The things that really change the world, according to Chaos theory, are the tiny things. A butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazonian jungle, and subsequently a storm ravages half of Europe.”
― Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
The butterfly effect is the idea that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe forever. This phenomenon has existed throughout NBA history, in the form of the ‘What If’ scenarios which have dictated the trajectory of the sport. The greatest what-ifs initiate a snowball effect, not only impacting the players and teams involved, but altering the NBA’s landscape forever.
Before we get started, let’s set some ground rules.We’re only looking at events that took place in the last 20 years, specifically, following Jordan’s 1998 retirement. We’re avoiding injury-related what-ifs unless the injury completely changed the course of basketball, draft-related what-ifs unless the right decision was glaringly obvious even at the time and the team screwed up, as well as two specific free-agency what-ifs: LeBron’s 2010 Decision (this has been analyzed enough) and Durant’s 2016 arrival in Golden State (ditto).
Here are the top ten what-ifs in recent NBA history, in reverse order…
