The ultimate test of a competitor is how they perform in the biggest moments. And for the NBA, there’s not a bigger moment than the Finals. In a typical finals series, with the stakes at their highest, tensions and emotions are at an all-time high.
It’s in these moments that the makeup of an NBA star is revealed. Do they have what it takes to lead their team to a title? Do they choke with too much pressure on their shoulders?
No doubt, Finals performances are the ultimate test — which it’s so important for the biggest stars to succeed in this area.
Shaquille O’Neal recently chimed in on the topic on Instagram, where he shared a list of the Top-10 Finals performers of All-Time.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-1ZPbpF2b2
Jordan earned that number one spot. He never lost a Finals series, going 6-for-6 all-time as he averaged 33.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists per game. He faced pretty daunting opponents like the Lakers, Blazers, Suns, Sonics, and Jazz. and eliminated them all in six games or less.
Shaq ranks himself second and, again, it’s well-earned. Between 2000-2002 Shaq was unstoppable, averaging 38 points, 33 points, and 36 points per game over three Finals series. It is, arguably, the greatest peak in NBA History.
Rounding out the top three is LeBron James who, miraculously, made 8 straight finals between 2010 and 2018. In those series, he averaged 28.2 points per game and carried some teams on his back en-route three total Championship wins.
Other names include Magic (18.0 points on .560 shooting, 13.6 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game), Bird (3x Champion, 2x Finals MVP), Durant (32 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists 55-44-94% shooting), Hakeem (2 NBA Championships, 2x Finals MVP), Duncan (5x Champion, 20.8 points, 133.3 rebounds per game), Kobe (25.3 points, 2x Finals MVP), and Russell (11x Champion) — all guys who have seen unprecedented success in their careers. All-in-all, it’s hard to argue with any of the names, though the order in which they were placed can be argued.
Regardless, these players are the epitome of clutch performers and having them is the reason their teams were able to have so much success.
