Like we all envisioned at the start of the season, the NBA champs are celebrating Columbus Day in style. The Los Angeles Lakers put the finishing touches on the 17th championship in franchise history with a convincing 106-93 victory in Game 6 over the Miami Heat on Sunday night. While history is written by the winners, and all the talk surrounds Finals' MVP LeBron James and his place in NBA history, let's give a shoutout to the runner-up Heat. Given the injuries they suffered, the fact that the series even made it to six games is impressive.
Point guard Goran Dragic missed Games 2-through-5 with a foot injury, and was obviously a shell of himself in his Game 6 return (5 points, 2-of-8 shooting in 19 minutes). Bam Adebayo missed Games 2 and 3 with assorted injuries, and although he played the final three games, he admitted it wasn't at 100 percent.
So how did Miami take it to six games? In two words: Jimmy Butler. The 31-year-old put up a triple-double in each of the Heat's two wins, with a 40-point, 13-assist, 11-rebound performance in Game 2 and a 35-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist statline in Game 5. In doing so, he becomes just the sixth player ever with multiple triple-doubles in a single NBA Finals. And the other five were (or still are) pretty good:
Wilt Chamberlain (1967): In the height of his powers, Wilt the Stilt capped an MVP season with his first NBA championship as the Sixers beat the Warriors in six games. Philadelphia won the first two games of the series thanks in large part to the Hall of Famer, who put up a pair of triple-doubles. In Game 1 he had 16 points, 33 rebounds and 10 assists. In Game 2 he only scored 10 points, but grabbed 38 rebounds and had 10 more assists.
Magic Johnson (1984, 1985, 1991): Magic is the only one on this list with multiple triple-doubles in three separate NBA Finals. First, in 1984 against the Celtics he set a Finals records in Game 3 that still stands today with 21 assists to go along with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He followed it up in Game 4 with a 20-point, 17-assist, 14-rebound effort in a Los Angeles loss, and Boston would win the series in seven.
The next year, again facing the Celtics, Johnson recorded a triple-double in a Game 4 loss that evened the series. After L.A. won Game 5, Magic closed out Boston for good with 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to win a championship.
Fast forward six years to 1991, and in his last Finals appearance the Hall of Famer started Game 1 against the Bulls with a 19/11/10 effort in what would be the Lakers' only win. In the decisive Game 5, Johnson's NBA Finals farewell, he put up 16 points, 20 assists and 11 rebounds for his eighth and final triple-double.
Larry Bird (1986): Bird was the leader on the historic 1985-86 Celtics squad that won 67 games and, ultimately, a third title in six years. The NBA's MVP for the third straight year, Bird added Finals MVP honors as well for his performance that included two triple-doubles. In a Game 3 loss he had 25 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, then in the series-clinching Game 6 closed out Houston with 29 points, 12 assists and 11 boards.
LeBron James (2013, 2015): This year's Finals MVP didn't have a pair of triple-doubles -- he only had one in the decisive Game 6 -- but he has accomplished the feat twice. In the classic 2013 Finals against San Antonio, James opened with an 18-point, 18-rebound, 10-assist effort in a loss. Then in the memorable Game 6 -- the "Ray Allen shot" game -- he had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists before being named Finals MVP for the second straight year.
Two years later with Cleveland he replicated the feat in the series loss to Golden State. In a very similar situation as Jimmy Butler this year, with the Cavs decimated by injuries LeBron managed to take the Warriors to six games. In Game 2 he finished with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in a Cleveland victory. Then in Game 5 he put up a 40-point, 14-rebound, 11-assist stat line in a loss.
Draymond Green (2019): Of the Warriors' five consecutive trips to the Finals, it was the most recent in which Green recorded multiple triple-doubles. In the opening Game 1 he had 10/10/10, then tried his best to keep Golden State alive in Game 6 with 11 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists in the series-closing loss. And on a few occasions he was close to becoming the first player ever with at least three triple-doubles in a single Finals series. He was one assist short in Game 2, one rebound short in Game 4 and two dimes short in Game 5.