Table of Contents
“Blocked by James”
This is the number-one NBA highlight because it was the Cleveland Cavaliers’ one and only NBA Championship and it was the city of Cleveland’s first major sports title in 50 years. Lebron also capped off an impossible 3-1 series deficit to beat the best team in NBA history, the Warriors, a team that went 72-9 in the regular season. That play is what dreams are made of.
Jeter’s last home game walk-off
Derek Jeter stated before the season that he was retiring and MLB teams were bending over backwards all season showering him in gifts. This was his last home game and it could’ve only ended one way. The top MLB highlight of the past decade includes Jeter achieving a game-winning single to beat the Orioles 5-4. He played two more games in Boston but nothing was quite as memorable as this one.
OBJ’s one-handed catch
Did you ever wonder how every single person on earth has heard of or knows Odell Beckham Jr? This NFL highlight is why. This insane, three-fingered TD grab on national TV was what catapulted him into superstardom with many NFL experts saying this was the greatest catch they’d ever seen. He proved he wasn’t a one-HAND wonder because six years later he’s still making those kinds of insane plays. It is players like that OBJ that make the NFL the most popular sport for sports betting, which is now available in the state of New York with sportsbooks like BetRivers New York.
Kobe scoring his final points of his career against the Jazz
This highlight is important because this was the end of an era for basketball itself. This shot was important because it put the Lakers up one with 30 seconds to go, a lead they would not relinquish, and it put Kobe at 60 points for the game. This final performance is wildly regarded as the single greatest final game for any professional athlete.
Kawhi Leonard’s series winner
This is the most recent NBA highlight in this list, Kawhi Leonard was trying to drive to the painted area but Joel Embiid was guarding him so closely that he had to settle for an impossible outside shot and as you can see from the play, it’s one of the most dramatic and exciting shots in NBA history. When you add the fact that, that shot was to send Toronto the Finals for a date with Steph Curry and the Warriors, a Finals the Raptors would win.
Holly Holm KOing Ronda Rousey
This might be surprising to see but trust me the highlight itself doesn’t do this play justice. Ronda Rousey was widely regarded as the greatest, most unbeatable female MMA fighter of all time going into this fight, but after a brutal first round for Rousey, the UFC world would be forever changed after Holm landed that final head kick to dethrone Rousey.
TJ Oshies’ heroic goals against Russia
This is the closest my generation will ever get to the “Miracle on Ice” in which the USA beat the best hockey team ever put together, the USSR. TJ Oshie was in a shootout and was the only USA player doing anything of note in those shootout rounds so the coach kept him out there to take 6/10 total shots until the US either won or lost. He netted 4/6 to beat Russia, giving the U.S a spot in the Olympic tournament.
John Brooks 86th minute goal in the 2014 World Cup
All seemed doomed for another shootout in this World Cup game tied 1-1 in 2014, that was until a late-game corner kick was rewarded to the U.S. From the corner, the ball came into the middle, waiting to meet a U.S. player’s head. But then John Brooks stepped in and hit one of the most memorable goals in U.S. soccer history to beat Ghana 2-1 and send them to the next round of competition.
Kris Bryant grounder in game 7 of the 2016 WS
This MLB highlight is a big deal for one major reason: the Chicago Cubs waited 107 years between World Series wins and this play came after one of the craziest 9th innings in baseball history. This grounder to Kris Bryant was 107 years in the making and he fielded it with poise and fired a strike to first for the final out and for the Cubs’ first World Series title in 107 years.
Minneapolis Miracle
With 10 seconds left in the NFC Divisional round, Case Keenum snapped the ball and threw up a prayer to WR Stefon Diggs, who caught the ball and had the presence of mind to stay in bounds, catch his balance, and run as fast as he could to the endzone. After eluding a would-be tackler, Diggs essentially won the game for the Vikings and sent them to the next round, making this one of the most memorable NFL highlights of the decade.