Basketball fans love a good argument. Stats, rings, MVPs — none of it ever settles the GOAT debate for good. But there is another conversation that hits differently. It is the what-if — the sliding doors moment:
- The shot that rimmed out
- The trade that never happened
- The injury that stole a dynasty before it began
These moments did not just change games. They rewired the entire NBA timeline. Some of them, if flipped by a single bounce or a different phone call, would have shattered history as fans know it.
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The One Where Len Bias Wears Celtic Green
Len Bias was supposed to be the next Michael Jordan before MJ even finished his second season. The Maryland star went second overall to Boston in 1986, landing in a side fresh off a title with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. It should’ve been the start of something big. Two days later, Bias was gone after a cocaine overdose. That Celtics core never lifted another trophy.
What if he lived?
Boston likely extends its dynasty deep into the 1990s. Bird’s back lasts longer with less load. The Bulls–Celtics rivalry becomes the decade’s defining war.
The Big Fella Who Arrived Twenty Years Too Late
Arvydas Sabonis is one of the greatest big men most NBA fans never truly saw. The 7’3” Lithuanian had the vision of a point guard, the touch of a shooting guard, and the frame of a centre. Politics and Cold War red tape kept him overseas until 1995. By then, his knees and Achilles had been shredded by years of overuse.
What if he came over at 22?
Sabonis becomes a top-five centre immediately. The late-80s Blazers with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, and a young Sabonis probably win a title or two. Hakeem Olajuwon finally meets his equal. And the Dream Team’s 1992 blowout of the world looks far less one-sided.
A Toe, a Shoelace, and a Brooklyn Dynasty That Never Was
The 2021 Brooklyn Nets rolled out Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving — on paper, untouchable. Injuries smashed the support crew, and Game 7 of the second round came down to a single shot. Seconds left, Durant rose in the corner and buried it, sending it to overtime. Then the replay hit: the tip of his size-18 sneaker was on the line. Two points, not three. Nets lose in OT. The superteam imploded a year later.
What if his toe was one centimetre shorter?
Brooklyn wins that game, likely takes the title, and the Big Three stays together for multiple runs. Durant gets his third Finals MVP. Harden sheds the playoff choker label. And Giannis Antetokounmpo probably waits another season for his first ring.
The Portland Curse That Keeps on Cursing
Portland had the first overall pick in 2007. Every scout on earth knew Kevin Durant was going to be a superstar. But the Blazers needed a big man, so they chose Greg Oden instead. Oden played 105 games in his entire career. Durant is now top-five all-time in scoring.
What if Portland trusted their eyes?
Durant joins Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge on a young, hungry Blazers squad. That trio likely makes multiple Finals appearances in the early 2010s. Roy’s knees maybe last longer with less scoring burden. And the Oklahoma City Thunder, who took Durant second, start their rebuild without a generational talent.
The Trade That Blew Up the Prettiest Dynasty Never Crowned
The 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder were absurdly young. Durant was 23. Russell Westbrook was 23. James Harden was 22. They had just lost the NBA Finals to LeBron’s Miami Heat. Everyone expected a decade of dominance. Then ownership balked at paying the luxury tax. Harden got traded to Houston for a bag of chips relative to his value. The Thunder never made it back to the Finals.
What if OKC paid the man?
That core grows together into a potential dynasty. Three MVPs on the same team, all entering their prime together. The Golden State Warriors probably never win 73 games because the Thunder would have been standing in their way every spring. And the entire mid-2010s looks completely different.
The beauty of these what-ifs is that they never get old. Every new season brings fresh ones, and every old fan has a favourite. Basketball history is not just about what happened. It is also about what nearly did.
