Best Comeback in Basketball History – Our Ranking

Have you ever wondered about the best comeback in basketball history? There are certainly plenty to choose from, with several teams having overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and deficits to record unlikely victories in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Of course, predicting such outcomes is incredibly difficult, while virtually every online sports betting guide tells you to give weight to favorites and calculate the implied probability of outcomes occurring. However, such comebacks are incredibly thrilling and tend to be remembered by fans for generations!

• Appraising the Very Best Basketball Comebacks
• Utah Beat the Nuggets – The Greatest Basketball Comeback Ever
• The Kings Triumph at the Bulls – Overcoming a 35-Point Deficit
• How the Clippers Repeated History in the US Capital
• Remembering Jayson Tatum’s 60-Point Haul Against the Spurs
• The First Truly Great NBA Comeback

Appraising the Very Best Basketball Comebacks

The NBA remains one of the most romanticized sports leagues in the world, with famous team comebacks central to its global appeal. Of course, individual players have also mounted some of the most incredible career comebacks in basketball history, including Elgin Baylor (who suffered major knee injuries and a dislocated patella but still enjoyed a stellar career).

Then there’s Bernard King, who was playing with distinction for the Knicks in the mid-1980s and considered to be one the NBA’s most explosive athletes ever before he tore his ACL in 1985. This sidelined King for more than two years, with his long-awaited return coming for the final six matches of the 1986/87 season. Despite subsequently being cut by the Knicks, he transferred to the Washington Bullets and made the NBA All-Star team in 1991.

Of course, team comebacks are often more dramatic and memorable, as they occur in a relatively short period of time and resonate strongly in the minds of fans. So, let’s take a closer look at the very best basketball comebacks of all-time in the NBA, and ask why they stand out in the annals of history!

Utah Beat the Nuggets – The Greatest Basketball Comeback Ever

We’ll start with the best comeback in basketball history, at least from a points’ perspective. Back on November 27, 1996, the Utah Jazz recovered a prohibitive 36-point deficit at the Delta Center to defeat a strong Denver Nuggets outfit 107-103. This was Utah’s eighth NBA win in a row during the regular season, while it left the Nuggets stunned after they’d held a 70-36 half-time lead.

However, the two star Jazz performers (Jeff Hornacek and Karl Malone) took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half, with the latter plundering 31 points in total alongside 17 rebounds and six assists. Hornack contributed 29 points to the cause, with Utah scoring 71 in total in the final two quarters.

At the same time, Utah’s defense held Denver to just 15 and 18 points in the third and fourth quarters respectively, helping the Jazz to secure a thrilling four-point victory. The sheer size of this comeback remains unmatched in the NBA, while it’s a performance that Utah fans continue to discuss to this day.

Of course, Utah were the pre-game favourites to win having recorded a record of 10-2 during the season. Conversely, Denver were 5-12 and had endured a difficult season, while Utah state grad Dick Motta had only recently taken over the head coaching position at the Nuggets. Still, none of this should distract from the scale of Utah’s achievement and its status as the greatest basketball comeback ever!

The Kings Triumph at the Bulls – Overcoming a 35-Point Deficit

Now for another of the best basketball comebacks, with the Sacramento Kings overcoming a 35-point deficit to defeat the Chicago Bulls on December 21, 2009. This was the biggest and most impressive comeback since Utah’s exploits 13 years ago, especially with the Kings struggling manfully for the first two quarters and trailing 67-43 at half-time.

This deficit had increased to 35 midway through the third quarter, and the Kings were seemingly on the way to a heavy defeat. However, they subsequently turned the game on its head and took charge with eight minutes to go in the penultimate quarter, outscoring the Bulls by 52 points to 19 from this point on to secure a dramatic 102-98 win.

They scored 33 points and conceded just 10 in the final quarter. Shooting guard Tyreke Evans also starred for the Kings during the second half, plundering 18 points during this period and 23 in total throughout the match. Incredibly, Evans was a rookie who really rose to the occasion and stunned a solid Bulls outfit.

What’s more, this match took place at the Bull’s United Center, stunning the home side as they relaxed and became far too complacent in the second half. “This one stings”, said Bulls’ head coach Vinny Del Negro famously in the post-match interview, with this arguably one of the biggest understatements in NBA history!

How the Clippers Repeated History in the US Capital

The Kings’ feat was matched some 13 years later in 2022, when the Los Angeles Clippers took on the Washington Wizards in D.C. Neither team came into this match in the best form ahead of the clash on January 25, 2022, with the Wizards 23-25 during the regular season and the Clippers performing only marginally better at 24-25.

The home side started well too, powering into a 66-31 lead at the end of the first half. This matched the 35-point deficit faced by the Kings in Chicago all those years ago, but few expected the Clippers to also repeat one of the most famous and best basketball comebacks in the entire history of the NBA.

Amir Coffey led the way in the second half, scoring an impressive 21 points and 22 in total during the match. Luke Kennard (who had scored just four points during the first half) also contributed a crucial 21 points in the second period, with the Clippers scoring 40 points or more during both the third and fourth quarters.

Unsurprisingly, this incredible display of offense and relentless attack sealed the deal for the Clippers, despite the Wizards also scoring 27 and 22 points during the third and fourth quarters. This meant that the match wasn’t settled until the final seconds of the game, when Kennard completed a four-point play to secure a crucial and unforgettable win.

Remembering Jayson Tatum’s 60-Point Haul Against the Spurs

As great NBA comebacks go, this one probably stands out in terms of producing the most memorable individual performance. The Boston Celtics had started badly against the San Antonio Spurs at the TD Garden on April 30th, 2021, trailing by as much as 32 points towards the end of the second quarter.

However, if the Spurs were expecting to secure a comfortable win during the second half, they reckoned without the Celtics’ start player Jayson Tatum. Already established as a great, big-game performer, Tatum had scored the majority of his team’s points during the first two quarters, but he carried the Celtics on his back in the second period and during overtime.

Overall, he plundered 26 points in the second half alone, and 60 in total as the Celtics recovered to take the game to overtime at 128-128. He also helped the Celtics to outscore the Spurs 15-12 during overtime, as the home side prevailed 143-140 in what has become renowned as a legendary comeback victory.

The game is now commonly referred to as the Jayson Tatum Game, such was the iconic power forward’s impact on the match. It also occurred when Tatum was the peak of his incredible powers, as that match week alone saw him crowned the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 42.7 points, 6.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds per contest.

The First Truly Great NBA Comeback

We close our list of the best basketball comebacks with this clash between the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks, which ironically took place on the same day as the Jazz vs. Nuggets contest (albeit 21 years earlier). This is widely remembered as the first of the truly great NBA recoveries, during which the Warriors overcame a 31-point deficit to prevail.

On November 27th, 1975, the Warriors visited the Milwaukee Bucks at the MECCA Arena, as they looked to defend the NBA title they had won during the previous campaign. However, they started sluggishly on the road and only put up 19 points during the first quarter, and they slipped 31 points behind their unfancied rivals during this period.

Despite this deficit and a buoyant home crowd, however, the Golden State Warriors recovered to show their championship credentials for the final three quarters of the match. In fact, they scored 30, 31 and 32 points in the second, third and fourth quarters, while dominating their opponents and restricting them with a superb defense.

The Bucks were restricted to a paltry 14 points in the final quarter, with this proving crucial as the Warriors edged the match by a slender 106-105 margin. This narrow margin of victory shows just how poor the defending champions were during the first quarter, and they were grateful to Phil Smith and Gus Williams (who both contributed 22 points to the cause).

The Last Word

While the 36-point recovery by Utah Jazz against the Nuggets is statistically the best comeback in basketball history, each of you will probably have your own favorite from our list above. This may depend in part on the NBA team that you support, while there are plenty of ways in which you can evaluate the greatest basketball comeback ever.

Certainly, the ‘Jayson Tatum’ game is arguably the most memorable, with the power forward delivering one of the most influential and dominant individual displays in NBA history. The Los Angeles Clippers’ win over the Wizards in 2022 was also astonishing, not least because of the rate of scoring in the final two quarters and the sheer power of the Clippers’ offense during the second half.

There are other honorable mentions too, such as the Lakers’ incredible 14-0-point run in the final 50 seconds against the Kings in 2007. This secured a narrow win for the former, who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat right at the death. We’re sure you have your own favorite basketball comeback too, with so many to choose from over the years!