If you had to narrow it down to one what-if per franchise, which one makes the cut?
I'll give examples using the team I support (the Celtics):
Injuries - KG's injury in 2009. The Celtics had a scorching start to the season, but lost in 7 to the Magic. KG's absence let Dwight loose on the boards, & the next year when they did make the finals the Big Ticket had clearly lost a step.
Deaths - Len Bias in 1986. Red Auerbach had drafted a potentially transcendent player to back-up the greatest frontcourt in the history of professional basketball. Instead, a cocaine overdose killed him hours after being drafted No. 2.
Draft Picks - Kedrick Brown in 2001. Know who the Celtics had wanted to draft? Tony Parker. Unfortunately then-GM Chris Wallace was overruled by Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach.
Suspensions - Ime Udoka in 2022. Just months after taking the Celtics to the NBA finals, the former Spurs assistant was suspended for inappopriate relations with a female employee.
Made/missed shots - Artest's 3-pointer in 2010. I will always believe we'd have stolen that game if ~~Ron Artest~~ Metta World Peace doesn't drive that dagger through our hearts.
Cavs:
What if we didn’t hardball David Griffin in the summer of 2017, who had already convinced Kyrie not to ask for a trade, causing him to leave and the 2nd stint Lebron Cavs team to essentially wither on the vine? If we had Kyrie and had run it back a third time, maybe we actually win games 1 and 3 of the finals in 2018, could have been interesting.
What if Michael Jordan didn’t physically shove Ron Harper off of him before the inbound pass where he made “the shot” over Craig Ehlo? That was probably the best version of the Price-Daugherty Cavs, and they went even with both the Knicks and Pistons that year during the regular season. Who knows, could have messed around and made a deep playoff run!
What if Carlos Boozer didn’t pull a fast one with his promise to sign in 2004 and Lebron had a legit all-star to play alongside during that first run?
What if we didn’t draft Anthony goddamn Bennett number 1 overall in the same draft as Giannis, Gobert, Oladipo, Steven Adams, etc.
Hell, what if we hadn’t given away Kevin Love and actually had some veteran leadership, rebounding, and shooting this past year?