Unfortunately, there is no if: the five major ifs in NBA history!

Looking back at NBA history, it left too many unpredictable assumptions for fans. What would have happened if the Pistons chose Anthony that year? What if Nash was not injured during the Lakers era? What would happen if Paul and the Lakers trade were not stopped? For fans, these hypotheses are countless, and one of the charms of basketball happens to be this unknown part.

These questions that are worthy of fans' slight debate can't help but make people think a lot. Below, we list the top five "if-on-time" in NBA history, and see what are they?

Fifth: What if Kobe or James played college basketball for a year?

Playing college basketball for a year and then joining the NBA is likely to directly change the player's career trajectory. In 1996, the Charlotte Hornets selected Kobe Bryant, the then high school student at the 13th pick, and then traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers.

What if Kobe played one more year at Duke? In 1997, he was more likely to be the No. 1 pick and was chosen by the Spurs or the 76ers. So will he pass by O'Neal, Phil Jackson and others? Is it possible that you will not have a championship in your career? Will you not become a black mamba?

The above assumptions also apply to LeBron James. If he played for one year at Ohio State, he would probably miss his hometown team in the draft, and naturally he would also change his NBA career. If he ran in 2004, he would be highly likely to be selected by the Orlando Magic.

Can James replace Howard, who was selected in reality, and lead the Magic to the finals? If he plays for one more year in college, will there be the Heat Big Three? These are assumptions that exist in the unknown that may change everything.

Fourth: What if Jordan's "Summary of the Century" was called a foul?

In the 1998 NBA Finals, in the last moment of the Bulls vs. Jazz, Jordan pretended to break through and changed direction significantly, knocking down Russell, who was defending him, and then scored a goal that locked the championship.

For this round, the biggest controversy is that he used his left hand to push Russell to create a shooting space. So, what would happen if the referee called an offensive foul at that time?

If the referee calls Jordan for an offensive foul, can the Jazz beat the Bulls in one go and win the seventh game? This is likely to be something that has a chance to happen, and such a key penalty is likely to relax the Jazz team.

The two teams played hard to solve the problem in the entire series, and in a tiebreaker at home, the Jazz's advantage will naturally increase greatly, and it is entirely possible that the Bulls myth led by Jordan will end ahead of schedule.

Third: What if the player's strength evaluation and exposure level are decoupled?

With the rise of modern media, the NBA's discussion of the greatest players has also begun to deviate. Some fans put James in Jordan's previous position, and many fans also denied this statement. It is not denied that James is outstanding, but the fact that such a debate is largely due to the exposure of sports media.

And it seems that the same is true for Jordan, who has won the championship in six career Finals, but is he really the best player in the NBA ever? This topic is still controversial.

Looking at history, Jabbar was also a dominant player in his own era, and Jordan's average score per game is higher than Jabbar's, but Jabbar's scoring ability is also at the historical level. After all, he was the first in James's NBA history scoring list before.

From a certain perspective, part of the reason why Jordan is regarded as the greatest player comes from marketing publicity. In the era of Jabbar, there was no air dunk, no Gatorade advertisements, and no big brands like Nike had his posters all over the world. If there were such exposure and publicity back then, Jabbar would have the same level influence as the Jordan era, and if he could really get so many commercial bonuses, the discussion of the best player in history might not be like this now.

If the person who wins the championship rings the strongest, why didn’t Bill Russell get the praise of Jordan at the same level? We do not want to deny Jordan's historical status, but Jabbar won one MVP trophy with a lower-than-player than Jordan's career. And Jabbar's career has also lasted longer, which also shows that he is better at maintaining his body. But under the influence of modern media, Jordan has indeed received a large part of the business support.

Second: What if John Starks scored a three-pointer in the tiebreak?

In 1994, the Knicks had their best chance to win the championship. They met the Rockets in the finals. The two teams had the same lineup, but the Knicks had Super X-factor John Starks. Throughout the regular season and playoffs, Starks saved the Knicks from fire and fire on both offense and defense many times, but his performance in the seventh game of the Finals was shocking.

made 2 of 18 shots in the game and missed 11 three-pointers. The Knicks also lost 84-90 in the final tiebreak. But what if Starks didn't quit, what would the outcome of the game be?

Reference Game 6 of the finals, Starks scored 22 points in the whole game and scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. It is obvious that he has the ability to score explosively by riding alone in the Savior. But in one of the Knicks' most critical game, he lost his sight. Even as the Knicks' record-holder of three-point shooting, Starks could not avoid this "if-theory" assumption.

If he could make the game in the first game, Ewing, a legend in the Knicks, might have been able to get rid of his lifelong fate of not having a championship..

First: What if Presti is a little more generous?

Long before the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors, Presti formed the best team in NBA history in the Thunder.

Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, and James Harden. At that time, these team-building core members may not be outstanding, but now looking back, Harden at the peak is the best shooting guard in the NBA, Durant is also the top player in the league, Green is a solid tanker swap, Ibaka is also a block king-level defensive sharp knife, plus a triple-double machine Westbrook.

From the long-term perspective of the team, why should such a good lineup be broken up?

When Harden faced a contract renewal, Presti did not give a contract that suited Harden's ability, but chose another route to build the team. Fans witnessed the fall of an emerging team.

Indeed, losing to the Heat Big Three in the finals was frustrating, but the Thunder was still very young at the time. Afterwards, Presti let Green and Ibaka go, and then Durant and Westbrook also left the team one after another.

And when fans pointed at Durant's resignation, they seemed to forget that the stingy general manager of the team was Presti. He really had to do his best to keep the lineup back then, and the Thunder's championship moment might have arrived long ago. And it happened that when he refused to contract Harden, the Thunder's downhill moment had already begun.