Kelly is a TBW co-Founder and frequent contributor. He spent 4.5 years in the USAF before attending University of Minnesota, Bible college in Anaheim and 15 years in youth ministry. Basketball blogger-turned-NBA Featured Columnist with Bleacher Report, BBallBreakdown, Fansided, The Step Back, Hoops Habit, SportsNet, Vantage Sports, Dime and FanRag, among others, his work has been read over 25 million times. The former NBA Assistant Editor at FanRag (2016-18), he is an NBA Twitter staple who is well-connected and respected among today’s finest basketball writers.
On June 19, 1988, Isiah Thomas went off, dropping 25 points during the third quarter of the Detroit Pistons’ NBA Finals Game 6 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He actually put down 43 for the game, but it was the third quarter that was the most amazing, not just because of what he did, but…
Sometimes it’s the big numbers that shape NBA history. Other times, it’s the big moments. Such was the case when Ray Allen hit only one three-point shot in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. But you already know which shot it was: “The one” that sent the contest between his Miami Heat and the…
Today marks the 27th anniversary of one of the greatest mano-a-mano Finals games in history, including the only one where opponents both topped 40. Charles Barkley was the MVP in 1993 and believe himself to be better than Michael Jordan at the time. But he had a poor shooting performance in Game 1 (9-25) and…
Despite being during the range of NBA Finals dates, June 10th hasn’t been the kind of landmark historic day in the history of basketball that we’ve previously featured in this series. But that doesn’t mean it’s completely shabby. The best game any player had on this day was Larry Bird, who had a Game Score…
On May 5, 1995, Clyde Drexler (41) and Hakeem Olajuwon (40), both grilled up 40 burgers in beating the Utah Jazz during Game 4 of their first-round series. It was just the third time in NBA history that teammates went for 40 in a playoff game. Drexler added six assists and nine rebounds; Hakeem added…
On June 3, 1984, Earvin “Magic” Johnson dropped 21 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers took a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. To this day, that stands as the Finals record, and the only two other occasions where a player broke 20 dimes also belongs to Johnson: June 4, 1987, against the Celtics;…
On May 28, 2016, Klay Thompson went absolutely bonkers from deep. He drained 11 threes while leading the Golden State Warriors to a 108-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a performance that had historic ramifications beyond the fact that it still stands as the playoff record for a single game. Thompson also…
On May 27, 2014, there was still hope for a championship in Oklahoma City. Though the Thunder had dropped their first two games to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, a Game 3 win and marvelous performance by Russel Westbrook in Game 4 had evened things out. Westbrook notched 40 points, 10…
On May 21, 1991, The Chicago Bulls were rolling, and not even their rival Detroit Pistons could get in their way. Michael Jordan led the way with 35 points as the Bulls took care of business. The Bulls had only lost one game through the first two rounds of the NBA Playoffs, and that was…
On May 20, 2019, the Golden State Warriors made history when they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 119-117 to make it to the NBA Finals for the fifth straight time. They joined the Boston Celtics (who went 10 straight years from 1956-66) as the only teams to do so. Stephen Curry led the way with…
