2001 finals:

AI averaged 35.6 PPG

Shaq averaged 33 PPG

2017 finals:

KD averaged 35.2 PPG

LeBron averaged 33.6 PPG

Kinda interesting how it’s only been done when everyone involved averaged over 33ppg.

Some close finals like 2019 and 2021 where one player averaged over 30 ppg and the player from the other team averaged 28-29 ppg.

Shoutout Rick Barry and Elgin Baylor, 2 of 3 players who averaged 40+ ppg in a finals series, both of them ended in a loss.

MagnetoWasRight24

96 | 7 hours ago

The 2001 shit is even more impressive when you remember that time was one of the slowest paces in league history.

CodymartinSimp

78 | 7 hours ago

AI took 32 shots and 10 free throws a game lol, pace wasn’t stopping him from getting his shots up

MagnetoWasRight24

34 | 7 hours ago

And still shot a better percentage than pretty much anyone on the team, as an undersized sg. He had to carry the offense, if someone did that at today’s pace they’d be putting up 40 shots.

SandyBronsky

24 | 7 hours ago

He was shooting 40% from the field and 28% from 3. Think that tells you more about Aaron McKie than it does AI.

MagnetoWasRight24

18 | 6 hours ago

And that was still a better fg rate than everyone but Dikembe, who put up a fucking incredible offensive performance, but that’s a 7’2” center who took all his shots at the rim.

ncocca

3 | 5 hours ago

Because no one else on our team could score with any consistency at all. He wasn’t selfish, we needed him to do that.

medyolang_ | Lakers

2 | 4 hours ago

he was the only scorer on that team, they played the same way the whole year

SteelyDan4Prez | 76ers

16 | 6 hours ago

AI is easily one of the most important players in league history

withdensemilk | Knicks

1 | 4 hours ago

People don’t really understand how dominant he’d be in today’s game.

DarnellisFromMars | New Jersey Nets

4 | 3 hours ago

Think he gets picked on way more on defense today, but he’s a bucket that’s for sure.

eyyoadrian | Clippers

1 | 2 hours ago

…and/or most influential.

get_to_ele

3 | 6 hours ago

Not so impressive when you realize they just iso the best player and take 3 dozen shots a game.

Once teams started exploiting the 3 properly, every team’s “bail out shot” became kicking out to a high EFG, lightly contested or uncontested 3 by the 5th best player on the floor.

slammaster | Raptors

2 | 5 hours ago

Highest team points in the series was 108.

⁴⁄₁₀ broke 100, ²⁄₁₀ under 90.

platinum92 | Hawks

1 | 3 hours ago

I wonder if they thought pushing the pace would tire out Shaq

MaxiePippins

-13 | 7 hours ago

Yeah but then you remember AI took half of his team’s shot attempts and Shaq had a 40 yr old Dikembe guarding him

TomatoSecure192 [OP] | Bulls

17 | 7 hours ago

Dikembe won dpoy that year tho

MagnetoWasRight24

15 | 7 hours ago

AI still shot a better % than most of the team

Dikembe was 34 and literally won DPOY that season.

You are embarrassingly wrong.

heydigme

8 | 7 hours ago

Yeah, which is why it’s legendary. 1 is the shortest player on the court doing the biggest carrying job. The other is making one of the greatest defenders & the DPOY meaningless.

ArchibaldNemisis

58 | 6 hours ago

Honorable mention to 1993 finals - Barkley was 27/13/5. And we all know Jordan’s 41/8/6.

rocket_beer | Celtics

25 | 5 hours ago

Jordan had a lot of blocks

He wasn’t about to have Charles get his 30 lol

ArchibaldNemisis

4 | an hour ago

He was killing it. Almost 2 stls per game, 40% from the 3 pt line at 4 per game I think.

gigglios

15 | 4 hours ago

Shout 2017 kyrie. He avgd 29ppg. Super close to make it 3 people

[deleted]

3 | 7 hours ago

[deleted]

TomatoSecure192 [OP] | Bulls

2 | 7 hours ago

Edited it, I was thinking of Baylor losing the the Celtics and applied it to Rick Barry 🤦‍♂️

Naive-Landscape4554

3 | 6 hours ago

ai vs shaq in 2001 is still the craziest finals matchup ever imo

BeloAve | Lakers

3 | 4 hours ago

Lebron was the best player in 2017 and 18 finals and it wasn’t close

WillHeBonkYa47 | 76ers

4 | 2 hours ago

Lebron gotta be one of the unluckiest players man. If Kyrie and Klove weren’t hurt in 2015, he probably wins. Then it took him leading both teams in pts/reb/ast/atl/blks to win in 2016. And then the 73 win warriors added the 3rd best player in the world and Kyrie left in 2018

NBAHeatCheck

1 | 4 hours ago

ai dropping 35.6 against that lakers defense in 2001 is one of the most underrated scoring runs ever. dude was carrying a team that had no business being in the finals to a game 1 win by himself

parisdubs

0 | 4 hours ago

It’s postiive and negative. I love seeing players who can bring everyone up and the points are distributed.

There’s only 2 instances of a player from both finals teams averaging 30 ppg