Top 5 emphatic blocks of all time
There have been countless great blocks in the history of the game, to name a couple, Roy Hibbert's block on Carmelo Anthony in Game 6 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Semi-finals (ECSF) or the Chicago Bulls trio of Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and Michael Jordan denying Charles Smith at the rim in game 5 of the 1993 ECF.
In both the cases, the team with the decisive defensive play won the game and the series. While not as glamorous as a dunk or a half-court shot, a great defensive play's weight is worth gold. Or as the old adage goes: "Defense wins championships."
With a history full of highlight-worthy rejections, which ones are the cream of the crop? Let's count them down.
#5: LeBron James goes supernova
No better way than to start with the King, is there?
Trailing 0-1 in the 2013 NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs and having lost the home court advantage, game 2 was a must win for the Miami Heat. Leading by 19 with just over 8 minutes left, the lead seemed safe.
But with a well-oiled machine like the Spurs coupled with the fact that Miami lost a 15 point advantage just two years prior to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals on their home floor in over 6 minutes, nothing was certain.
LeBron James made sure that lightning did not strike twice.
Tony Parker ran a perfect pick and roll and dumped the ball to Splitter for what seemed like an easy dunk but the King awaited the Brazilian at the rim. Combining his high basketball IQ with incomparable athleticism, the Ohio native produced a block which closed the door on any hope of a Spurs' comeback.
Nike was not wrong when they said, " WE ARE ALL WITNESSES"