Top 10 NBA Finals performances of All-Time

1. Magic Johnson scores 42 points playing as a centre

Magic becomes the only rookie in NBA history to win Finals MVP

When the 20-year-old rookie Magic Johnson received the news from then Lakers head coach Paul Westhead that he was going to be the starting centre in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals replacing injured Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he thought he was kidding. And so did everybody else.

Magic Johnson is the only player on this list who was playing out of his position. Not only is he playing out of his position, but he is far away from his normal position which is at the point guard spot. Apart from the humungous pressure on the rookie to take the place of Kareem, Game 6 was a do-or-die match for the Los Angeles Lakers on the road in Philadelphia, which is one of the toughest places to play in.

Magic might be widely recognised as the best point guard to have ever lived, but it is because of performance like this that he is considered one of the best to have ever played the game.

With Magic at centre, the Lakers were relentless in pushing the fast break catching the bigger and less athletic Sixers off guard. With the game tied 60-60 at halftime, the Lakers came out all guns blazing with a 14-0 run to start the third and never looked back from there, silencing the crowd with it.

“That is when it got really, really quiet,” said Johnson. “They couldn’t believe what was happening.”

Magic calls it his greatest game ever and so do we. He ended the night with 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals to give the Lakers first of their five titles of the ’80s. He was named the Finals MVP becoming the only rookie in NBA history to do so. Looking at the circumstances of the Lakers and the pressure of the Finals that was on the shoulders of the rookie, Magic's effort that night is arguably the greatest performance in NBA Finals history.