As we come to the end of 2019 and reflect on this decade, we have seen tremendous growth at Pro Skills Basketball. Starting in 2011 with just 4 PSB Club / AAU Teams to now going into 2020 with over 200 PSB Teams in 12 different cities, we are incredibly thankful to all of the families that have come through our organization and helped us grow into who we are today. 

This decade has not only been great for PSB, but it has also been great for the game of basketball. We saw NBA Legends careers come to a close, we saw the longest win streak in the history of Divison 1 basketball, and we saw a whole lot of buckets.

In honor of all the great basketball over the last 10 years, we decided to compile a list of the Top 10 Basketball Moments of The Decade. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di-__2tiyl8

#10 – LINsanity

Coming in at number 10 we have LINsanity. On Dec. 27, 2012, the Knicks (who were still horrible) signed the first-ever Taiwanese-American player in the NBA, Jeremy Lin. He was an absolute nobody in terms of being a name in the NBA. After being on the Knicks roster for a few weeks and not playing many minutes, Lin would get his shot against the New Jersey Nets. He would explode to score 25pts, dish out 7ast, and grab 5reb. That performance was followed up soon after by scoring 38 points on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. In a span of 4 months, Jeremy Lin went from not being on an NBA roster to absolutely shocking the world with multiple stellar performances. LINsanity, as it will go down in the history books, was a moment that had a cultural impact across the globe.

#9 – Villanova beats UNC at buzzer in 2016 College Basketball National Championship

Following up LINsanity we have one of the most clutch shots in college basketball history. Down 3 with 6 seconds to go in the College Basketball National Championship, North Carolina Tarheel, Marcus Paige, hit a double-clutch 3 pointer to tie the game at 74 a piece. Inbounding the ball full court, Villanova got the ball to their point guard, Ryan Arcidiacono. After pushing the ball up the court, Arcidiacono would turn around and pass to his teammate Kris Jenkins who was trailing the play. Jenkins would pull up for a 3 point field goal on the catch, as the ball was on its way to the rim the game clock expired. The shot would go in and make Villanova the National Champions winning 77-74 on a buzzer-beater 3 pointer. This shot stunned the college basketball world and gave Villanova Head Coach, Jay Wright his first National Championship.

#8 – Ray Allen Game 6 Corner Three

At number 8 we have Ray Allen hitting one of the most clutch shots in the history of the NBA. In 2013 LeBron James and the Miami Heat found themselves down 3-2 in the NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs. With 6 seconds to go, down 3, LeBron James missed a 3 point attempt to tie the game. The game appeared to be over, the Heat were going to lose, the “dynasty” was a failure, even most of the Heat fans had already left the building. At that very moment, history was made. Chris Bosh out jumped multiple Spurs players off of the LeBron missed 3 and tipped the ball out to a back-peddling Ray Allen. Ray pulled up for 3 and hit one of the biggest shots of the decade. The Heat would go on to win the game in OT and go on to win the series to take back to back NBA Championships.

#7 – UCONN Women’s Basketball 111 Game Win-streak 

Taking the number 7 spot we have the most dominant college basketball run ever. From 2014 to 2017, the UCONN Women’s Basketball Team won 111 straight games. During the 2017 Final Four, the Mississippi State Bulldogs hit a buzzer-beater in OT to beat the Huskies 66-64. Snapping the 111 game win streak. This streak was highlighted with a few outrageous statistics. 867 days passed from the beginning of the win streak through the end. 108 of the 111 wins were by double digits. This run was unlike any other, it is the longest win streak in the history of D1 college basketball.

#6 – Coach K Becomes Winningest College Basketball Coach

Number 6 goes to a coaching legend. Coach K is arguably the greatest basketball coach of all time. If the topic is even argued there would only be one or two others that even come close. But, statistically speaking, Coach K is now the greatest coach of all time. This decade Coach K added two more National Championships to his trophy case, two more Gold medals with the USA National team and in March 17th, 2018 with a victory over Rhode Island, Coach K became the winningest coach of all-time in Division 1 college basketball passing Patt Summit with 1,099 wins. In February of this year (2019) Coach K became the winningest coach in all of college basketball by passing Harry Statham with 1,123 wins. The Duke coach now has 1,132 wins and counting. Who knows how far the record will go.

#5 – Kobe Bryant’s Final Game

Number 5 captured the hearts of the basketball world, one of the coolest basketball moments of the decade belongs to Kobe. Starting the final game of his career, Kobe came out 0-5 from the field. After having a rough final few years of his career dealing with injury and a bad team it was hard to expect much from Bryant in his final game. However, over 5 million people tuned in to watch Kobe one last time. As we saw so many times in Kobe’s illustrious career, when the bright lights come on he rises to the occasion. Kobe exploded for 60 points in his final game and was one of the best moments from one of the best NBA players in history. The legendary performances given by Kobe on gis final game was a representation of his career and the Mamba Mentality. No matter the obstacles in front of him, Kobe found a way to rise to the occasion.

#4 – Stephen Curry Unanimous MVP

The fourth spot on our list goes to one of the best seasons we have ever seen from a player. Coming off of his first MVP season in 2014-2015, Stephen Curry would go on to make history in 2015-2016. During the 15-16 season, Curry became the first player in history to win the NBA MVP Unanimously. Steph received all 131 votes to be the MVP of the NBA. Curry led to warriors to a 73-9 season and hit 402 threes in the same season. He capped off this season by finishing in the elite 50/40/90 club. It was truly a season like we have never seen. Steph is the first and might possibly go down as the only unanimous MVP in the history of the NBA. 

#3 – #16 UMBC Upsets #1 Virginia in 2018 NCAA Tournament

Number 3 is hands down the greatest upset in college basketball history. In 2018, With a 74-54 victory in the first round of NCAA Tournament, UMBC became the first 16 seed to beat a 1 seed in UVA. Going into the game, a 16 seed had never beaten a 1 seed, this game was seen as a guaranteed win for the 1 seed. UMBC, with a chip on their shoulder, came out prepared to rake down the giant. This historic upset proved on March 16th, 2018, the 1 seed in the NCAA tournament is no longer invulnerable. This win was more than just the first time a 16 seed beating a 1 seed, it may be a catalyst and a blueprint for future 16 seeds to repeat this historical night. Now we wait to see if history will ever repeat itself. 

#2 – 2016 NBA Finals

Our runner up for the best moment of the decade was the iconic NBA Finals series in 2016. This is without a doubt the greatest NBA Finals series of the decade and one of the greatest Finals of all time. The Golden State Warriors were 73-9 in the regular season that year. They were on paper the best team in the league and they were going up against one of the great duos of this decade in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors went up 3-1 in the best of 7 series. After 3 straight stellar performances from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the Cavs would go on to become the first team to ever come back down 3-1 in the NBA Finals. This was the first NBA Title in franchise history for the Cavaliers and the first major professional sports championship since 1964 for the city of Cleveland.

 #1 – “The Decision”

Taking home the top spot is the moment that changed the landscape of basketball. In 2010, free agent LeBron James in partnership with ESPN aired a program named “The Decision”. This program ended with LeBron saying that he was going to “take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat”. We had never seen anything like this in the history of the NBA. This move was the beginning of the “super-team” era. The decision absolutely changed the landscape of the NBA. LeBron and the Heat would go on to win 2 NBA Championships in 4 years and will go down as one of the better NBA teams ever assembled. “The Decision” took LeBron from being a beloved player to becoming one of the most polarizing players in the history of the NBA.

Conclusion

What do you think about our top 10 basketball moments of the decade? Do you agree? Disagree? Follow us and let us know on our Instagram or Twitter now! We’d love to hear from you!

Listen to our Podcast as we discuss these moments below!