NBA history book’s pages are filled with some of the greatest performances by teams and individual players. The latest story to add to those pages unfolded at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

For NBA legend Charles Barkley, the New York Knicks’ performance was better than LeBron James’ 2007 historic performance in postseason history.

"Yes,” Barkley said as per a post by purpgoldlakers on X. “That was the most amazing thing I've seen until this. When LeBron put on that show in Detroit that night. This topped that."

The Knicks trailed by 29 points until 9 minutes remained in the third quarter. But the next 21 minutes saw a team come together and complete the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.

They defeated the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 to take a 3-1 lead. After the game, former NBA player Kenny Smith asked Barkley if the Knicks’ performance had surpassed LeBron’s in magnitude. 

The Knicks surpassed the previous record held by the Boston Celtics. In Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals, they erased a 24-point deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers to win the game and eventually the title.

In one of the greatest individual performances in league history, LeBron did the improbable in 2007. He scored 25 straight points for the Cleveland Cavaliers and 29 of his team’s last 30 points in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the top-seed Detroit Pistons. 

James, who was just 22 years old, single-handedly willed his team to a 109-107 victory in double overtime, and gave the Cavs a 3-2 lead in the series. The Cavs ultimately won the series and reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. He finished the game with 48 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. 

Aside from the contrast of team resilience vs individual will, the Knicks are an experienced team facing a team with no playoff experience. On the other hand, James, a 22-year-old young star, was playing against a top-seed team that had won a title three years ago. 

However, it is hard to argue against the claim that this was the greatest comeback story in the NBA Finals. The Knicks did the impossible and have shown why they deserve to be the champions. 

Charles Barkley claims the Spurs helped the Knicks win Game 4

In all four games so far in the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs have led the Knicks in the first quarter. In three out of four games, the story has been identical. San Antonio takes an early lead, the Knicks cut the lead, and win the game. 

But Game 4 saw the biggest choke by a team in NBA Finals history. According to Barkley, this Spurs team is the dumbest in history books, which helped New York rather than putting up a fight. 

“We saw the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization. … The San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game.”

The Spurs did a terrible job executing the game in the last two quarters. They rushed shots, especially from beyond the arc, to keep the lead as the Knicks trimmed it on every possession. Rather than using the shot clock, the Spurs made big mistakes, giving the Knicks more than enough time to beat them.

It was expected from a young, inexperienced team to make mistakes. But the biggest storyline of Game 4 was the Knicks’ resilience. 

Tell us your thoughts. Was Game 4 decided by the Knicks’ greatness or the Spurs’ mistakes?

Read more at Air Jordan Chronicles!

Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi