Nothing immortalizes an NBA moment like a truly iconic photo.
For a sport filled with seemingly constant motion and emotion, getting that perfect shot isn’t easy for the scores of photographers who congregate along every NBA baseline.
But when they do, it’s always something special to behold… something for the history books, something to show your grandchildren, YouTube be damned.
So as we near the end of 2019, here are the 10 greatest photos of the past decade, in no particular order:
THE MAMBA STRIKES: Kobe Bryant celebrates clinching the 2010 NBA Championship with a Game 7 win against the Boston Celtics (June 17, 2010).
NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE: Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James live it up at the Miami Heat’s Big 3 welcome party (July 9, 2010).
RIP: Blake Griffin lays waste to Timofey Mozgov with the most iconic dunk of his career (November 20, 2010).
DUNK SQUAD: Dwyane Wade dishes to LeBron James for one of the most famous throwdowns of all-time (December 6, 2010).
DEVASTATION: Derrick Rose falls to the floor in agony after tearing his ACL during the 2012 Playoffs (April 28, 2012).
REAL RECOGNISE REAL: LeBron James guards Kobe Bryant during Bryant’s last ever All-Star Game (February 14, 2016).
BLOCKED BY JAMES: LeBron James pulls off one of the most athletic and iconic blocks of all-time to help close Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals (June 19, 2016).
PROMISE KEPT: LeBron James embraces Kevin Love as the Cleveland Cavaliers come back from 3-1 down to win the 2016 NBA championship against the Golden State Warriors (June 19, 2016).
WRONG WAY: LeBron James watches his 51-point performance in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals go up in flames as JR Smith inexplicably runs away from Cleveland’s basket in the dying seconds of the game (May 31, 2018).
REDEMPTION: Derrick Rose breaks down in tears after overcoming years of devastating injuries to score a career-high 50 points in a remarkable win over the Utah Jazz (October 31, 2018).
