by Shea Serrano
Second, this was the year John Stockton buried the Rockets with a three at the buzzer in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to send the Jazz to the Finals. Those kinds of moments are always great to look back on and say, “That was it. That was when we knew the Jazz were winning the title that year.”
Third, Malone won the league MVP that season. It just makes sense for us to juice the Finals so he also gets the Finals MVP trophy, too.
And fourth, Malone missed two gigantic free throws at the end of Game 1 of the Finals that year that would’ve given the Jazz a two-point lead with 9.2 seconds to go. Jordan hit the walk-off jumper at the buzzer after that to win the game for the Bulls, which super magnified the “Malone shrinks in the biggest moments” criticisms. So we’re going to take that and just flipflop those results: Malone hits the free throws, Jordan misses, the Jazz steal Game 1, and all of a sudden Karl Malone is clutch.
Games 2, 3, and 4 all play out in our fake scenario like they did in the real scenario (Bulls win Game 2, Jazz win Games 3 and 4), which puts them up 3–1 now. The Flu Game still happens in Game 5, except this time we’re draining just a tiny bit of juice from Jordan’s legs so that he misses the three he hit to give the Bulls the lead in the final minute. In our fake version, it rims out, Malone gets the rebound, he’s fouled, he hits the free throws to give the Jazz a two-point lead, the Bulls miss their next shot, and that’s that.
How Do Things Look Different Afterward? Malone, like Webber, gets to shed the “choker” tag, which is huge. Bigger than that, though, is that all of his other accolades (among them: 2-time league MVP, 14-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA First Team, second in the history of the league in scoring) all of a sudden start to look way, way, way shinier. Winning that ring in 1997 would jump him at least up to the 13th spot, overtaking Julius Erving and Jerry West along the way (but still leaving him behind Jordan, Kareem, LeBron, Magic, Wilt, Larry, Russell, Timmy, Shaq, Hakeem, Oscar, and Kobe).
PLAYER:
Steve Nash
RANKING:
30th
YEAR HE’S WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
2007 (His Suns lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals, 4–2.)
Nash never made a Finals, so it’d seem like getting there would mean we’d have to change a whole bunch of stuff. That’s not the case, though. It’s an easy fix because at the end of Game 4 of the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals (a game the Suns would go on to win), Robert Horry hip-checked Steve Nash into the scorer’s table as he tried to dribble the ball up the court. When it happened, Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw jumped off the bench and ran onto the floor, which led to their suspensions for Game 5, which the Spurs won, then closed out the series in six. Let’s make it so that those two dummies don’t come off the bench, the Suns win Game 5 at home, lose Game 6 in San Antonio like they did in the real scenario, then win Game 7 to go to the Conference Finals. Once there, they blow out the ultra mismatched Jazz, and then in the Finals they also blow out the ultra mismatched Cavs. Nash gets his ring.
How Do Things Look Different Afterward? It’s a big jump for Nash. There are only 14 players in the history of the NBA who have won two or more MVP trophies. Steve Nash is one of them. He’s also one of only two players in that group to not have a title, though.11 If he gets one, it becomes basically impossible to keep him out of the Top 20, which is wild to think about. What also happens is that the Suns’ speedball version of basketball, where they were just really running teams to death, becomes legitimized, like what we saw happen when the 2015 Warriors won the title. All big things for Nash. He jumps from 30th to 20th.
PLAYER:
Charles Barkley
RANKING:
18th
YEAR HE’S WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
1993 (His Suns lost to the Bulls in the Finals, 4–2.)
We don’t have to change very much here to help Bark-ley get his ring. The Suns were down 103–106 in the final minute of Game 2 of the 1993 Finals. Danny Ainge, who’d just hit a three and then a layup, had a chance to tie the game on a three-point attempt but Scottie Pippen, that fucking beautiful shark, he managed to block the shot. The Suns ended up losing the game 111–108. Let’s take that Pippen play and make it so that rather than him blocking the shot, Ainge not only is able to get it off, but he also makes it while being fouled and then makes the free throw, too, giving the Suns a 107–106 lead that they hold on to. So now the series is tied, 1–1.
In the real scenario, the Suns won that iconic triple overtime game in Game 3. We’ll obviously keep that the same, so now the Suns are up 2–1. The Bulls won Game 4 in the real scenario. We’ll keep that the same, too, so now it’s 2–2. The Suns won Game 5 in the real scenario, so that stays the same, which has us at 3–2. And the Bulls won Game 6 in the real scenario (that’s the game where John Paxson hit the three to put the Bulls up one with 3.9 seconds left). In our fake scenario, Paxson misses, Barkley gets the rebound, makes the free throws, and there you go: Sir Charles wins his championship. All we had to do was get an and-one on Scottie Pippen in Game 2 and a brick from John Paxson at the end of Game 6. Easy work.
How Do Things Look Different Afterward? Very different. Consider this: This was the season after the Dream Team was a global phenomenon, and Barkley was the runaway best basketball player during that Olympics. So you have that, plus he won the league MVP in 1993, plus he won his first championship by beating the wildly competitive Jordan. Is there any way that Jordan retires that season after that string of events? It doesn’t seem likely, does it? So we’re stealing Jordan’s 1993 championship, but does that mean he sticks around for the 1994 season and also the 1995 season? And if so, do we get five straight titles from the Bulls from 1994 to 1998? And while all of that is going on with Jordan, what’s going on with Barkley? Does he rate as a Top 10 player of all time if he retires with that 1993 ring? It feels a lot like he does.
PLAYER:
Dominique Wilkins and Vince Carter
RANKING:
44th and 69th, respectively
YEAR HE’S WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
Dominique wins the 1988 title and Vince wins the 2001.
Dominique, a mega-force dunk-monster, dueled with Larry Bird in a wonderful series in the second round of the playoffs in 1988. His team lost by a bucket in Game 7. Vince, a mega-force dunk-monster, dueled with Allen Iverson in a wonderful series in the second round of the playoffs in 2001. His team lost by a bucket in Game 7.
For Dominique, we’re letting him hit a three at the buzzer to get his Hawks past the Celtics in Game 7. Then he gets them past the Pistons in the Conference Finals. Then, in a miraculous showing, he out-guns the Showtime Lakers to win the 1988 championship. For Vince, we’re letting him hit a two at the buzzer to get his Raptors past the Sixers in Game 7. Then he gets them past the Bucks in the Conference Finals. Then, in a miraculous showing, he out-guns the New Showtime Lakers to win the 2001 championship.
How Do Things Look Different Afterward? They probably don’t look all that different for Vince—at least, not if we’re talking about big picture stuff. He was never a serious MVP contender12 and never even made an AllNBA First Team. If we give him the 2001 title—which, to be sure, would’ve been monumental because it means he’d have had to beat the best version of the Shaq-Kobe Lakers we ever saw—it’d probably end up being seen as an aberration of sorts. He certainly makes a jump in the rankings, but it’s probably just him going from 69th all-time to 59th all-time, putting him one spot above Carmelo.
For Dominique, his title has a much bigger effect on his legacy. He was left off the Dream Team in 1992, but if he beats Magic for a ring in 1988 then he almost certainly gets on there,13 and that does wonders for his everything. He makes the NBA’s Top 50 list in 1996, which he was also somehow left off of. And so even with just those two accomplishments on his resume, we’re talking about him less as just a boutique talent from the ’80s and more of a massive, important figure. He jumps from 44th to 32nd, knocking Patrick
Ewing back a spot to take his position.
PLAYER:
Patrick Ewing
RANKING:
32nd
YEAR HE’S WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
1994 (His Knicks lost to the Rockets in the Finals, 4–3.)
John Starks goes 5–18 instead of 2–18. The Knicks win Game 7 by one, 91–90, instead of losing it by six.14
How Do Things Look Different Afterward? Possibly very different. Hakeem’s two championships (particularly grabbing them back-to-back) are a decent-sized part of the reason he’s regularly considered one of the 10 greatest basketball players ever.15 If he only has one, how far back does he fall? And if he loses in the Finals to Ewing, that means Ewing holds an NCAA Championship game over Hakeem and also an NBA championship over him, too. Do people start arguing that Ewing is better than Hakeem? Does that happen? Let me know if that pretend happens during these pretend conversations so I can fucking pretend fight everyone. Thank you.
PLAYER:
Tracy McGrady
RANKING:
63rd
YEAR HE’S WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Pick whatever one you want. 2003? Do you want that one? Let’s use that one since that’s the season he averaged over 32.1 points per game.
How Do Things Look Different Afterward? I actually hadn’t intended on including Tracy McGrady in this. While I was working on this chapter, though, my researcher, Mike Lynch, sent me this note: “Tracy McGrady would be a super interesting case. He could be like the Sandy Koufax or Gale Sayers of the NBA if he had a ring. Koufax and Sayers get talked about among the best at their position in the history of each of their games despite their short careers. (Or maybe Bill Walton is already the NBA’s version of this?) T-Mac had a shorter prime than most due to injuries, but holy shit, his peak was about as good as any wing has ever been. At 23, he led the NBA in PER, Offensive Win Shares, Win Shares per 48 Minutes, and Box Plus/Minus. From 2001 to 2007, he had a 6.5 Box Plus/Minus. For context, during that span Kobe was 5.2, Vince was 4.5, Ray Allen was 4.1, and Paul Pierce was 3.8. We might be talking about if he would have been the best ever without the injuries if he had won a ring as a young player before his demise.”
T-Mac gets his 2003 ring, he’s jumping from 63rd to 38th.
PLAYER:
Allen Iverson
RANKING:
46th
YEAR HE’S WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
2001 (His Sixers lost to the Lakers in the Finals, 4–1.)
Chris Paul, a master facilitator willing to be a slithering snake when necessary, is on one side of the point guard spectrum. Allen Iverson, a righteous warrior who scored the way those 50-caliber machine guns shoot bullets in old war movies,16 is on the exact opposite side. Giving him a championship ring for 2001 is my favorite thing to daydream about. It’s half the reason I wanted to write the book. I just wanted to write the sentence “Allen Iverson wins the 2001 championship.” Imagine that.
How Do Things Look Different Afterward? I never ever stop crying. Iverson jumps from 46th to 25th.
So, which NBA player’s legacy is the most greatly affected if we give him the championship he never won? I think it’s Barkley. It has to be Barkley. We have to change just a tiny amount to get him his ring, and him getting his ring ends up with him jumping up into the ultra elite level of iconography. After him, it’s Malone. After that, it’s probably Ewing. And then after that, it’s a toss-up, the same as all of this, really.
1. I didn’t include Elgin Baylor. I’m not sure why, I just didn’t. Sorry.
2. They made the ranking in 2016.
3. This part made me sad to write.
4. This part made me happy to write. It’s not true, though. I did not really play in the NBA.
5. They actually have Alex English at 62nd. I didn’t include him either. Sorry. Consider this my formal apology to Alex, to the entire English family, to anyone who speaks English, to anyone named Alex.
6. The first 25: 1. Jordan, 2. Kareem, 3. LeBron, 4. Magic, 5. Wilt, 6. Bird, 7. Bill Russell, 8. Timmy, 9. Shaq, 10. Hakeem, 11. The Big O, 12. Kobe, 13. Jerry West, 14. Dr. J, 15. Moses Malone, 16. Karl, 17. Dirk, 18. Barkley, 19. Stockton, 20. The Admiral, 21. KG, 22. Durant, 23. Steph Curry, 24. Elgin Baylor, 25. Scottie Pippen.
7. He went to the Finals with the Spurs in 2013 as a bit player.
8. Technically, Stockton entered the NBA one year earlier than Malone, but the general point stands.
9. If I’m being all the way honest, Chris Paul should be included in this chapter. I don’t think he’ll ever win a championship either. It’s very sad, too, because he’s incredible. As I write this, he’s first in Offensive Rating, third in Win Shares per 48 Minutes, third in Offensive Box Plus/Minus, sixth in PER, second in Assist Percentage, ninth in Steal Percentage, sixth in Playoff PER, second in Playoff Assist Percentage, fifth in Playoff Steal Percentage, seventh in Playoff Offensive Rating, fifth in Playoff Win Shares per 48 Minutes, and third in Playoffs Box Plus/Minus. You don’t even have to know what all that shit means, really. All you have to know is that if there’s a stat important to point guards, Paul is somewhere near the top. His ring turns him from a stat darling into a champion stat darling. Without a title he’s 29th on ESPN’s rankings. With one, I think he jumps all the way to 17th, at the very least.
10. It feels like I’ve been trying to give that team a title for this entire book.
11. Karl Malone is the other.
12. Vince’s best-ever finish in MVP voting was when he finished 10th in the 2000 season.
13. I hate to do it, but he can have Chris Mullin’s spot.
14. In this pretend scenario, Starks makes two 15-footers and hits a late three he otherwise missed.
15. ESPN has him in their All-Time Rankings as 10th.
16. Iverson has three 50-point playoff games. Only MJ (8) and Wilt (4) have more. And his 29.7 points per game average for his playoff career is second-best in NBA history to Jordan (33.5).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are a lot of people I need to thank.
Thank you to Samantha Weiner. You are a far more patient and understanding editor than I have any right to expect. I appreciate the way you let me roam around in outer space while I’m writing these books we work on together, and I also appreciate the way you keep me tethered to the planet so I don’t float too far away and get myself killed. You deserve everything good that happens to you.
Thank you to Arturo. The artwork you did here is the most interesting and auspicious you’ve done yet. You’re the best at drawing. I’m a big fan of yours. You’re also the worst at deadlines. So sometimes I want to fight. Sorry about any of the times I cussed you out while we were working on this book.
Thank you to Mike Lynch. I am so glad I found you and that you agreed to fact-check the book and also to help me research for the book. This book would be a floppy, floppy mess without you. Thank you to Cole Mickelson, who also helped me research for the book. I can’t even say how thankful I am that you were there to answer all of the emails I sent you because I don’t know big enough words. You’re a gem and the best.
Thank you to Sebit Min for designing this book, to Devin Grosz, my design manager, and thank you to Annalea Manalili, Margaret Moore, Shauna Rossano, and Tim Stobierski for copyediting and proofreading this book. I appreciate it a great deal. I hope that it was not too terrible fixing all of my mistakes.
Thank you to all of the talented and exceptional people who contributed a blurb to the Memory Heroes chapter of this book. That means Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Ramona Shelburne, Seerat Sohi, Chris Ryan, Rembert Browne, Candace Buckner, Jonathan Abrams, Zach Lowe, Doris Burke, Jason Concepcion, Mike Lynch, and Kristen Ledlow. I wish you all knew how much it means to me that you were willing to participate. Please let me know if I can ever help any of you with anything. (Except you, Rembert.)
Since we’re here, let me send an extra thank you to Kristen Ledlow, who, in addition to writin
g a blurb, was the person who arranged for Reggie Miller to write the foreword. I sent her one email outlining what I was hoping to have happen; she responded with something like, “Don’t worry. I got you,” and then two days later I was on the phone with Reggie.
Thank you to Reggie. I remember being in high school and Sports Illustrated had this promo CD that they sent to people (this was back in the early days of the Internet when there wasn’t streaming video). The CD was clips of a bunch of sporting events they’d determined to be excellent. One of those was that 25-point fourth quarter you had against the Knicks in the playoffs. I must’ve watched that thing about 500 times. I still watch it today (on YouTube now). I feel like I have a hundred tiny anecdotes like that about you. You’ll likely never know how important you were to my basketball fandom (and the basketball fandom of so many others), but I’ll never stop trying to explain it.
Oh, let me do some extra thank yous to Sean Fennessey and Bill Simmons right here, too. Thank you for letting me come work for you at The Ringer. I never told you all (or anyone) this, but I was standing in the backyard with Larami and the baby when we were going back and forth on the phone during the pre-hiring stuff. When we got everything nailed down, I hung up the phone, looked at Larami, smiled, looked at the sky, screamed as loud as I could, then grabbed the ball the baby was playing with out of his hands and kicked it a million miles into the sky.
Thank you to the FOH ARMY. I am rooting for every single person in it. I desperately want to see all of you win so many times that you get tired of winning, at which point you win a trophy for being the first ever to get tired of winning. Even if those Ws come few and far between, though, just know that I am here and I will always protect you and love you and shield you from the ugliness of the world.
Thank you to everyone I leaned on, either directly or indirectly, for some kind of basketball insight while I was working on this book, including but not limited to all of the people I mentioned who wrote blurbs, Jade Hoye, Dan Devine, Amin Elhassan, Henry Abbott, Tony Parker, Kirk Goldsberry, Gregg Popovich, Manu Ginóbili, the cast of Pitch Perfect, the cast of Blood In Blood Out, each of The Starters, anyone who’s ever participated on NBA TV’s Open Court, Evan Auerbach, Kevin Pelton, Kevin Arnovitz, Kevin O’Connor, Jonathan Tjarks, Bill Barnwell, Clinton Yates, Michelle Beadle, Rachel Nichols, the Super Secret Basketball Email Chain, Twitter, Paul Cantor, all of the Slack channels I belong to, Chaz and Larry Culbertson, Alfred Young, my dad, my uncles, my cousin Gary and my cousin Jesse, and probably a bunch of other people I’m accidentally leaving out because I’m an idiot.