In part one, I began counting down the best sports championship games since 2010. The 2026 Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game and 2016 NBA Finals Game 7 made the list as No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
While many excellent games qualify, only 10 could make the list. To qualify, the game must be either a championship winner-take-all game or a championship series game. International competition is included, while conference championships are not.
This list accounts for a multitude of factors, including but not limited to pressure and stakes. It’s therefore only fitting that the following game makes this list:
8. 2010 Olympic Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game: Canada def. USA 3-2 (OT)
The 2010 Olympic men’s hockey final was the United States’ first real threat to Canada’s hockey crown. The game was destined to be a battle for the ages.
It didn’t seem that way in the first half of the game, though. Canada went up 2-0, and being down 2-0 to Canada in any international hockey tournament might as well be a death sentence.
Team USA didn’t take long to respond, as Ryan Kesler put the States on the board about five minutes after Canada’s second goal. In the final minutes, the pressure was on. Sidney Crosby had a chance to put the game out of reach, but couldn’t. Team USA pulled Ryan Miller, and just when all hope seemed lost, Zach Parise stuffed in the equalizer.
The overtime was five-on-five, unlike the new three-on-three format. About eight minutes in, Sidney Crosby would score the game-winner in front of the home crowd in Vancouver. Canada had slammed the door on the USA’s hopes, leaving their southern neighbors to wait another 16 years for revenge.
7. Super Bowl LI: New England Patriots def. Atlanta Falcons 34-28 (OT)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady missed the first four games of the 2016-17 season due to his involvement in “Deflategate.” The world had labeled Brady and the Pats as cheaters, and the odds were stacked against them this season.
Yet the Patriots went 3-1 in those first four games without Brady. They earned a first-round bye that season and cruised their way through the playoffs to the Super Bowl. There, they met the Atlanta Falcons, who had a similarly smooth playoff road to the Super Bowl.
The Falcons famously led 28-3 at halftime. The Patriots didn’t even dent that lead until there was only 2:06 left in the third quarter. They scored a touchdown, but kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed the PAT, leaving the Pats down 28-9.
Midway through the fourth, the Patriots’ defense made a big play, forcing a fumble on Falcons QB Matt Ryan. By then, Gostkowski had made a field goal to make it 28-12. The fumble led to a touchdown by the Pats, who then completed a two-point conversion to make it a one-possession game at 28-20.
Comeback Complete
With under four minutes to go in the game, a big Patriots sack and holding call on the Falcons backed the Falcons out of field goal range. With under 3:30 to go, Brady almost gets sacked in the end zone, not once, but twice; that probably would’ve ended the game. The second near-sack came on 3rd-and-10, when the Patriots got a much-needed first down.
With 2:22, Julian Edelman made a miraculous catch to make the drive a real threat to tie the game. The Pats went on to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion. New England then won the coin toss in overtime and scored a touchdown to end the game.
With the world against Brady and the Patriots, they still prevailed. A comeback seemed impossible at the half, and even more unlikely late in the third. But everything seemed to go their way.
From the forced fumble to pushing the Falcons out of field goal range to avoiding a safety twice, from Edelman’s catch to the touchdowns and two-point conversions, to the coin toss, and to the smaller plays in between. The New England Patriots needed every one of those plays to complete their comeback.
So many times, they were a hair’s length away from losing the Super Bowl, but every domino fell to complete the greatest comeback in NFL history.
6. 2013 NBA Finals Game 6: Miami Heat def. San Antonio Spurs 103-100 (OT)
It was season three of the LeBron James era in Miami. Could LeBron avenge his loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals when he was in Cleveland?
The Heat were down 3-2 in the series, with the remaining games in Miami. Fans packed American Airlines Arena in all-white outfits. It blended in well with the Heat’s white jerseys, much better than when other teams wear dark jerseys at their white-out games (*cough Penn State).
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Heat were down 10 points, with 12 minutes of game time left before losing the Finals.
However, they stormed back. Mike Miller hit a three-pointer without a shoe, and LeBron lost his headband, sending fans into a frenzy. The Heat even led late in the game before Tony Parker scored five points in a row to take back the lead. The Spurs then went to the line twice, but in Manu Ginobili’s trip, he only made one free throw.
Late-Game Miracle
With 28 seconds left, the Heat were down 94-89, and LeBron missed a three. In 99% of scenarios, that equals a loss. But not this time. The loose ball found LeBron again, and this time, he nailed the three.
The Heat then fouled Kawhi Leonard. Luckily for the Heat, Kawhi missed one, meaning the score was 95-92. The Heat only needed a three to tie. They ran a play for LeBron, but he missed. Then came Mike Breen’s call that lives on to this day:
“Won’t go, rebound (Chris) Bosh, back out to (Ray) Allen, his three-pointer, BANG! Tie game with five seconds remaining!”
Overtime
The Spurs struck first in overtime and almost went up four, but Tony Parker‘s shot rimmed out, leading to a quick and-one for Chris Bosh. Parker later missed a free throw that turned out to be crucial.
The Spurs had the ball with just over 10 seconds to go down 101-100. They HAD to score, but Ray Allen stripped the ball from Manu Ginobili and hit two free throws before Chris Bosh blocked Danny Green‘s buzzer-beater 3-pointer attempt to seal the game.
The Heat would go on to win the Finals in a close Game 7, but they were so close to losing Game 6 many times. It took multiple offensive rebounds, missed free throws by the Spurs, and some of the best clutch play ever by Bosh and Allen to overcome what looked like an insurmountable deficit late in the game.
Every time it looked like the Spurs were ready to put the game away, they made a mistake, and the Heat took advantage.
Leave a comment