The Greatest Game 1 NBA Finals performances of the 21st century

And now for our second NBA Finals in about nine months.

Ahead of tonight’s Game 1 between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks, here’s a collection of the great Game 1 performances we’ve seen since the turn of the century 21 years ago.

The Los Angeles Lakers were going for their first championship of what became their famous three-peat from 2000-2002. At this point, having won that 1999-2000 season MVP, Shaquille O’Neal was the best basketball player on the planet. He abused the Indiana Pacers with his post moves, footwork, little corner jumpers, and of course, his two-handed dunks. In what became a 104-87 victory, he finished with 43 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks while shooting 21-for-31 from the field. He only made one of six free throw attempts, but who cares? The Lakers went on to win the Championship in six games.

O’Neal also had a 36-point, 16-rebound Finals Game 1 two years later, against the New Jersey Nets, whom the Lakers swept.

You could argue that this is the most iconic of these Game 1 performances, and it came against those same Lakers Shaq and Kobe Bryant led in their first title run the previous season. Allen Iverson’s Philadelphia 76ers were heavy underdogs against the Lakers, who entered the Finals with a spotless 11-0 playoff record, attempting to become the first team in NBA history to go undefeated in the postseason. Iverson memorably dropped 48 points, six assists, and five steals in an overtime victory, including the famous stepover on Tyronn Lue, who now coaches the Los Angeles Clippers.

Following Iverson’s magnum opus, the Lakers went on to win the next four games, amassing a record 15-1 postseason tally, not to be outdone until the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors went 16-1. In fairness to the 2000-01 Lakers, first-round series’ were still only best of five, as opposed to best of seven, a change implemented before the 2002-03 season.

The San Antonio Spurs against the repeating Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Nets wasn’t an NBA Finals many people particularly cared about, but it still spawned one of the great underrated performances from one of the best modern bigs ever. Subsequent Finals MVP Tim Duncan exploded for 32 points, 20 rebounds, seven blocks,two straight and six assists in a 101-89 win over the Jason Kidd-led Nets. He shot 11-for-17 from the field and 10-for-14 on his free throws. The Nets did take the champs to six, but Gregg Popovich’s Spurs secured the second of five titles they’d win between 1999 and 2014.

Kobe Bryant’s best individual NBA Finals came in his first Shaq-less run, ending the 2008-09 season with a five-game gentleman’s sweep over Dwight Howard’s Orlando Magic. In Game 1, Mamba set the tone with 40 points, a Finals career-high, eight rebounds, and eight assists in a blowout 100-75 win without hitting a three-pointer (he only attempted one). It was one of Bryant’s many great NBA playoff performances, and the one that kick-started his first of back-to-back Finals MVP honors.

Both of LeBron James’ signature NBA Finals Game 1 performances came in overtime losses to these same Golden State Warriors. The first came in 2015, which ended season one back with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors did not yet have Kevin Durant but had enough to overtake the Cavs 108-100 in Game 1, although Cleveland was without Kevin Love, and didn’t have Kyrie Irving again after this game. Still, James recorded 44 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. The Cavs went on to lose the series 4-2, but did win the 2016 Championship.

Five years removed from a 36-point Game 1 against the Miami Heat, Kevin Durant returned to the NBA Finals and led the Golden State Warriors with an even better opener. Against the defending champion Cavaliers, Durant torched the LeBron-led crew for 38 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in a 113-91 win. Durant recorded the game-high 38 on 54/50/88 shooting splits, and the Warriors went on to win their second title in three years after a 4-1 series victory. It was the first of two straight titles for the Warriors and the first of three Durant-era finals appearances in The Bay before he left for the Brooklyn Nets two summers ago.

It’s arguably the most extraordinary NBA Finals performance to ever come in a losing effort. James went off for a memorable 51 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in another overtime loss to Golden State, who subsequently swept them. Still, it featured the famous J.R. Smith shot clock situation, which people forget began with a George Hill free throw. The Cavs lost 124-114 despite James recording the 51-8-8 on 59/43/91 splits. For James, it was also his eighth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, and his last with Cleveland before leaving to the Los Angeles Lakers weeks later.