Top 6 NBA Dream Playoff Matches We Never Got

As an NBA fan, there's nothing more entertaining than seeing the best teams, players, and rivalries tearing each other apart on live television in the playoffs. But sadly, as we all know, this doesn't always happen because the basketball gods always have an agenda of their own, and through some miraculous ordeal of events, an MVP chokes, an upset happens, and then we as fans cry. These are some of the great playoff matchups that almost happened, but never did. Throughout the second half of the 2000s and early 2010s, it's a complete shame that we didn't get to see a heavyweight matchup between the Black Mamba Kobe Bryant and the King LeBron James. If these two individuals had met in the finals, this blockbuster contest would have blown ticket sales off the roof and taken the NBA to new heights, because these two basically had dominated the league since MJ left. From 2007 to 2013, for 7 straight years, Kobe and LeBron were the two best players in the world. I mean, aside from LeBron being on the second team back in 2007, they both made the All-NBA First team in each of those seasons, and the NBA Finals always featured one of them. But for some odd reason, these two greats just never crossed paths. Which could only mean one thing, the basketball gods are cruel. I mean, in 2007, the Cavs went to the finals, but the Lakers lost in the first round. Then in 2008, Kobe brought the Lakers back to the finals for the very first time since the Shaq era, but unfortunately, LeBron and the Cavs were eliminated by the Celtics in seven games that year. Among all the potential matchups they could have had, the closest one has got to be during the 2009 playoffs. At around this time, LeBron was just 25 years old, but the writing was already on the wall. He was going to be the next face of the NBA. Kobe, meanwhile, was in his prime at 31 and was the reigning league MVP. So from a basketball perspective, it was a match made in heaven. The Lakers sailed through the playoffs by beating the Jazz, Rockets, and Nuggets to punch their ticket to the finals. The Cavs, on the other hand, were looking sharp as they swept through the first two assignments, but unfortunately, despite LeBron averaging 38.5 points a ballgame in the Eastern Conference Finals, they got upset by the Orlando Magic in six games. Now, Kobe won the chip that year and the year after, but since 2010, the Lakers never got a taste of another championship until, coincidentally, LeBron arrived in 2020. Anyways, speaking of 2020, there was one particular playoff matchup that people were highly anticipating, the Battle of LA, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the ones who lived in their basement, the Clippers. Both teams featured the top duos in the league. You had Bron in the brow for the purple and gold, and you had the reigning finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in PG-13 lined up on the other end. Without question, this could have been a series that would have been talked about for years and years to come because of all the different narratives, storylines, and superstars that were about to collide together. As expected, both teams held up their end of the bargain by finishing as the top two Western Conference teams when the regular season concluded. Behind Bron and AD, the Lakers powered through the first two rounds with ease, defeating the Blazers and Rockets in just 10 games. The Clippers, on the other hand, passed through Luke and the Mavs in six games, and in the second round, they took a commanding 3-1 lead against the Nuggets. The Clips were just one way away from having a date with the Lakers for the very first time in playoff history, but the basketball gods said no, and they choked. Big time. I mean, they had a 95% chance of advancing and meeting the Lakers in the conference finals, but like the sorry franchise that they've always been, they threw it away. In the end, the Lakers walked away as champs, while the Clippers, it was business as usual. Anyway, guys, here's another big time matchup we didn't get to see. Back in the 2020-21 season, Giannis and Embiid were killing it as they both finished within the top 5 when it came to MVP voting. I mean, both of them averaged almost identical numbers, and with monster stat lines like these, fans were hoping, and had their fingers crossed, that the two of them would meet sometime in the postseason. After the regular season had finished, the 76ers emerged as the top team in the East, while the Bucs finished third. In the first round, Philly easily defeated the Wizards in 5 games, meanwhile the third seeded Bucs made a statement by sweeping the Miami Heat. In the semifinals, the Bucs got lucky and escaped the Nets by a toe's length, but on the other side of the bracket, the fifth seeded Hawks gave the 76ers a ton of problems and in the end, they managed to pull the upset in the heavy favorites, and uh, that's all she wrote. Actually, that's not completely true. She also wrote a long story about Ben Simmons, but that's another story for another day. Anyway, guys, moving on here. Since we're talking about some of the biggest what-ifs, when it comes to playoff matchups we wish we saw, we can't omit the potential showdown of Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon. Most people say that Hakeem wouldn't have won back-to-back titles if MJ didn't take a sabbatical to play baseball. You see, prior to his two-year hiatus, Jordan had won three consecutive titles and the momentum was clearly on MJ's side at this point in his career. After MJ left, though, Hakeem elevated his game and became the league MVP and won back-to-back finals MVPs during his two-year window when Michael was out. Now, when it comes to their head-to-head matchup, Hakeem and MJ played 23 games against each other in their careers, and surprisingly, Hakeem actually won 13 games against Jordan. Anyways, after the Rockets' dominance in 1994-95, MJ came back and reclaimed his throne by winning another three-peat. Meanwhile, after their last championship season, the Rockets got swept by the Supersonics in the following year, and after that, Hakeem was past his prime and wasn't able to get his Rockets back to the NBA Finals to meet Mike. Now, aside from Hakeem, there was another player we didn't get to see match up against the GOAT in the playoffs, and that player is Kobe Bryant. I mean, knowing that Kobe is essentially a carbon copy of MJ when it comes to mimicking his above-the-rim plays to imitating his signature fadeaways, this matchup could have been like the passing of the torch from one generation to another, but sadly, that didn't happen. Kobe entered the league in 1996 at 18 years old, and at around that time, Jordan was just beginning his quest for another three-peat. While Jordan sustained his dominance for the next three years, Kobe was just a rising star who hadn't quite found his stride just yet. When the Lakers did start dominating the league in 2000, however, MJ was already retired and even when he did come back to play for the Wizards, it was clear he wasn't the same. To put it simply, although it was close, the timing was just never right for these two. But though we never saw them battle it out in the playoffs, they both faced each other in the regular season eight times, with Kobe winning five of them. Anyway, guys, for this next playoff matchup that we wish we saw, we got the chef potentially going up against the Greek Freak last season. I mean, this was a potential heavyweight matchup. Giannis averaged 30, 12, and 6 while shooting 55.3% from the field, meanwhile, Steph on the other hand tallied 25, 5, and 6 while shooting 43% from the field and 38% from downtown. With those kinds of numbers, they both finished in the top 10 for MVP voting and led their respective teams to third seed finishes heading into the playoffs. It was smooth sailing for the Bucs in the first round after they eliminated the Bulls in five games, however, their journey was cut short when they got rounded up by the Celtics in the semifinals in seven games. Meanwhile, after cruising through the Western Conference against Denver, Memphis, and Dallas, Steph put up a performance for the ages against the team that eliminated Giannis and the Bucs. Maybe this season, in 2023, the basketball gods will give us the showdown, I got my fingers crossed. Do you?