2016 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Semifinals

Football season is in full swing, but the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions has been chugging along as we near the end of this year's action.

I took the last 65 NBA champions as well as all nine ABA champions and put them in a tournament to find the best of all time. We're down to four now. One of these teams made it this far last year, two got as far as the quarterfinals, and the other made the Round of 16. Our defending champion is gone, as are both of their opponents in prior championship rounds. Our quest to crown a new champion continues today.

So the two series I'm simulating out today are, like the prior series, best of seven played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. Home court advantage goes to the higher seeded team based on Group Play finish, and in the event of a tie, Group Play record is our tiebreaking factor. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's set up a championship matchup!


(2) '15 Golden State Warriors vs (1) '97 Chicago Bulls
Game 1: @ '97 CHI 97, '15 GS 89 ('97 CHI leads 1-0)
Game 2: '15 GS 106, @ '97 CHI 91 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: @ '15 GS 109, '97 CHI 80 ('15 GS leads 2-1)
Game 4: '97 CHI 92, @ '15 GS 90 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5: @ '97 CHI 89, '15 GS 77 ('97 CHI leads 3-2)
Game 6: @ '15 GS 113, '97 CHI 106 (Series tied 3-3)
Game 7: @ '97 CHI 95, '15 GS 82 ('97 CHI wins 4-3)
In a quarterfinal rematch from last year, Chicago hit seven of 11 threes in Game 1 and led by 16 points after three quarters before holding on late to take the early series lead behind 26 points and seven rebounds from Michael Jordan while Scottie Pippen added 18 and nine as the Splash Brothers combined to go 4-15 from downtown. Golden State roared back in Game 2, holding the Bulls to just eight first quarter points and getting 44 points from Klay Thompson, including a mind-boggling 10-18 day from beyond the arc to even the series. Thompson scored 27 in Game 3, Steph Curry added 20 points, five rebounds, and eight assists, and Draymond Green finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to aid in a Warrior blowout victory in Oakland. Michael Jordan woke up in Game 4, dropping 29 points while Dennis Rodman broke out with nine points and 22 rebounds to overcome a 32 point night for Curry and even up the series. Back in Chicago, the Bulls forced 18 turnovers and got 19 points, five rebounds and five assists from Jordan while Pippen added 16 points and nine rebounds while holding Curry and Thompson to a combined 27 points and win Game 5. With his back against the wall, Curry hit seven of 12 threes in Game 6 en route to 37 points as well as eight assists to overcome seven Bulls scoring in double figures and force a winner-take-all game for the second straight tournament. This time in the deciding game though, Jordan put up 30 points and six rebounds while Pippen added 17 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists and Rodman finished with 11 points and 20 rebounds to outduel 21 points, six rebounds, and nine assists from Curry and a nine point, nine rebound, five block night from Green as the Bulls will have a representative in the championship round for the third straight tournament.

(4) '85 Los Angeles Lakers vs (4) '02 Los Angeles Lakers
Game 1: @ '02 LAL 116, '85 LAL 95 ('02 LAL leads 1-0)
Game 2: '85 LAL 101, @ '02 LAL 88 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: @ '85 LAL 115, '02 LAL 94 ('85 LAL leads 2-1)
Game 4: @ '85 LAL 117, '02 LAL 103 ('85 LAL leads 3-1)
Game 5: @ '02 LAL 115, '85 LAL 88 ('85 LAL leads 3-2)
Game 6: @ '85 LAL 100, '02 LAL 87 ('85 LAL wins 4-2)
The '85 Lakers had no answer for Shaquille O'Neal in Game 1, as he went off for 37 points and 14 rebounds while Kobe Bryant added 25 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists to more than outdo 19 points apiece from James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Magic Johnson stepped it up a notch in Game 2 with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists while Kareem scored 17 points, and the '85 Lakers forced Bryant into nine turnovers to even up the series. Shaq put up 22 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists in Game 3, but it wasn't enough to overcome a balanced '85 Laker attack led by 21 points from Byron Scott and 12 points, seven rebounds, and 13 assists from Magic. Kareem went off for 28 points and nine rebounds in Game 4 while Magic added 17 points, six rebounds, and 15 assists to overshadow 24 points, seven rebounds, and five blocks from Shaq as well as 22 points, seven rebounds, and four steals for Bryant. The '02 Lakers returned home and defended their court nicely behind 31 points and six assists for Kobe and 28 points, nine rebounds, and five assists for Shaq while holding their '85 counterparts to just three players in double figures and James Worthy as the leading scorer with 14 points. The '85 Lakers used a 14-0 run in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter of Game 6 and never looked back as their Cinderella run continues to the title round. Magic went off for 27 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists, James Worthy added 18 six, and five, and Kareem finished with 17 points and seven rebounds to ruin a 27 point, 18 rebound, six assist performance from Shaq.