Best Comebacks in Sports History

Everyone loves watching a good drama, whether it’s a soap opera, reality television or a dramatic film. Well, sports can combine all of those into a single event, and there’s certainly no shortage of drama in watching two foes duke it out.

But the most dramatic of sporting events are those that have you on the edge of your seat, as one player or team is tasked with a seemingly impossible deficit to overcome. Yes, we’re talking about the comeback — arguably the most exciting thing to watch in sports — and the sporting world has gifted us with many unforgettable ones.

Great comebacks can come in the form of games or even postseason series. They can also come from individual players who get hot at just the right time or from entire teams who catch lightning in a bottle. Reggie Miller, the Boston Red Sox and the Buffalo Bills are just some of the names many think of when sports comebacks are brought up, but there are many more.

We’ve selected our top 30 from 11 different sports. Which is your favorite sports comeback? 

Event Name: 2016 NCAA Tournament – Texas A&M vs. Northern Iowa

Sport: College basketball

Date: March 20, 2016

The 11-seed Northern Iowa Panthers looked like a Cinderella March Madness team after it defeated No. 6 Texas in the first round and then had No. 3 Texas A&M on the ropes.

Northern Iowa was up by 12 points with 44 seconds left and up 10 points with 27 seconds left before a furious Aggies rally. Northern Iowa turned the ball over four times in the last 30 seconds as Texas A&M made its last six FG attempts of the game. Future NBA players Alex Caruso and Danuel House combined for 47 points for Texas A&M, as the Aggies pulled off the biggest NCAA comeback from a deficit in the last minute of a game.

Event Name: 2000 Western Conference Finals – Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Sport: Basketball

Date: June 4, 2000

After blowing a 3-1 series lead and then falling behind by 16 points in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the Kobe-Shaq Dynasty looked over before it even officially began. But Brian Shaw nailed a 3-pointer off the glass at the end of the third quarter that kickstarted the Lakers’ offense, while the Blazers suffered a shooting drought at the worst possible time.

Portland missed 12 straight shots and went scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the fourth quarter of the game as the Lakers got back into the game. L.A. took a two-point lead with two minutes left, and then a Kobe-Shaq alley-oop would seal the victory with under one minute to go. The Lakers would then go on to beat the Pacers in the Finals as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson won their first title together.