Ranking the Best NBA Finals of the Last 10 Years After Thrilling Knicks-Spurs Series

The Knicks and Spurs put on an incredible show during the 2026 NBA Finals.

While the series only went five games, every contest was decided by 10 or fewer points. Two games were decided by a single point. There were huge comebacks and game-winning shots and heart-breaking mistakes galore. It was the sort of Finals that NBA fans dream about throughout the long regular season, one that has you on the edge of your seat with sweaty palms and heart racing in the final seconds no matter who you’re rooting for—even if you aren’t rooting for anyone at all.

Many years we feel fortunate to get one such game in the Finals. This year, we got five. It will be remembered as one of the most entertaining NBA playoff series in recent history.

How, exactly, does it stack up in that regard? Is it the best NBA Finals in the last 10 years? It’s certainly a contender. In an effort to come to a definitive conclusion, we ranked all the NBA Finals of the last decade to figure out where the Knicks-Spurs series lands in terms of watchability. That means we start with the 2017 NBA Finals, eliminating the legendary ‘16 series from contention.

10. 2018—Cavaliers vs. Warriors

LeBron James and Kevin Durant dueled in what was an underwhelming 2018 NBA Finals. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

There was very little debate as to which series deserved to be last on this list. The 2017–18 season was one of the least exciting in NBA memory. The Warriors were so overwhelmingly great and their only true foil, the LeBron James-led Cavaliers, had to blow up their championship roster because Kyrie Irving asked out of Cleveland.

The whole campaign felt like a slow, inevitable march to a Golden State championship—and that’s exactly what happened. The ‘18 Finals ended in a four-game sweep and the only lasting memory of the series was the infamous J.R. Smith mistake that cost the Cavs Game 1, as well as any hopes of a competitive series.

9. 2017—Cavaliers vs. Warriors

The ‘17 Finals had a similar vibe to the ‘18 edition. The Dubs were quite obviously the best team in the league by a laughable margin after adding Kevin Durant over the offseason and what could have been an epic rematch of the all-time ‘16 Finals turned into a five-game slog for most viewers. Only two games were decided by fewer than 10 points and Golden State went up 3–0 before Cleveland took a game, putting a hard cap on any drama that could be drummed up.

It didn’t feel quite as inevitable as the following season because the KD Warriors were in their first season so in the lead-up there was some fun in wondering whether LeBron could do the impossible again. That notion was quickly wiped away. This was a lame series.

8. 2024—Celtics vs. Mavericks

From a narrative standpoint this NBA Finals had a lot going for it. The Celtics’ star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had their second crack at a title after narrowly losing to the Warriors two seasons prior. Luka Dončić was making his first Finals appearance after leading the Mavericks on a shocking run through the Western Conference. Irving was battling Boston on the biggest stage after an ugly exit several years prior. The consequences of failure for a loaded C’s team was enormous. There was plenty to work with in that regard.

But when the games actually started, interest quickly waned. Boston was never really threatened by Dallas in the opening two games of the series and only Game 3 offered any real measure of drama after the Mavs made a big second-half comeback to ensure the score was close in the final two minutes. But the Celtics won anyway to go up 3–0 and that was pretty much curtains. It’s very interesting to look back upon that series in light of Dončić getting traded less than a year later but as a viewing experience it was largely subpar.

7. 2023—Heat vs. Nuggets

The final scores of the five-game affair that was the ‘23 Finals suggest a relatively close series. The Nuggets and Heat split the first two games and the clinching Game 5 was won by Denver by only five points. There were no real blowouts. And at the end of the series, an all-time great talent in Nikola Jokić won his first championship, the sort of cool moment that most fans can enjoy regardless of team affiliation or the quality of the games.

But it was pretty clear in the early going that Miami was outmatched and exhausted. The No. 8 seed Heat had battled out of the play-in tournament to make one of the most remarkable postseason runs we’ve ever seen out of a low seed. Upset wins over the Bucks and Celtics made for excellent drama but left them out of gas by the time the Finals started. Pretty much every player on the roster regressed hard after playing out of their minds in the previous three rounds. Jokić and the Nuggets had to earn their wins but the outcome was never really in question.

Buy Now: SI’s Knicks Commemorative Championship Cover Prints

6. 2020—Lakers vs. Heat

LeBron James led the Lakers to a bubble title in Orlando. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The ‘20 Finals were fun and made significantly more meaningful by the fact that it happened in the first place. Three months before the Lakers raised the Larry O’Brien trophy in the Orlando bubble, nobody had any idea how long it would be before sports could be held at all, much less a full playoff run followed by a championship series. But the NBA pulled it off and LeBron won his fourth title as a result, battling Jimmy Butler’s Heat over six fairly competitive games as basketball fans of all ages basked in the glory of seeing professional basketball take place amid the COVID-19 pandemic. If this series had been played in a normal season it might rank quite high.

However, it wasn’t a normal season. They played the Finals in an empty arena and only virtual fans dotting the stands. The home crowds are a huge part of any NBA playoff experience but especially in the Finals, as tens of thousands of desperate fans try to power their team to victory by sheer force of will. That being completely absent robbed the ‘20 Finals of any aura, as the kids would say these days. It doesn’t make it count any less in the history books but if we’re judging Finals based on how enjoyable it was to watch, it’s an undeniable point against.

5. 2019—Raptors vs. Warriors

Kawhi Leonard leading the Raptors through the East to battle the dynastic Warriors was awesome theater. That Toronto team was filled with fun personalities and gritty play. Leonard is one of the most fun players to watch in the league when he’s cooking and he absolutely cooked in this six-game series. And re: the above point about home crowds, the Raptors fans made sure they were heard in every game at home. It was really cool to see all of Canada rally around the team and Leonard’s all-time great mercenary season was fascinating to watch unfold in real time.

But injuries sapped this one of its juice. Durant tearing his Achilles in Game 5 was a gut punch for everyone watching. Golden State didn’t seem ready to roll over—but then Klay Thompson tore his ACL while trying to force a Game 7. Even before those moments the Warriors were clearly feeling the weight of five consecutive Finals appearances. The games were all still generally enjoyable, but if not for those injuries it could have been an all-timer. Instead it was merely good.

4. 2025—Thunder vs. Pacers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexande — SGA won his first title in the ‘25 Finals. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Similarly, last season’s Finals was shaping up to be remembered as one of the best we’ve seen until injury derailed everything. This time, it was Tyrese Haliburton’s torn Achilles in Game 7 that changed the course of NBA history and made just about everybody watching really sad. It’s an enormous bummer to watch a player get hurt on that stage and Haliburton’s joyful leadership at the helm of an objectively fun Pacers team was the story of the playoffs to that point. It was brutal to watch Indy’s moment end like that, and like Thompson’s ACL in ‘19, it took a lot of air out of the deciding game.

Otherwise? This was a great watch. It went the full seven games. Haliburton hit a game-winner in Game 1. There weren’t a lot of tense crunchtime moments after that but both sides were trading haymakers for most of the series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning his first title after winning his first MVP and the Thunder’s thorny defense were both enjoyable aspects. If it weren’t for that injury...

3. 2022—Celtics vs. Warriors

Now we’re getting into hair-splitting territory. The next three entries were all excellent Finals series that had tons to offer for passionate and casual fans alike. In ‘22, the Celtics were riding the high of one of the greatest in-season turnarounds the NBA had ever seen as Tatum and Brown made their leaps to true stardom. The Warriors, led by Steph Curry, were back in the Finals after their dynasty run, the first time we’d seen Golden State on the biggest stage with Curry as the No. 1 option since ‘16. It was a battle-tested group versus a set of young bucks trying to snatch an early title out of the hands of Curry, who was raging against the dying embers of Golden State’s extended run of greatness.

The games largely delivered on the potential that premise offered. Boston and Golden State traded blows over the course of an entertaining six-game series with clashing styles and elite defense galore. No easy buckets were found for either side and they were evenly matched enough talent-wise that victory was found on the margins. In the end, it was Curry’s heroic effort that won the Dubs a title as he scratched and clawed his way to four wins. Watching a star of his caliber do that made for a sensational viewing experience and the Celtics’ refusal to accept defeat meant the outcome didn’t feel in hand until the buzzer sounded in Game 6. It was a legacy series for Curry and for the Tatum-Brown duo both.

2. 2021—Bucks vs. Suns

What a fun series this was. The Bucks became one of three teams this century to come back from a 0–2 hole in the Finals, dropping the opening two games in Phoenix back in ‘21 before ripping off four straight wins to win Milwaukee’s first title in 50 years. The Suns were a blast to watch, the ball pinging around the court as Chris Paul ran pick-and-roll after pick-and-roll surrounded by a great defense. They played the best team basketball we’d seen from a Finals team in a long time, a predecessor of sorts to the Pacers roster that came along a few years later.

But of course it was Giannis Antetokounmpo’s singular greatness that defined the series. His 50 points to win the championship in Game 6 makes for one of the greatest performances we’ll ever see in a Finals game. He recorded several all-time highlights (my personal favorite being his block of Deandre Ayton on an alley-oop attempt) and sealed his place as an NBA legend by earning a ring. All-in, the ‘21 Finals checked every box we’re looking for: a closely-contested series featuring a large cast of highly-talented and generally likable players chock-full of memorable moments.

1. 2026—Knicks vs. Spurs

But ultimately, even though it only went five games, this year’s Finals are the best of the bunch. It might be recency bias, to be sure. But man if this wasn’t a genuinely amazing experience to take in from start to finish.

The main characters of the series were varied and interesting in equal measure. A Knicks team trying to buck decades of losing, entering the Finals on a hot streak we hadn’t seen since the dynasty Warriors. A Spurs team making its first deep playoff run with the generational Victor Wembanyama at center. Jalen Brunson trying to become the first small guard to lead a team to a title in several years. San Antonio, coming off an upset seven-game series win over the defending champions, trying to go against NBA history that says experience is a must to win championships. Just from a storyline pespective it was a fun and interesting series to take in.

And then the games started. They were spectacular. Every single one came down to the wire. The Knicks made double-digit second-half comebacks in three of its four wins. The Spurs led for over 70% of the series and still found ways to lose. Every game featured a new hero and a new villain. Every fourth quarter turned all viewers into bundles of nerves and pools of sweat no matter affiliation. The shot-making and defense on display was incredible; the theatrics of every late-game situation even more so.

It was everything we should want as fans out of the Finals—two very evenly-matched teams trading punch after punch with desperation you could feel through the screen powering every blow. Jalen Brunson’s 45-point closeout game will deservingly go down in NBA history as one of the greatest Finals performances we’ve seen, but if even three plays go differently earlier in the series, we might be talking about Wembanyama as a first-time champion right now. That’s how razor-thin the line was between winning and losing in this series.

It was awesome. It was the best Finals we’ve seen since the Warriors blew a 3–1 lead. And hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to see one on the same level in the near future.

More NBA Finals from Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.

Add us as a preferred source on Google