The 1993 NBA Finals were a classic tale of “unstoppable force meets immovable object.” The two biggest, most superhuman basketball stars on the face of the planet squaring off in Michael Jordan vs. Charles Barkley. Two NBA titans clashing in the 62-win Phoenix Suns and the Chicago Bulls, who were going for a three-peat to cement their place as a dynasty.
It had all the makings of an epic battle, littered with household names and memorable heroes on both sides.
Suffice it to say no one expected John Paxson to have the last word in that kind of collision.
In your universe, Paxson’s wide-open 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left gave the Bulls a 99-98 lead in Game 6 of the Finals. It silenced a roaring America West Arena that was one stop away from hosting a do-or-die Game 7. The Suns had staved off elimination in Chicago in Game 5 with an impressive double-digit win and had Game 6 in sight, up by two points, at home, with 14.4 seconds left.
But the Suns overcommitted on the defensive end. They got the ball out of Jordan’s hands, but Barkley made a poor decision to go for a steal on Scottie Pippen. Pippen drove the lane, forcing Mark West and Danny Ainge to collapse. Pippen dumped it off to Horace Grant, and while people still blame Ainge for leaving his man on the perimeter, his rotation cut Grant off from a game-tying layup.
The problem was, the Bulls’ ball movement was pure, and no one was ready to rotate out to John Paxson. Grant found him alone beyond the 3-point arc. Paxson buried it.
Phoenix had a chance to respond, but Grant swatted Kevin Johnson’s runner from behind, cementing Chicago’s three-peat and ensuring the Suns remained ringless. Paxson being the only Bull other than Jordan to score in the fourth quarter just twisted the knife deeper for the Suns.
But what of another dimension, where John Paxson’s aim was less than true?
WHAT IF JOHN PAXSON HAD MISSED?
Ask Doctor Strange, and he’d tell you the odds of Paxson missing that wide-open of a look are comparable to the Avengers defeating Thanos. The Bulls point guard may have lost his starting job to B.J. Armstrong that year, but he also shot 46.3 percent from downtown on the season.
Sure, that unholy conversion rate came on only 0.7 attempts per game, but that meant one thing: Even on a limited number of attempts, Paxson stayed ready and made each and every one of them count.
But in the alternate reality where Paxson’s 3 was off the mark, Phoenix had its two leading rebounders with Barkley (12.2 per game) and Mark West (5.6 per game) in the paint, ready to snatch that ball up. Chicago would’ve had no choice but to foul, and although neither Barkley (76.5 percent) nor West (51.8 percent) were a sure thing from the foul line, even if they had missed both, the Bulls would’ve had limited time to work with.
In other words, Game 7 would’ve been inevitable if Paxson had missed.
But would the final outcome have been any different?
In your reality, Michael Jordan was never pushed to a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. But when he did face a Game 7 of any sort, MJ was unstoppable, averaging 33.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He went 2-1 in those Game 7s, with the only loss coming against a Detroit Pistons team that went on to win it all, in a contest Scottie Pippen played (poorly) through a migraine.
In other words, the basketball G.O.A.T., whose competitive tendencies bordered on psychopathic behavior, would’ve risen to exceed otherworldly expectations yet again in a Game 7 on the sport’s biggest stage. He averaged 41 points per game for the series through Game 6 in your universe. With a Game 7 in this reality, that number didn’t change much. In fact, it increased.
While the Suns had momentum on their side after winning two straight and forcing a decisive Game 7 at home, the Bulls had a Hulk. His name was Michael Jordan, and even after Paxson’s Game 6 misfire, Chicago’s savior did it again. MJ dropped a 50-burger on the Suns, topping another heroic effort from Barkley, who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds in defeat. Phoenix fought valiantly, but MJ, Pippen and a few backbreaking 3s from Paxson sealed the deal.
It’s rare that such a costly defensive lapse provides a favorable outcome, and that horrifying mistake in your universe was permanently seared into the brains of every Suns fan the moment it happened. But in the parallel universe where Paxson’s shot was off the mark, a Game 7 loss at home stung just as hard. Maybe the final dagger wasn’t as dramatic, but the pain of coming *this* close to a championship and falling short in front of the home fans cut deep — yes, perhaps even as deep as a game-winner by the hands of someone as unlikely as John Paxson.
In all the realities where the Suns trailed 3-1 in those NBA Finals, the Bulls found a way to finish them off almost every time. As for the dimensions where the series was tied 2-2, after Phoenix found a way to pull out an unforgettable win that triple-overtime Game 4? Well…that’s a tale for another day.
As for me? These are my stories. I observe all that transpires here, but I do not, cannot, will not interfere. For I am…the Suns Watcher.
