Haliburton’s achilles stays in tact for game 7. Could’ve been the greatest championship run in league history. Especially in context.

This applies to several games, I think, but Robert Horry doesn’t exist.

Game 6…May 31st 2002

Kings vs Lakers

Blazers win game 7 of WCF in 2000 and win the championship. Rasheed retires as a blazer legend.

Rebound Bosh, back out to Allen, his three pointer… BRICK

G6 against the Warriors in the WCF. I’m so happy OKC eventually won one, but I wanted that core to win so badly when I was still in school. 

Craig Ehlo blocks Jordan’s shot, forever shattering MJs confidence.

Ehlo and the Cavs go on to dominate the East.

I’d give Hali his game 7. The story was so perfect, it would’ve been incredible to see it happen

Game 7, Hali doesn’t tear his Achilles and the Pacers win the title

Klay doesn’t get injured, he plays out his prime and is less washed now.

Kawhi’s shot doesn’t bounce in against the Sixers, Sixers win in overtime. Go on to win the championship that year instead of the Raptors. Embiid’s legacy skyrockets.

STOUDAMIRE AND DIAW GETTING SUSPENDED FOR LEAVING THE BENCH BECAUSE OF HORRYS BITCH ASS PLAY

Spurs didn’t deserve the chip that year

KD’s toe is behind the line in game 7 against the Bucks in 2021, Nets go on to win Harden a chip

Trae Young never lands on the refs foot in the 2021 ECF. We split first two in Milwaukee, Trae had 48 points in game 1, and he had 32 in game 3 with the lead before the ankle injury. Who knows if we would’ve won the series but I liked our chances and then vs the Suns in the Finals who knows again but damn it would’ve been fun.

I would trade the 2 KD championships for wining in 2016.

A foul would be called on one of the several Bulls who fouled Charles Smith.

2002 WCF Game 6 or 7

Game 3 2021 Finals. Suns go up 3-0, we either close it out and win our first chip or be the first team to blow a 3-0 lead 😭

JR Smith realizes game 1 of the 2018 finals still tied, and the Cavs some how get the win instead of OT.

G6 of the 93 NBA finals to give Charles Barkley the chance to win the title.

Phoenix had Ceballos out and Kevin Johnson at 50%. On top of that Jordan needed to pull of the best finals performance ever averaging 41 points to win.

Statistically the teams were very close to each other

The narrative that Rockets beat the Warriors is so dumb.

2019 ECSF Game 7. Kawhi Misses the shot and Sixers win in OT. Sixers beat the warriors that year in the finals.

Jimmy stays in philly so the miami runs never happen, Embiid has a ring and may stay moderately healthy in the future since he’s not putting his body on the line in subsequent years. Kawhi stays in Toronto to “run it back.” Aspiration never happens. Clippers never trade SGA and are LA’s team. Ben simmons gets bullied by Jimmy and develops a Jump Shot. OKC dosnt have a dynasty. Lebron may only have 3 rings since they may play the bucks or boston the bubble year (stronger teams imo).

Nick Anderson shoots at lease one of his freethrows, Magic gets more confident, Magic wins over the Rockets.

Shaq’s legacy will be cemented in Orlando, he will stay in Orlando instead of LA, no three peat, or championshi, in LA.

Vince makes the shot in 2001. Bucks up next then hopefully Raps v Lakers final.

Game 5 2005 NBA Finals…We dont leave Horry wide open

2022 finals game 4 Steph doesn’t go off. Warriors go down 3-1 and lose the series. Steph never has arguably his greatest game, never gets that FMVP. Young Celtics win ahead of schedule, go on to win at least one more becoming the only multiple champions of this era, and Jaylen Brown never gets traded for Paul George. Big swings to legacies on each side of the equation.

As a Warriors fan, kind of the opposite. Klay doesn’t tear his ACL after the Durant injury. They could have feasibly won game 6 and then had game 7 at home. If they win that ring, Steph has 5 not 4 and they quite possibly would have contended to win in 2020. The Klay injuries took two contending seasons away from Steph. Winning ⁶⁄₇ would put Steph in Jordan/Lebron territory.

Ron Artest is subbed out with 2 minutes left in the Malice game. Pacers win 65 and Reggie gets a ring on the way out the door.

Sub Derrick Rose out. Maybe he never hurts his knee and his career looks a lot different. Maybe he’s a Bulls lifer.

More likely, his knees were a ticking time bomb and it was going to happen regardless. But a man can dream.

David Blatt gets called for a technical in game 4 of the 2015 ECSF, Bulls go up 3-1. Not a guarantee the Bulls win the series, but they have a shot and almost certainly beats Atlanta in the ECF. Bulls still probably lose to the Warriors but at least I get to see D Rose, Jimmy and Jo get a shot.

Stop Zaza from injuring Kawhi in 2017 or whatever it was, that was gonna be a series for the ages until one play ruined it entirely

As a Knicks fan who was a very upset 3rd grader: John Starks gets his shot up over Hakeem’s fingers and hits his 3 to win game 6 (and the championship) of the 1994 NBA Finals.

Kobe doesn’t tear his Achilles. He never gets the time off that led to him wanting to be a story teller. He keeps playing at a high level for a few years but he doesn’t know how to embrace retirement. He never wins an Oscar. He never coaches his daughter’s basketball team. Him, Giana and the others never get on the helicopter. Gigi goes on to play basketball at UConn then joins the wnba.

Pacers fan:

Regular season game - Malice in the Palace. Pacers go on the win a chip with Reggie.

Playoffs - Game 7 of 2025 finals, of course.

either GM 7 of 1962, 65 or 68. Wilt & team no doubt win the finals in either of those years and all 3 Game 7’s were against Boston and the three of them combined for 8 points (first two combined for 4 points and ended on crazy plays).

Luka magic against the knicks where he scored like 12 points in 10seconds to force ot and knicks loss.

Jordan misses the jump shot, Jazz win the next game for the title. The butterfly effect is finding out Malone is a pedo is even more crushing to the fan base

Not the most important thing but I am curious to see how Lebron would have done against the celtics in 2010 if he didn’t mess up his elbow.

We could have finally gotten Bron vs Kobe.

What would the NBA landscape look like if OKC beat Golden State and possibly won a chip with the KD and Russ core

Our game 7 choke job at home versus Minnesota in ‘24 or our game 7 loss to OKC in ‘25. I think we would have went on the win the championship for either one.

2001 ECF Game 5, Bucks v Sixers. Bucks win if the refs don’t screw them and go on to face the Lakers in the Finals. They lose the Finals, but Grunfeld doesn’t capitulate to George Karl and trade Ray Allen to the Sonics two years later for 20 games of Gary Payton and Desmond Mason. Ray’s extended career in Milwaukee gets a jersey retirement and Giannis can’t wear 34.

The Zaza game. Kawhi doesn’t get injured, Spurs upset the KD Warriors on their way to the championship

The Kawhi rim shot to kill the Sixers.

I’d have it bounce more times before going in.

What happens to the Pacers if malice at the palace doesn’t happen

2018 final g1

Well of course, Haliburton Achilles doesnt explode game 7, and Pacers win the title.

But otherwise, Vogel puts Hibbert in at the end of game 1 of the 2013 ECF against the Heatles. Pacers take home court advantage since series went back and forth for wins

Game 1, 2015 Finals. Kyrie doesn’t get hurt. Cavs win that series with LeBron having any sort of help.

Heatles era finals rematch with Spurs when LeBron cramped up in game 1.  People that never hooped don’t realize how long a severe cramp will set you back athletically.  Bron put up numbers but he was never the “dominate and control everything playoff monster” Bron that whole series.

Game 7 2022 ECF. Heat would go on to destroy them warriors smh. Let the sorry ass Celtics get there just to blow it.

December 28, 2011

Instead of losing by 1, the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Heatles 96-95.

They would finish 8-58 which wouldnt be the worst record ever.

May 2010, WCF, Sun Lakers tied 2-2. Artest had a putback buzzer for the win giving LA a 3-2 lead over my suns in that series. I really believe suns would have won that series and the finals that year but for that game. Still hurts.

Or zaza doesn’t injure kawhi

Game 7 WCF meltdown by Scottie and Sheed.

2000 game 7 of the Western Conference finals.

The Portland Trailblazers versus the Los Angeles Lakers in Los Angeles.

Instead of getting any man in the world over 6’9” with stamina to guard Shaq teams instead try and rebuild the Blazers that almost definitely won the championship. Depending on their temperaments the entire team could collapse with anyone being traded. The Jailblazers are champions, Pippen has more championships than Jordan, a small market city finals (Indianapolis). 

Also, game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals with the Lakers at home against the Sacramento Kings.

Chris Webber’s rehabilitation happens more quickly, Lakers 3peat does not exist and gets overshadowed by the 80s Lakers. They choose Kobe over Shaq 2 years earlier. Likely leading to neither increasing their title totals. A version of small ball predating 7 Seconds or Less becomes popular. The most incompetent organization in the Association, other than the Bullets and Clippers in a city people do not care about is champions.  Siphoning fan attention that would soon help the Warriors rise to prominence. 

Kevin Dyson is tackled a half second later and the Titans win the Superbowl.

The Zaza Pachulia closeout on Kawhi in 2017 WCF game 1 never happens.

Charles Smith makes that bucket, and one.

2016 NBA Finals, GSW has their full lineup for game 5 and close out the series 4-1 to be back to back champs.

butterfly effect is KD probably doesn’t go to GSW, which causes huge ramifications in the NBA history timeline

Ray Allen misses his three pointer in game 6 of the 2013 Finals.

2000 Game 7 Blazers Vs Lakers. That fucking lob still pains me to see over and over and over.

The Blazers make 2-3 of those 15 shots they missed in a row in the 4th Q of 2000 WCF Game 7. Kobe and Shaq can go fuck themselves into obscurity.

The Bulls and Lakers literally flipped a coin for the #1 pick (Magic Johnson). Chicago called Heads, but it landed on Tails, so the Lakers got him. If that coin lands on Heads, the butterfly effect is insane.

Coin lands on heads -> Magic goes to Chicago, meaning the “Showtime” Lakers dynasty never happens.

-> because Magic is winning games for the Bulls, Chicago never gets a top draft pick in 1984. They miss out on Michael Jordan, who lands in Portland or Philly instead.

Then stretching that saga -> Nike was a struggling running bran back then that risked everything on MJ. Jordan actually preferred Adidas, so without the massive Chicago media market hype, he signs with Adidas.

TL;DR: If a coin lands on Heads instead of Tails in 1979, the Showtime Lakers never exist, MJ never plays for the Bulls, Nike never becomes a streetwear titan, and Air Jordans don’t exist.

OKC wins any of game 5, 6, or 7 against 73-9 Warriors. That would’ve been a fantastic finals still imo and Warriors def don’t get KD

Kawhi doesn’t get hurt in the first game of 2017 WCF. SA was the only team that stood up against that GS team. If they beat them, they would have won the championship.

Ron Artest lies on the scorer’s table to get out of a hostile situation, and no flying liquids hit him.

LeBron goes up for the block…. Goaltend! The Warriors win the series. Steph is 4-0 against LeBron in the finals, 5 rings, and has at least 2 finals MVPs and the best season in NBA.

Kelly Olynyk gets plantar fasciitis, Wizards to the ECF.

Marcus smart toe 3 pointer against the rockets.

Wemby misses the logo 3 game 1 wcf

or the Cavs win the 2018 title and Drose gets his a ring and Dwade his 4th (if this is the right roster).

I’d rather see Drose with a ring than Harden and Cp3.

The phantom foul against Pippen in the 1994 playoffs against Hubert Davis and the Knicks.

Not that it potentially changes much… But Game 1 of the 2018 finals. George Hill hits the free throw and Cavs win.. Would’ve been interesting to watch had Bron not broken his hand.

Also… Cavs 2015, they win G1 before overtime, Kyrie stays healthy and they go on to win the series…. Completely changes the outlook of things I think.

Lakers vs Kings WCF. I still remember the elbow to the face and there was no call.

I don’t even need one game, just give me one quarter: Have the Mavericks not blow the lead in Game 3 of the 06 Finals. Butterfly effect is we have 2 titles instead of 1. I guess you could argue the moves that happen subsequently that lead to us winning in 2011 don’t happen, but there was enough time between the two that I think they wouldn’t affect one another.

Ray Allen misses that shot

Move Durant’s foot back two inches

kawhi doesn’t go down in 2016. i’m not saying that the spurs would have won, but i am saying that it’s slightly less likely that kawhi leaves the spurs when he does, that if the spurs did pull it off the ramifications of a 73 win team going out in the second round would be spectacular, and that bron getting a rematch against OKC or the spurs would be sick.

Sheed leaving big shot Rob open in the finals

Solomon Hill not fucking up LeBron’s ankle. That injury blew up the championship squad and lead to Westbrook, among other trickle down effects