The Spurs greatest playoff play: The Finals!

The moment is here! After three weeks of voting, we are down to what you have determined to be the Spurs’ two greatest playoff plays. Now it’s time to vote for a winner, but first, here is how the Final Four went down:

(1) Memorial Day Miracle: 83%

(3) Manu Ginobili game-winning three: 17%

———

(1) Manu Ginobili dunk on Chris Bosh: 54%

(2) Manu Ginobili blocks James Harden: 46%

———

The path to get to this point may have been interesting at times, but the final match-up shouldn’t be all that surprising. It’s two huge shots from the Spurs’ first and last championships courtesy of two of their most lovable characters. They may have happened a generation apart, but they both have similar stories behind them.

First, there’s the redemption factor. Sean Elliott’s Memorial Day Miracle in its own way was redemption for the Spurs of the 90’s, who had come so agonizingly close to glory but couldn’t get over the hump, generating a soft label along the way. His shot in Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals was a big “yes, we can” statement to the rest of the league that would send the Spurs off on an unmatched run of success that in some ways still continues to this day.

Manu’s dunk was the defining play of the Spurs’ 2014 championship, which was all about redemption for how the 2013 Finals against the Heat went down, complete with individual revenge against the two opposing players most responsible for the disaster a year prior (aside from the Spurs’ own mistakes) in Bosh and Ray Allen.

Another factor these two plays have in common is unbeknownst to the public at the time, both players performed these amazing feats in poor health. Manu unknowingly exploded for this dunk with a stress fracture in his leg, while Sean was in kidney failure and would require a transplant that summer, but while he knew this, he had not disclosed it to the team or public at the time.

So which one is the Spurs greatest playoff play? Time to find out!

(1) Memorial Day Miracle — Game 2 vs. Trail Blazers, 1999 WCF

(1) Manu Ginobili dunk on Chris Bosh — Game 5 vs. Heat, 2014 Finals

That’s the end of the tournament! This poll will close on Wednesday Sept. 11 at 8:00 PM, and the winner will be crowned on Thursday. Thanks to everyone who participated and made all this possible!