In tribute to Bob Cousy, I dug up a clip from the oldest NBA game preserved today. It comes from a "Vintage NBA" show about Cousy, and it's from game 6 of the 1963 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers in what was Cousy's last game as a Celtic. Boston won 112-109 for their fifth straight NBA title. The action comes from the 1st quarter of that game, and though the segment preceding it is in Spanish, the game is still in English. Enjoy!

In this autonomous clip, we have the ABC intro to one of the greatest moments in NBA history. It comes from game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. After Willis Reed tore a leg muscle in game 5 and missed the following game, many wondered if he would play in the clincher at Madison Square Garden. Reed did decide to play, and after he scored the first two baskets, the Knicks rolled, beating the Lakers 113-99 to win their first ever NBA title. It is one of the most courageous moments in league history, and it helped vault the NBA into national prominence.

It is often joked that nobody wants to watch the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. Apparently, the sentiment is shared on Youtube; very few good clips are avaliable there. So, I found the best I could for the David Robinson tribute. This is the ABC intro to game six of the 2003 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets. The Spurs put the Nets away in this game 88-77 to win their second NBA title in what was Robinson's last game. The video is kinda cloudy, but it should still be visible, and I hope you enjoy it... on the Youtube site, since it can't be embedded. Well, I'll try again.

In today's tribute to Wilt Chamberlain, the clip comes from the 1st quarter of game 5 of the 1972 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks. At 3:06 of this clip, Chamberlain makes a great spin move en route to a reverse slam, showing that even with injuries to both hands, he still could dominate the opposition! The Lakers beat the Knicks 114-100 to win the series 4 games to 1 and win their first NBA title since moving to L.A. in 1960 (first title since 1954), with Chamberlain winning Finals MVP.

The special clip for Don Nelson takes us back to his playing days, and his most famous moment as a player. It occured during game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals between his Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Near the end of this clip, Nelson shoots a jumper with the Celtics up two (the Lakers made a furious 4th quarter comeback to force the two point defecit). His shot bounced high off the backrim before falling, giving Boston a four-point lead. The Celtics eventually win 108-106 to claim their 11th title in thirteen seasons. It proved to be the final NBA game for both Bill Russell and Sam Jones, but for Nelson, it was a shot replayed for years afterwards.

Here is the oldest clip (so far) featured in the Zone. It is a snippet of game 1 of the 1965 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. With Boston coming off the dramatic game 7 against the 76ers (with the famous "Havlicek stole the ball!" play), the Lakers proved to be no match for the defending champs; they lost this game 142-110, en route to a five game series loss.

There have been just three game 7's in the NBA Finals since the NBA went to a 2-3-2 Finals format in 1985. Earlier today, I posted the first one (from 1988). Here is the most recent one; here is ABC's intro to 2005's game 7 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons. The Spurs prevailed 81-74 to claim their third NBA title of the Tim Duncan era, with Duncan winning Finals MVP for the third time, joining Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal as the only NBA players to win the award three or more times in their career.