Perhaps more than any other league in all of sports, the NBA is dominated by “what-ifs”. That question, almost seamlessly, drives conversation and commentary, even if it’s driving a discussion off the edge of a cliff, careening towards absurdity.
It’s become especially dominant in recent years, with popular alternate histories claiming that “if Kawhi Leonard’s shot from the corner had missed, the 76ers would’ve won the East in 2019,” or “if Kyrie Irving had been vaccinated, the Nets would have never traded James Harden and won the 2021 (or 2022) NBA Finals.