The Best NBA Finals Game 7s
Ranking the best NBA Finals Game 7s since the ABA-NBA merger
You’ve probably heard the saying. “The two best words in sports are ‘Game 7.’” In baseball, basketball, and hockey, most playoff series are a best-of-7 format. That means that whichever team wins 4 out of 7 games wins the series. Most 7-game series don’t go the distance. Some do. The tension, drama, and stakes are ramped up to the max when each team has won 3 games in a series and both clubs are forced to duke it out for the opportunity to make it to the next round or bring home the title.
One such Game 7 occurred on Sunday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals in Oklahoma City. Thunder point guard and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 29 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, a block, and 2 steals in Game 7 to help the Thunder bring home the hardware. SGA won the NBA Finals MVP as well, pulling off the rare feat of winning both trophies and the regular season scoring title in the same season. Sunday’s game wasn’t a closely contested contest in the second half, and the margin of victory reflects that. But which NBA Finals Game 7 was the best (i.e. most entertaining) game since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976? I’ll answer that question in this article.
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