What makes a great win in basketball? The final score? The cast of characters? The highlight moves during the game? It is quite difficult to quantify how a particular win could be considered “great” because the standards or criteria used can be quite subjective. For this piece, we could narrow it down to one element - odds. Few things in life are sure. When a sure thing happens, hardly anyone notices. But if a team somehow manages to win despite overwhelming odds, now that’s a story worth considerable noise and print. Throughout the history of the NBA, there have been so many stirring, unexpected wins. The following are ten of them:.

10. Houston vs. Orlando Magic, 1995 Finals

Orlando Magic was on top of the food chain. They had the best record in the East and had four of the most promising young stars in the league: Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott and the mighty Shaquille O’Neal. The brash Magic had been a force in the playoffs, even embarrassing Michael Jordan and his Bulls en route to the Finals. The Houston Rockets on the other hand were led by veteran center Hakeem Olajuwon and an aging Clyde Drexler. Although they had won the championship the previous year, very few expected them to do well this time, having struggled during the regular season and barely making the playoffs. In an unprecedented feat, the lowly sixth seed Rockets squeezed past the teams with the three best records in the league (Seattle, Utah, Phoenix and San Antonio) to earn the last finals slot. True to its giant-killing form, Houston swept the Magic in four games, teaching the upstarts a harsh lesson in humility.

9. Detroit vs. L.A., 2004 Finals

When Shaquille O’ Neal was convincing Karl Malone to join the Lakers in the 2003-2004 season, he told the Mailman that they will “rule the world together”. Many believed. But the hard working Pistons proved them all wrong. Relying on its trademark blue-collar, defense-oriented, selfless brand of basketball, Detroit shocked a sports world that had become star-crossed with the talent-laden Lakers. With four of the all-time greatest players (O’Neal, Malone, Bryant, Payton) playing alongside each other, plus a legendary coach calling the shots (Phil Jackson), the Lakers seemed to have had the championship in the bag even before the season had begun. But the Lakers imploded on its way to the championship and dissension coupled with clashing egos paved the way for the less glamorous Pistons to bag its first championship of the decade.

8. T-Mac’s 13 points, 2004 Regular Season

There are certain games that you just wish you’d seen live. This one’s on top of that list. Tracy MacGrady punished everyone who went home or turned off their TV sets when the Spurs already had a commanding 10 point margin with only 62 seconds to go in the game. In a dizzying blitzkrieg of points, T-Mac scored 13 points in a mere 35 seconds to lift his Rockets past San Antonio, engineering one of the most thrilling comebacks in regular season history. MacGrady showed there was some truth in his shoe label’s marketing motto “impossible is nothing”, as he secured himself a place in NBA folklore with this stunning performance.

7. Golden State vs. Dallas, First Round 2007 Playoffs

The Warriors barely made it to the post-season that year, edging the LA Clippers for the last playoff spot. The powerhouse Dallas Mavericks on the other hand had of one of the best records in the history of the NBA at 67-15 and boasted of league MVP Dirk Nowitski in their line-up. But the Mavs encountered an irritating nightmare of match-up problems against the small but wily Warriors. In a surprising turn of events, the last seed Golden State knocked-out the top seed and title-favorite Dallas with an incredible 111-86 massacre in the 6th game of the first round.

6. Spud Webbvs. Dominique Wilkins, 1986 Slamdunk Contest.

Ok, so this is does not involve a basketball game. But it still is one of the greatest wins in the NBA. Spud Webb, a 5 foot 6 bench player of the Atlanta Hawks, was a surprise participant in the contest. He was going up against his 6 foot 8 teammate, All-Star, scoring leader and defending slam-dunk champion Dominique Wilkins. Little Spud soundly beat his more illustrious teammate, displaying an astounding array of dunks and athleticism never before witnessed in the NBA for a player his size. He captured the imagination of basketball fans the world over with his amazing win.

 

No wonder why Spud Webb made it number 3 in the Top 10 NBA Players Below Six Feet.

5. Portland vs. Philadelphia, 1977 Finals

The 1977 Finals was a showcase of contrasting styles: the Blazers had a team-oriented system anchored on good passing and on its the fundamentally-sound big man Bill Walton; while the Sixers had a flashier brand of play led by the incomparable Julius “Dr. J” Erving and a slew of other slam-dunking, high scoring players. This interesting series showed why substance is better than style as the more celebrated and individually-talented Sixers succumbed to the less glamorous Blazers. Portland came back in the series after losing in its first two outings, winning the championship in six grueling games. This remarkable upset victory of the Blazers galvanized its home city and created a local fan hysteria known as “blazermania”.

4. Denver vs. Seattle, first round, 1994 Playoffs.

No 8th seed had ever beaten a 1st seed in NBA Playoff history. But Dikembe Mutombo and his rag-tag gang of inexperienced teammates would have none of that. Down 0-2 in the best of five series, Denver came back from the dead and eked out a 3-2 first round win against Seattle. The Gary Payton/Shawn Kemp-led Sonics had the best record in the league and were heavy title favorites. But their dream season came crumbling down amidst the devil-may-care basketball madness that the lowly Nuggets utilized on the court; setting the stage for one of the most improbable play-off series results of all-time.

3. Houstons’ postseason run, 1981 Playoffs

If a team has a losing record, it shouldn’t be in the finals. Heck, it shouldn’t even be in the post season. Tell that to Moses Malone and the rest of the 1980—1981 Houston Rockets. In the unlikeliest of play-off runs, the Rockets upset much heavily-favored play-off teams en route to its first Western Conference Title and to its first NBA Finals stint. Although Houston eventually lost to the Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics in the title series, this Rockets team is still best remembered for its shocking post season series wins over George Gervin’s San Antonio Spurs and Magic Johnson’s / Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s mighty Los Angeles Lakers . How’s that for a team sporting a measly 40-42 regular season record?

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2. Golden State vs. Washington, 1975 Finals

It was not meant to be. Golden State was but a so-so club with one unpopular star, forward Rick Barry and a supporting cast of average players. No one expected the team to get deep into the playoffs let alone enter the NBA Finals. But they did. Their opponents were the dominant team of the Eastern Conference, the Washington Bullets, bannered by future Hall of Famers Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, scorer Phil Chenier and the reliable back court tandem of Kevin Porter and Mike Riordan. The vaunted running game of the Bullets versus Rick Barry and the misfits. In one of the most surprising outcomes in professional sports , the Warriors not only won the championship, they swept the Bullets in four games.

1. Boston vs. L.A., 1969 Finals

The names: Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West. Enough said. This Laker team was supposed to be built and destined to give L.A. its first ever NBA crown. On the other side was Boston, led by its aging playing coach Bill Russell, who was at the end of his legendary career. He still had one trick up his sleeve though, as he steered the undermatched Celtics to yet another title, beating the star-heavy Lakers by a mere 2 points in the 7th and last game of the series. Curiously, the Finals MVP was awarded to Jerry West in recognition of his exemplary play in the championship. This marked the one and only time the award has been given to a member of the losing squad. Still, the award did little to soothe the heartbreak of the hard-luck Lakers, as the ending looked all too familiar: Bill Russell and his Celtics running away with the championship.

An upset in sports means a result that is unexpected. So when little-known Buster Douglas knocked-out the erstwhile indestructible Mike Tyson in 1990, the whole world was shocked off its senses. It showed that sometimes, the huge underdog DOES win big after all. As could be seen in these ten victories, there indeed are magical moments in basketball where David shows himself and slays Goliath unawares. This makes for the most thrilling and greatest wins in sports.