People make mistakes, and basketball players are just that, people. Therefore, basketball players make mistakes just like everyone else. Whether those mistakes are things like missing wide-open lay-ups or...pretty much half of what JaVale McGee has done in his career, mistakes are still bound to happen. Even Michael Jordan has messed up on the court before. The mistakes on this list, however, are so much more than that. Not only were these mistakes, mental errors, or avoidable gaffs, but they were mistakes that would end up altering the very game they happened in. Whether they be in the NBA or in college, these are 9 critical mistakes that altered the outcomes of basketball games.
JR Smith Forgets the Score
Obviously, we had to start with a major mental error that occurred this past season, and one that hurts me deeply to think about as a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. In Game 1 of the 2018 finals, the Cavaliers were trailing by one against the Golden State Warriors when George Hill was sent to the line to shoot two free throws. After making the first and tying the game at 107-107, Hill would come up short on the go-ahead free throw. JR Smith would grab the offensive rebound with under five seconds left in the restricted area. Instead of putting up a shot, however, Smith would dribble out to halfcourt, running out the clock and effectively sending the game into overtime. There have been conflicting stories on what happened exactly here. Smith appears to say "I thought we were ahead" right after the mistake but said he thought coach Tyronn Lue would call a timeout after the game, only to later say he "wasn't sure of anything at that point." Either way, the Warriors would take the game in overtime 124-114 and the series in four games.
Michael Ruffin's Sky High Blunder
Michael Ruffin is not a name most basketball fans will remember. Drafted in the 1999 draft with the 32nd pick by the Chicago Bulls, Ruffin would play a total of nine seasons with six different teams, primarily as a role player and bench warmer. For his career, Ruffin averaged 1.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 41% from the field and just 46% from the free throw line. Needless to say, Ruffin was not an influential player during his career. In fact, if you know who Ruffin is, you probably know him purely for this moment. On March 30, 2007, Ruffin and the Washington Wizards took on the Toronto Raptors and led 109-106 with under four seconds left following two Gilbert Arenas free throws. The Raptors' Anthony Parker was inbounding the ball and chucked it down the court. Ruffin was able to cut off the pass and either tossed it into the air to run out the clock or tried to toss it down court to run out the clock, but the ball the slipped and went straight in the air. Either way, the ball ended up in the hands of Morris Peterson behind the three-point line with less than a second left, and Peterson would knock down an incredible contested shot to tie the game and send it into overtime, where the Raptors would win 123-118.
Josh Howard's Premature Timeout
A one-time all-star, Josh Howard was one of the more underrated players in the league early in his career and some saw as a potential star in the league. However, frequent injuries would derail his career and end it after 10 seasons when Howard was just 32. Still, for a couple of years, Howard was a very good player who was vital to the success of the Dallas Mavericks in the mid-2000s, especially during their run to the NBA Finals in 2006. However, as helpful as he was to the Mavericks on the road to the finals, an accidental jumping of the gun by Howard would cost the Mavericks one of the most important games of the season. In Game 5 of the finals, Dallas led the Miami Heat 100-99 in overtime before Dwyane Wade was put on the line with under two seconds left. After tying the game with his first free throw, Josh Howard appeared to signal for a timeout, the Mavericks' last of the game. The plan was to use the timeout and inbounded the ball from half court instead of from the opposite baseline. While Howard claims he didn't call for the timeout, the referees called it. Wade would knock down the go-ahead free throw and the Mavericks inbounded from the baseline, resulting in a halfcourt prayer from Devin Harris that missed, giving the Heat the 101-100 win and the 3-2 series lead. The Heat would win Game 6 and the championship two days later.
Fred Brown Forgets What Team He's On
25 years after their last title win in 1957, the North Carolina Tar Heels were able to finally win their second national championship in school history in 1982. Led by Hall of Fame coaching legend Dean Smith and sporting Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and James Worthy, the team was able to cap off their 32-2 season with a narrow 63-62 win over the Georgetown Hoyas that came down to the wire. However, the man responsible for the win wasn't Jordan, or Worthy, or future NBA player Sam Perkins, or anyone on the Tar Heels as a matter of fact. The player who was responsible was Fred Brown, the point guard for the Hoyas. After a Jordan mid-range jumper put UNC up by one point, Brown brought the ball up the court with about 14 seconds left on the clock. Brown would stop around the top of the key, looking to make a pass. At that moment, Brown seemed to forget that he was a Hoya and not a Tar Heel because he tossed the ball right to Worthy to seal the deal and give the Tar Heels the win. Don't feel too bad for Brown though, as he would go on to have a successful 13-year NBA career where he was a one-time all-star and an NBA champion with the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics.
Jermaine O'Neal's Terrible Tip Drill
This has to be one of the most bizarre endings to an NBA game I've ever seen. Coming at the tail end of the 2012-13 season, the Houston Rockets took on the Phoenix Suns. While the 23-55 Suns were already far removed from playoff contention, the Rockets were 44-34 at the time and looking to clinch a playoff berth for the first time in four years. With the game tied at 98-98 and under five seconds on the clock, James Harden shot a contested three before the buzzer sounded. As the ball bounced high off the rim and time expired, it looked like the game was heading into overtime. However, for reasons that only Jermaine O'Neal can explain, O'Neal jumped up and tipped the ball away while it was still above the rim. The referees correctly called it goaltending, giving the Rockets the 101-98 win. Again...no idea why O'Neal would do this. That's all I've got.
Chris Webber's Non-Existent Timeout
The 1993 National Championship game saw what was easily one of the most infamous mistakes in the history of basketball. Going up against the North Carolina Tar Heels were the Michigan Wolverines and their famous Fab Five, consisting of Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson, and future Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Webber. After falling to Duke in the national championship game the previous year, Michigan and the Fab Five were looking to redeem themselves and win the school's second national title in five years. Things weren't looking good at the end of the game, as UNC's Pat Sullivan would knock down a free throw to put the Tar Heels up 73-71. After Sullivan missed the second shot, Webber grabbed the rebound and (after getting away with a travel) dribbled the ball up the court. Seeing a defensive trap coming, Webber dribbled up to the sideline and called a timeout. The only problem? Michigan had no timeouts left. That gaffe resulted in a technical foul and was the final nail in the coffin, as North Carolina eventually would take the championship win 77-71. Evidently, even if Webber hadn't called the timeout and Michigan had pulled out the win, it actually would've ended up being for nothing, as Michigan's entire 1992-93 season would be vacated after it was revealed Webber had received payments from boosters.
Nick Anderson Lays A Couple Of Bricks
For a couple of seasons, Nick Anderson was looking like a future star in the NBA. Drafted with the 11th pick in the 1989 draft by the Orlando Magic (the first in the franchise's history), Anderson would go on to play 13 seasons in the NBA and averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 45% from the field and 36% from three-point range. However, by his seventh season, Anderson began to fall off, struggling for the majority of the rest of his career before retiring in 2002. That probably had something to do with a game-costing performance he had in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals. In a series that pitted Anderson and the Magic against the Houston Rockets, the opening game of the series saw the Magic leading 110-107 with ten and a half seconds left on the clock when Nick Anderson was put on the line. A 70% free throw shooter that season, just one made free throw had the potential the put the game out of reach. He would miss both. Luckily, Anderson got the rebound and was fouled again, putting him back on the line. Two more attempts. Two more misses. Four straight missed free throws. Kenny Smith would end up hitting a game-tying three to send the game to overtime, and the Rockets would win the game 120-118.
Martell Webster's Wasted Opportunity
Despite being one of the top picks in the 2005 draft, Martell Webster was never really anything more than a somewhat reliable role player. Drafted out of high school with the 6th pick in the draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Webster would play a total of 10 seasons in the NBA, averaging 8.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 42% from the field and 38% from three-point range. Outside of a solid 2012-13 season where he averaged 11.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 44% from the field and 42% from three-point range, a list of notable moments from Webster's career, aside from this moment. Unfortunately for Webster, it's not a good moment, as it ended up costing his team (the Minnesota Timberwolves) the game. With the T'Wolves down 102-99 to the Denver Nuggets with less than 5 seconds left in overtime, Webster came up with a huge steal off an inbound pass. Unfortunately, Webster went from hero to bonehead when, instead of pulling up for a three, he drove in and dunked the ball. The Nuggets would pull out the win 103-101 in the end.
Magic Johnson Forgets the Score
Magic Johnson's multiple mistakes in the 1984 NBA Finals is something of legend. Not quite as legendary as the man himself, but still very, very notable. In Game 4 of the series, Johnson would give up a costly turnover to Robert Parish and missed two potential game-winning free throws. In Game 7, Johnson would end up having the ball stolen from him by Dennis Johnson, a turnover that cost the Lakers not just the game, but the series and the championship. Those mistakes were bad, but they weren't entirely Johnson's fault. The mistake he made in Game 2, however, was all on Johnson. Following a lay-up by the Boston Celtics' Gerald Henderson, the game was tied at 113-113 when Magic Johnson dribbled the ball up the court. With nine seconds left on the clock, Johnson dribbled out the clock...literally. Johnson would end up dribbling out the rest of regulation, only making a pass to a teammate when it was too late. The game would go into overtime, where the Celtics would win 124-121 and, as I've already stated, would take the series in seven games. This is very similar to what JR Smith did in this past NBA Finals. One big difference? Smith wasn't a two-time Finals MVP when he made his mistake. Johnson was.
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