superteam and aside from winning it inside the bubble, there's really no real argument or criticism to throw at LeBron winning his 4th ring.
I completely disagree with 2020. No home court advantage makes it... less fair? The 2 best teams that year made it to the finals. I don't understand this narrative.
Game 6 of the last dance should have an *. Dick Bavetta was reffing. Howard Eisley hit a 3 that was clearly off in time, but was called a shot clock violation. Later in the game Ron Harper hit a 3 that was clearly after the buzzer, and it counted. That is a 6 point difference. MJ would have probably still pulled it out, but I remember it was very sketchy to see that live.
Yep, its crazy how little that aspect is talked about. A game 7 in Utah would have been insane
A 2 by Harper! 😊
Definetely bad for Jazz fans but going back to the game there is no indication that the game was called in the Bulls' favor. The Eisley one was a very bad call, but the Harper one was super close and very hard to tell without a replay.
@tech-no-logic tech True, and there was a LOT of blown calls before replay was brought in. You could also argue that even if the league wanted MJ to win, they would have wanted a Game 7 first for the boatloads of extra money
@@jonnyarnett What would have been a cool matchup in my opinion would have been if the big three Rockets in 1997 (Hakeem, Drexler, and Barkley) played the Bulls in the finals.
Chicago very likely takes it, but it would have been interesting, because the center position was Chicago’s weakest, and that player would have faced Hakeem in his last all-star year.
@@fortynights1513 hakeem didnt do anything notable after 1995 . But in 1994-95 when he was a beast , it would have been lit to see a finals between the 2
2020 having an asterisk will always be odd. It was basketball at its purest form
He needs more views and acceptance from “that side” of the crowd, simple RUclips politics don’t take it too serious I don’t even believe he believes it should have an asterisk lol
@@YungLanxx "that side"
@@SFTaYZa lool you definitely know what I mean
Bubble title ain’t real
@@Michael-mt6yb y it ain’t?
Dwayne Wade earned all his trips to the line in 2006. That was a valid championship
anyone that actually knows ball knows the Mavs just couldn't guard him. Just cause you got more FTs doesn't mean its "Rigged".
I don't believe in putting an asterisk on rings because of injuries, it's a part of the game.
Reminds me of the chiefs winning the SB this year. Whether it was outright rigged or not clearly the refs had some sort of bias towards Mahomes and the cheifs
That 2006 finals was rigged. They literally just gave it to Wade.
That kings/lakers series was my first year watching basketball and being from the Sacramento area the kings were my team. That series made me hate Kobe and Shaq for a long time. But now I’ve grown to love both and respect their greatness. That series had huge impacts on the league
Credit the Kings for likely ending their playoff drought this year.
@@fortynights1513 Likely? They've clinched it
@@poly_g6068 If you count play-in participants, then yes.
They technically still need one more win or Minnesota loss though to clinch not having to go through the play in tournament.
*LETS GO!!!!* It officially ended Wednesday and I've never been happier. LIGHT THE BEAM 💜🔦
I still have absolute zero respect for Kobe . I celebrated the death of my enemy .
I'm surprised that u forgot the 2016 finals. Draymond gets a tech in game 4 which was upgraded to a 1 game suspension the next day then u had game 6 where they were calling tic tac fouls on the warriors especially on curry
Exactly!
Bc they still had game 6&7. The 73 win team could’ve still won. It to mention game 7 was at home for them. Did game 5 swing the momentum a bit, yes but it’s not like green was suspended game 6 or Game 7.
@@anarke216 kobe > king james > mj
Curry literally threw his mouth guard and got ejected he did that to himself
What about the 2016 NBA Finals? Green was not even supposed to be suspended
Yessir 2016 definitely is an *
LOL he's supposed to be suspended for his nut fetish. He's been dirty all season long. He did that to himself and no one has to be blamed for his stupidity. Even so, the warriors had 2 games with him and their "Death Lineup" and a homecourt advantage to win it, but...... THEY CHOKED BIG TIME. Steph looked like Westbrook turning over the ball multiple times and shooting bricks in the clutch.
Draymond got away with a lot of missed calls during that year. He was lucky. A call was ignored in the WCF when he kicked Steven Adams in the groin. Draymond had it coming.
All 4 of lebrons rings have an asterisk.
Jordan 1st ring has an asterisk.
The Pistons game 7 is insane. I knew about the phantom call in game 6. That's rough
So if u put 2015 in there 2016 should be in there as well bc u can same the same thing
The blazers got some of what the kings got in 2000 western conference finals
If you havent already, a video with MVP asterisk would be highly appreciated.
Any player who won the MVP Award against prime Michael Jordan has an asterisk besides his name.
@@kachoman6225 stop coping
@@kachoman6225 At minimum, Michael should have at least one more MVP. I think Karl Malone's MVP over Jordan was justified, though
3 out of 5 times it's the lakers. And all three times in their favour. As this is your Team Jonny, probs to you, that you put them in.
How warrior first champ a fluck ...... that year the western conference finals was the real finals
Anybody remember Celtics vs lakers game 7 2010 NBA Finals? The Lakers shot 32% for the game and still won which should have been impossible. The key stat for this game was the disparity in free throw attempts which was a whopping 37 versus 17 in favor of the Lakers. The lakers shot more free throws in the fourth quarter than the Celtics shot the entire game. Clearly the fix was in.
Everytime a team gets more fts then the other yall casuals automatically think its rigged lmfao yall know nothing
@@MistahJay7 If one team gets more free throws in the 4th quarter than the other team gets the entire game then it would be ludicrous to assume anything other than rigging and even a casual would know this so long as they have eyes.
@@jeremyquinn4426 the lakers were the more aggressive team and deserved those freethrows you must be a salty Boston fan that wasn’t close to a rigged game🤡 😂
As much as Lakers fans are biased same thing can be said for detractors as well. Celtics would have won had Perkins not got injured! But in 2008 Bynum and Ariza were injured. 2002 the fix was in Lakers got all the calls…..yet game 5 had horrid officiating, Kings shot more free throws and a obvious push off. I can go on more about 89 and 04. Be non biased!
The NBA really walks a fine line between trying to create playoff series that will get ratings and becoming pro wrestling.
From this video you learn 2 things;
1) NBA loves warm weather markets
2) No one benefits from the refs like the Lakers do.
2016 finals has the biggest asticks IMO. Draymond suspension was rigged
What about the NBA 2019 Finals? I find that final extremely similar to the 2015 NBA Finals. Ironic too considering that it happened to the Warriors this time.
It was just Durant out until the end. The Raptors should of won in 5 games tbh. But the narrative is If they had Klay for 6 & 7 they would of won.
KD was already injured and yes that would’ve been a game changer. But many forget that OG Anunoby was out for the entire playoffs and has been the Raps defensive stopper since he was a rookie. He would’ve focussed entirely on KD allowing Kawhi to cover elsewhere and remain fresher on offence while double teaming KD when needed. Klay played the vast majority of the series too
If the refs called Kawhi's travel before that buzzer beater against 76ers, the Raptors wouldn't even be in the Finals. Everything has an asterisk.
If you're gonna put up the 2015 warriors you have to put the 2019 raptors as well
If you’re throwing in the 2015 and 2020 ship in, you gotta for sure throw in the raptors Championship with Durant and klay going down. As far as 2020 goes, think the lakers got screwed because they were the best team and coulda had home court through out the playoffs but covid made everything equal but I understand about the injuries on the Miami side.
Anytime 2015 is mentioned, 2016 should be as well. The 73-9 Warriors went only 15-9 in the playoffs for a reason.
Steph was hobbled. Iggy was hobbled. Bogut was out. Draymond missed the crucial game 6. If the Warriors were 100%, the Cavs most definitely don't win that series. Warriors would've likely won in 5.
I'm a lifelong Laker fan and I 100% agree that 2020 and 2002 deserve to be first and second. They're the only ones I really have questions about. I didn't remember the 1988 finals, but I think you can reasonably say they might have just been bad refereeing _(I think it's also reasonable to think the fix was in, but it really was just a couple calls at the end of a hectic game)._ Watching highlights of the 2002 WCF is painful. The Lakers just got every call and barely eked out a win over the much more fun Kings _(for those who might not remember, the Kings were a really exciting team at the time. They were more like a modern team with lots of passing and shooting, whereas the Lakers played a slow dump-it-into-the-post style)._ Normally I would just chalk that up to bad refereeing, but if Donaghy says the fix was in you have to at least consider that. He's not the most credible witness, but that's certainly something he might know about.
2020 just needs an asterisk, period. It was different than every other championship before it. Regardless of who won, it was just so different that it needs its own category. I don't know if the odd circumstances made things easier or harder, favored youth or experience, discipline or emotion, but it wasn't the same as previous finals. In some ways it was more "legitimate" in the sense that injuries and exhaustion weren't as big a deal so the teams were more at peak performance, but you could also argue that that made it less "legitimate" because the usual stress and pressure and travel were reduced. Either way it was definitely unique and deserves an asterisk, not to minimize the achievement, but just to remind us that it really wasn't like the other titles.
Kings beat the Lakers 5 out of 7 games in 2002.Shaq really only has 3 rings(Wilts 2 rings don't look so bad,Hakeem only had 2 rings too)and Koby really only has 4 rings.The cheating in that series was so blatant.I played in games where the refs were cheating,it's so obvious.
Yeah, I say the same about 2020, and people just seem to not comprehend. Lebron and AD were super injury prone and would have had an extremely rough time staying healthy through the whole grueling regular season and then heading straight into the playoffs. I'm like 90% sure one of them would have gotten injured at some point before or during the finals, if they made it. That huge break almost exclusively benefitted old and injury prone teams, whereas young and hungry teams with momentum during the season got screwed. Those teams got almost no benefits from the break and mostly downsides, whereas it was a godsend for the Lakers. They all had the same conditions, but those conditions affected every team very differently. It was still impressive basketball, but I heard someone describe it as "they won an NBA tournament, but not an NBA title," because it was so different from a typical title that it needs a new name.
Really stupid points regarding the 2020. The Lakers were the NUMBER 1 SEEEDDDD. And every player got the same rest. And the Lakers would have home court. So they won with a disadvantage. Sorry. Way off on that one
I believe David Stern was in on it too that's why so many teams coaches and players hate the Lakers
The disgusting amount of times he said I wish the lakers were in the finals
Just for tv ratings was more than enough for me back then
@@aceassn716 wrongest opinion from all time
2016 Should be added as well.
I hate it when people use injuries as an asterisk. Part of winning a championship is staying healthy. If a player gets hurt then they aren’t taking enough care of their body and it’s not unfair if the other team wins because they were sitting out.
Yeah injuries happens but officiating cannot be accepted.
Can you do this for MVP’s? If there is any mvps with an asterisk
That's a great idea! I just might
@@jonnyarnett Didn't you do something like that already?
@metalpale94 Only sorta. The "real MVP" series is a kinda similar concept. Would be interesting to basically rank the most 5 undeserving MVPs. Would get the comments section all riled up. lol
@@jonnyarnett ye true but ye just an idea of you wanted to do it
A few of them
Pretty solid list. When I saw the title I made my own list beforehand:
1. 1988 Lakers
2. 2002 Lakers
3. 2015 Warriors
4. 2016 Cavs (Steph got hurt, could qualify depending on view of LeBron)
5. 2019 Raptors (if KD didn’t get hurt the Warriors would’ve won pretty convincingly)
I never understood the hate for the 2020 Lakers title, as everyone had time off to prepare and the environment was as consistent as it could be in competitive sports but that’s me.
I agree with your take about 2020. I don’t get how there should be an asterisk there it wasn’t in one team’s favor over the others
@dvonn lynch The argument is that there SHOULD have been natural advantages, but the bubble eliminated those. No home crowds meant that regular season seeding was almost pointless. Also a break late in the season is gonna benefit older veteran players who need it.... like the Finals MVP, LeBron James. I still think it's a weak excuse if your team lost that year, but it was definitely one of the most unnatural developments in NBA History
2016 also with andrew bogut getting hurt and the refs making some extremely questionable calls on the warriors (up until game 7)
the Rap swept the GSW that season in the regular season 3-0 in 2019 when they had all healthy players playing, and its not just if KD didnt go down that the GSW win every series 4-0, it would go to 7 and it could go either way.
Curry was fine in the conference finals and first 4 games in 2016, his injury isn’t an excuse. Right ab the bubble though
You can also add the 2016 NBA finals that Cleveland Cavaliers championship is also sketchy at best They did Lebron a favor in that finals in my personal opinion.
Refs also carried heat vs spurs in 2013, and helped heat vs Oklahoma city in 2012.
@@thecensoredmuscle563 bullocks
@@blazingexil4003 that is what happened, it's not my fault.
@@thecensoredmuscle563 Non perfect calls don‘t equal rigged. The reason why finals series like 06 and 02 are called rigged is because of clear favoring and to some extent scandals that were involved in those finals. 2013 and 2012 don’t even come close to that. There were some miss calls and bad oversights involved in those finals that effected both teams and you see it all the time especially in the playoffs. Duncan being illegally subbed in game 6 comes to mind. I at least see an argument to 2016 but that series wasn’t any more rigged than 2010 and neither were.
@Blazing Exil 2012 was on par with 06, and 2013 was way way worse. I almost quit watching the nba entirely solely because of that year, because it was so obviously rigged.
As a Laker fan I have to say bubble is definitely a big Asterisk I mean Jimmy was getting buckets on Rachel Nichols and we know hoopers ball harder when motivated like that
LMAO
It's the Jordan Poole Effect
Page of my homeboy BlankBoy39
@@jonnyarnett it's actually a concept memed by Super blank boi a comedy NBA RUclipsr
@@bigguy8435 do you know the super blank RUclipsr
I kinda reworked his NBA comedy skit for this one
i don't get why the bubble has an asterisk. isn't everyone in the bubble? i don't recall lakers having an unfair advantage over everyone else lol
In conclusion, the nba gifted Shaq 2 championships.
January 26th, 2020 Kobe Bryant 😢 passed away. Rest In Peace Kobe #8/24 🙏🏻🕊️ but if that doesn't spell asterisks I don't know what does.
Definitely 2016 NBA Finals is asterisk all around. The Draymond tech was bogus to me and other things y’all should dig into that series.
2015 shouldn't get an asterisk
And here's why.
Yes Kyrie got hurt in game 1 but Cleveland straight up took the very next 2 games. After game 3, so many people had Cleveland taking the crown even with the injuries. The only thing that turned the series in the Warriors favor was literally LeBron performance in game 4 of that series. If Bron has a good game 4, Cleveland takes 2015 in either 5 or 6 without Kyrie and Kevin Love.
Injuries don't deserve asterisks period. If happens all the time and a lot of champions benefited at one point or another from injuries on other teams, whether they faced them in the playoffs or not
If the 2020 has an asterisk, then the 1999 season should have one too. Shorten season, the knicks *8th seed* missing their best player etc.
99 season was a shortened season. However the season did not stop before playoffs. They played regular season and playoffs all in one, which is why there is no asterisk. Where as 2020 they stopped playing near the end of the season, which ruins chemistry etc.
@@thecensoredmuscle563 Then everybody experienced all the "Disadvantage" that everybody was crying about and no one benefitted from it. If it benefitted anyone, according to everyone who discredits the bubble, it's every team who played in the bubble as well since every team had injuries with their key players that they were able to rest out during the break. The 1999 playoffs featured a best-of-five first rd series in which lower seeded teams had a higher chance of upsetting anybody and vice-versa also it gives a higher seeded team who are really stacked and dominating, a chance to close out the series earlier for more rest. That warrants for more "asterisk" compared to an even playing field when no one really had a glaring advantage over the other. In fact, the team who won it (the Lakers) lost their home court advantage, which ironically other internet losers are pinpointing as the reason why the top dogs lost to who they perceive as the "weaker" team which is the reason why they are putting an asterisk to this season. Lakers did their part and should not be faulted to other's inability to do their part and lose to an "inferior" team based on the standings before they face the team everybody wanted to lose, the Lakers. I'm 100% sure you're gonna be one of the others who would say it's a legitimate ring if let's say the Clippers, Bucks, Nuggets or Raptors won that season.
@Nick Samp well..... no. Use your brain a bit. If a season stops at the end of the year right before playoffs, it prevents any of the natural flow of a typical nba season, and chemistry going into playoffs. Which in turn changes the trajectory of what would be, and the results thus changed.
Yeah, the Pistons should've had an indisputable & historic three-peat.. I watched that game with my daddy live with his homies.. the whole house went crazy 🤌🏾
What about the 2016 nba finals? That was super rigged.
I was gonna say 2002 coz i remembered the Kings vs Lakers series that year, man you read my mind. I wouldn't considered 2002 either because of the brutal fixing that year
Can you imagine if the Pistons won in 1988 and proceeded to 3 peat. Isiah Thomas would have 3 chips while Magic only 4. There would literally be a debate in that category who would be the best point guard to ever play.
Yes, truly.
Sorry fellas, Isaiah could not pass like magic.
@@ralphgreenwood2469 Yes, that is true! He did better!! He, he, he!!!
The bubble ring is #1. A 4 month break and playing in an empty gym.
I don’t really get the 2020 one, surely if theres no homecourt advantage that would be at the expense of the 1 seed lakers? At that point you’re getting angry at a team for, being healthy? Its a bit weird to just say that “oh they would’ve been injured if it happened normally” why does that even matter?
@Chase AReal1 what
There is no asterisk next to any finals championships. There are winners and losers.
Funny that the phantom foul is referenced far more often, but in actuality, it's the end of Game 7 that's even more sketchy. With two seconds left, there was plenty of time for a long inbounds pass and last second three to tie the game. But this was an era when fans (and benches) routinely rushed the court early at the end of championship clinching games, and the rather specious consensus seemed to be that the game was over and the Lakers had repeated. That narrative couldn't be denied, so they let it go, and oddly, the Pistons didn't seem to complain at all thereafter, and even the press failed to mention it until RUclips rekindled interest in this thoroughly bizarre ending to a great Finals series.
I'm sure I watched those Finals, but I have no recall of it ending that way. I've never seen it raised ever all this time.
Heat Spurs when the air conditioning conveniently shut off in game 1 while Lebron was having a monster game. Like 5 min later he couldn’t play anymore bcuz his legs cramped up
Its LBJ's fault for not hydrating enough.
Heat got straight up dominated that entire series vs spurs. LeBron getting a little cramp in 1 game for not hydrating, does nothing. Now 2013 has an asterisk, take away the refs helping heat and spurs win 4-1. Take away the refs helping heat and heat would not have gotten past the eastern championship.
@@thecensoredmuscle563 wow
@2Hot2Handle wow is right. Refs control to much of the game unfortunately.
The 2016 NBA finals between the Golden State warriors and the Cleveland cavaliers I believe has asterisks maybe a lot of it you should look into it
yep, huge one.
Hell yeah.
Not Really, The Only “Asterisk” was that bogut was injured, Other than that The Warriors Just Simply Choked, Curry Played horrible those last 2 Games, and before anyone mentions draymond, Draymond was doing too much, He Got himself Ejected, but that’s about it.
I remember seeing the Cavs getting to play 90’s style defense against Curry and Klay for the 2015 & 2016 finals. Delly should have been fouled out in the first half of most of those games in 2015.
What asterisk? Draymond's nut fetish all season long which cost him a 1 game suspension after going at LeBron's nuts? Or a role player's injury which Warriors fans and LeBron haters treats the same level as having the 2nd and 3rd best player of Cleveland getting injured in the previous finals? Or the minor injury that iggy and curry had when kyrie was also nursing a foot injury he got from game 6 of the same series? Or is it the Warriors flat out CHOKED their 3-1 lead and homecourt advantage that's why it should have an asterisk??
The lakers and warriors alone can make their own list
NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT MY HEAT 2006 WADE EARNED THAT
I know who's aiming for me tonight on Mario Kart.... lol
you should have added utah vs bulls 1998. Howards 3 not counted, Harpers points counted after time expired,
If you put an asterisk on the Warriors 2015 title then you have to put one on the Cavaliers 2016 title. 1) Bogut was out. 2) Iguodala was injured. 3) Curry was injured. People tend to over look this but if you watch him you can tell he's not moving well. 4) Lebron had to play the diva card and get Green ejected. 5) Warriors were definitely fatigued from chasing the single season wins record. So in my eyes it took the perfect sh!t storm for the Cavaliers to still BARELY win.
Curry Dropped 36 pts to put the Warriors up 3-1. GTFO with that Curry is injured trash
also you're a casual for comparing Bogut being injured to the Cavs missing Kyrie lmao Zero IQ
As someone who watched the 2015 NBA finals I can guarantee you that throughout the first 3 games the Cavs had a good chance to win it all. The whole Warriors squad was struggling throughout that series while LeBron was on fire that I was actually biting my nails the Cavs can pull off the upset
Correct. Everything changed game 4 when Kerr put in the “death lineup” the rest is history
Lol u criticizing 2015 Warriors
How bout 2019 Raptors. they basically face Half of the Star members of the Team being Injured
Worst of all they treating Kawhi like he was the best Player better than Kobe/Mj for beating the Warriors Bench members💀
Or you could say neither deserves an asterisk?
What about fixed game 7 2010 LAL:BOS?
Lakers made 21 FTA while Celtics made 6 in fourth quarter. Lakers EFG% trough the game was 34.9.
I remember watching that mavs vs heat game when I was a kid and straight up saying they were cheating were dwade
If the cavs warriors series has an asterisk the raptors warriors should have one 2
Biggest asterisks are:
2016 Cavs (super rigged Finals)
2019 Raptors (half the Warriors were injured)
2020 Lakers (Bubble ring. Lakers got an advantage being able to practice together during pandemic)
Stop it you literally have a ref rigging the game in 2002 with the Lakers and kings
2015 Cavs were more injured than 2019 Warrirors. Warriors also lucked out in 2017 as the Spurs would've won if Zaza wasn't a dirty player and injured Kawhi
If 2015 is a fluke because star players were injured, then the raptors’s 2019 win is a fluke for the same reason. Injuries are part of the game. You never want to intentionally hurt any other player, yet the Toronto crowd was loudly cheering for Kevin durant’s fall. Literally the only 2 reasons this series gets a pass for “not being rigged for injuries” is because it’s Toronto’s first win ever, Or because people simply hate the warriors.
Warriors should of lost in 5, but people ignore that because the narrative is about KD and Klay's absence.
The bubble chip is legit. The adversity affected everyone, it's not like one team was massively advantaged or disadvantaged by it.
What about teams that earned home court advantage? The bubble made that obsolete. For example, do the Clippers lose to the Nuggets if they actually had home court?? We'll never know...
It didn't affect everyone evenly. Injury prone squads that were all banged up before the stoppage were given a huge break. The Lakers being the best example.
The grind of the season determining what the playoff rosters look like is a big part of things that we talk about every year in a lamenting fashion that so many teams are depleted. They totally bypassed it that year.
@chaseareal1703do you have an argument or just name calling
2016 Cavs title should be on there for sure