If Ray Allen didn’t hit this shot, which tied Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals and led to the Heat eventually beating the Spurs in seven games, a few things would have happened:
Miami would have fallen to 1-2 in the NBA Finals in the Heatles era.
Ray Allen’s legacy would be significantly more vanilla than it is right now.
LeBron’s final moments of the series would have included a missed 3 and a turnover in the final minute.
All of the Heat … fans? … who left the game early would have been vindicated. (Instead, they left and were denied reentrance for overtime.)
An unknowable series of other events might have happened: Would Chris Bosh (who, we remind you, scored zero points in Game 7) be traded? Would Pat Riley step in and coach? Would LeBron be 2-for-9 in the Finals?
To be fair: The fact that the Spurs stormed back in 2014 to beat Miami in five games quelled the momentousness of this series. Perhaps, if San Antonio had finished the deal in 2013, the Heat would have come back and won their second ring in 2014, instead. Other candidates for most important shot in NBA history:
Also: It remains astounding how high Norris Cole jumped when Ray Allen made his 3-pointer. Look for him on the Heat’s bench.
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