The 1986–87 NBA season marked the first true turning point in the Re↠Written Rings universe. For the first time, the league felt completely unrecognizable from the year before.
Power structures shifted, stars got traded, and no single team or storyline dominated the narrative. Instead, what emerged was a season defined by instability—one driven by chaos, randomness, and systemic failure in the simulation itself.
What should have been a relatively stable year instead became one of the most turbulent seasons the league had ever seen. Between franchise-altering trades, and a growing sense that even the rules of the league could no longer be trusted, 1986–87 felt less like a continuation of history and more like a complete reboot.
The upheaval began before a single game was played. The summer of 1986 quietly ended the careers of several legends at once. Bob Lanier, Nate Archibald, Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore all retired.
It was highly unusual to see one Hall of Fame–level player leave in any given offseason. Seeing four in the same summer created a generational vacuum, stripping the league of its remaining 1970s identity almost overnight.
Both Lanier and Archibald had their numbers retired, symbolically closing the door on an era that had already begun to feel distant in this new timeline.
With so many veterans gone, attention shifted immediately to the 1986 Draft. Boston entered the lottery believing they still controlled New York’s first-round pick, a remnant of a previous trade involving Dennis Johnson that had already reshaped multiple seasons.
Once again, it looked like the Celtics were about to bend the future in their favor. But when the lottery results appeared, something felt wrong. The Knicks still had their pick. There was no explanation. No protected clause. No conditional language buried in a trade. Simply put, 2K failed to transfer the asset correctly, and New York was allowed to keep what should have belonged to Boston.
Instead of a protected pick, the moment became something much worse: a league-level error that altered the balance of power with no accountability.
The Celtics were locked out of the lottery entirely, forced to draft last, while the Knicks benefited from a mistake that might cost Boston multiple championships down the line.
The question immediately shifted from “who will New York draft?” to something far more ominous: Will 2K ever correct this and give Boston the Knicks’ 1987 first-round pick instead?
Seattle landed the number one pick. Atlanta jumped to second. New York remained at three. Phoenix slotted in at four. San Antonio at five. Denver at six. Washington at seven.
The draft that followed ended up reshaping nearly every franchise in the league. Seattle selected Len Bias first overall, flipping real history on its head.
In reality, Bias had been drafted by Boston with a pick that originally (reality), but a lost season that immediately stalled what could have been Seattle’s rise to relevance.
New York used the pick they should never have had to select Brad Daugherty. After losing out on Patrick Ewing the year before, the Knicks finally secured a franchise center.
Paired with Bernard King and Joe Dumars, New York suddenly looked legitimate. Not dominant, but dangerous in a way they hadn’t been in years.
Ironically, the Celtics watched from the bottom of the board as the team they were supposed to outmaneuver instead gained a cornerstone piece for free.
San Antonio selected Arvydas Sabonis at fifth, and unlike real life, he entered the league immediately. There was no waiting period, no European delay.
Sabonis became a force in the NBA right away—only to be traded almost instantly to Washington. The result was one of the most terrifying roster constructions of the decade: Clyde Drexler (free agent sign) and John Stockton (84 draft pick) in the backcourt, with Sabonis anchoring the middle. Overnight, the Bullets transformed from a fringe playoff team into a theoretical Finals threat.
The rest of the draft only added to the sense that the league had been rebooted. Ron Harper went to Phoenix. Mark Price ended up in San Antonio.
Dennis Rodman was selected ninth overall to the Kings. Dražen Petrović landed in Atlanta. Dell Curry went to Houston. Jeff Hornacek joined Denver. Nate McMillan landed with the Lakers. This wasn’t just a rookie class—it was a structural overhaul of the NBA’s talent base.
By the All-Star break, the league no longer resembled anything from the previous season. Philadelphia sat atop the Eastern Conference. Boston slipped to third for the first time in Re-Written history.
Washington looked like a future superteam. Indiana surged after acquiring Terry Cummings. Meanwhile, Chicago collapsed after Patrick Ewing went down with injury, stalling what should have been a franchise revival.
Out West, Dallas quietly became the most complete team in basketball. The defending champion Lakers hovered in second. Denver made the playoffs for the first time in the simulation. And the Utah Jazz—two years removed from a Finals appearance—imploded without any logical explanation beyond the loss of Darrell Griffith and John Drew.
When awards season arrived, 2K doubled down on controversy. Magic Johnson won MVP for the fourth straight year despite finishing 16th in scoring.
He nearly averaged a triple-double, but players like Dominique Wilkins, Terry Cummings, and Charles Barkley all had strong cases. Narrative won over dominance. Magic remained the face of the league in a Jordanless world, even as the numbers suggested the crown should have changed hands.
By the end of the regular season, the standings confirmed what the eye test already suggested: the NBA had lost its script. Boston was no longer on top without the Chief, who was traded at the beginning of the season to Seattle.
Utah had fallen off a cliff. Dallas was suddenly the league’s measuring stick. Washington had become terrifying. And New York was benefiting from what amounted to a league error that still hadn’t been corrected.
The 1986–87 season didn’t create a champion yet. It created a system failure—one where talent, chance, and broken mechanics collided to produce the most unpredictable year in Re↠Written Rings history. And looming over everything was one unresolved question that would shape the next decade:
Will 2K ever give Boston back what it took from them? Or will the Knicks’ stolen pick become the greatest butterfly effect in this entire universe?
The first round of the 1987 NBA playoffs in the Re↠Written Rings universe delivered chaos, upsets, and unforgettable performances. In the Eastern Conference, the defending Conference champion Celtics faced the Milwaukee Bucks, missing Robert Parish while the Bucks were without Sidney Moncrief due to injury. The Celtics secured the series, winning game four 116–101, with Larry Bird posting a 24-point, 8-rebound effort.
Meanwhile, the newly retooled Washington Bullets, featuring one of the league’s most dangerous backcourts in John Stockton and Clyde Drexler, swept the Indiana Pacers, who were led by Terry Cummings.
Stockton impressed with multiple double-doubles and four steals in Game 3, while Cummings had notable performances for the Pacers. The Bullets advanced to face the Sixers in the second round, who also swept the Knicks.
The Western Conference was no less dramatic. In a battle of the Twin Towers, the Clippers faced the Rockets, who were seeking their first playoff series win with Ralph Sampson.
The series featured a legendary triple-overtime Game 3. Sampson recorded a career-high 44 points and 21 rebounds, while Hakeem Olajuwon tallied 38 points, 25 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 4 steals.
Despite these heroics, the Clippers eventually pulled through in Game 4 as Sampson inexplicably played only 13 minutes (fouled out), giving the Rockets’ chance at advancement a crushing blow. Olajuwon wins his first playoff series in his third attempt.
Elsewhere in the West, the Sacramento Kings eliminated the Denver Nuggets in four games. Key contributions came from Joe Barry Carroll and Eddie Johnson, while Alvin Robertson added a near triple-double performance. The Nuggets were led by Alex English and Kiki VanDeWeghe, but it wasn’t enough to advance.
The Atlanta Hawks upset the Detroit Pistons, once again sending the Pistons home early. Dominique Wilkins dominated with 51 points in Game 1 and another 49 in Game 4, supported by Sam Perkins.
Isiah Thomas and Kelly Tripucka gave the Pistons a valiant effort, but these aren't the “Bad Boy” as in this world they don't get the draft picks or make the moves that made them a force in real life.
The top seeds in the West were tested as well. The defending champion Lakers, led by Magic Johnson’s 27-point, 13-assist effort in Game 5, survived a close series against the Golden State Warriors, winning 106–101.
Meanwhile, the number one seed Dallas Mavericks faced elimination against the San Antonio Spurs but rallied to win three straight games, with Mark Aguirre scoring 48 points in Game 4 and supporting contributions from Rolando Blackman and Dale Ellis. The Spurs were left relying heavily on George Gervin, whose 30-point effort in Game 3 couldn’t prevent the Mavericks from winning.
By the end of the first round, the playoff picture was set: the Mavericks, Kings, Clippers and Lakers all advanced to the Western Conference semifinal, while the Bullets, Celtics, Hawks and Sixers prepared for the Eastern Conference’s next chapter.
From triple-overtime thrillers to high-scoring individual performances, the first round of the 1987 playoffs proved once again that in the Re↠Written Rings universe, anything could happen.
If you thought a three-overtime thriller in Los Angeles was wild, just wait until you see what unfolded across the 1987 conference semi-finals in our Rewritten universe.
This year, the intensity of the playoffs reached new heights, with heartbreak, heroics, and buzzer-beating magic shaping the path to the conference finals.
The Clippers, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, were trying to prove themselves in the second round for the first time, while the defending champions Lakers had Magic Johnson and James Worthy aiming to assert dominance.
After falling behind 3-0 in the series, the Clippers showed resilience in Game 4, surviving a heart-stopping finish where Olajuwon hit a potential game-winner to force a Game 5.
Olajuwon’s stat line was nothing short of spectacular: 27 points and 10 rebounds, with nobody else on the team cracking 12 points. For the Lakers, Worthy finished with 22 and 12, but Magic fouled out after 26 minutes.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, the Lakers regained control in Game 5. With Magic back in the lineup and Worthy dominating, the Lakers closed out the series, sending the Clippers home but leaving fans with memories.
Meanwhile, in Boston, Larry Bird and the Celtics flexed their championship experience against the Hawks’ rising star Dominique Wilkins.
The result was a dominant sweep. Bird consistently delivered, putting up 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals in Game 1, while Wilkins carried the Hawks, but received little support from his teammates.
It was a reminder that in this alternate 1987, experience and teamwork still beat raw talent when it mattered most. The Celtics were now going to a fourth straight conference finals appearance.
The Mavericks, seeded #1, faced the Kings in a battle that swung back and forth across five games. Mark Aguirre and Dale Ellis led Dallas, while Alvin Robertson and Joe Barry Carroll tried to keep Sacramento in the fight.
Each game had its story: the Kings pulled off a narrow home win in Game 3, only for the Mavericks to respond with dominant performances in Games 4.
The series was a testament to high stakes and clutch performances. Aguirre dropped 29 points and 7 rebounds in Game 4, while Ellis added 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals, proving why Dallas remained the top seed.
Ultimately, the Mavericks’ consistency earned them the edge, setting up a rematch of last year’s conference finals—but this time, they had their best player and home court.
No recap would be complete without the legendary showdown between the #1 seeded 76ers and the #4 seed Bullets. The series had been a seesaw of momentum, with three star players—Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, and Arvydas Sabonis—all fouling out in critical moments.
Game 7 became an instant classic. The Sixers held a slim lead with under two minutes remaining, but clutch plays from John Long and Maurice Cheeks kept the 76ers alive.
With only two seconds left, Philadelphia called timeout in a tie game. On the inbound, Dr. J found Long in the corner—and the game-winning three swished through the net. The 76ers had advanced to their third straight conference finals, leaving the Bullets stunned and fans breathless.
Philadelphia’s win was powered by Erving’s 29 points, Barkley’s 22 and 14, and Long’s heroics, while the Bullets had valiant performances from Stockton (26 and 10) and Drexler (16, 10, and 9). It was, without question, the most thrilling finish in Re↠Written Rings history so far.
By the time the 1987 Conference Finals arrived, the Re↠Written Rings universe was already showing cracks, but nothing prepared anyone for how completely the established order would fall apart.
Two familiar rivalries returned once again, both loaded with history, expectations, and unfinished business. In the East, it was Celtics vs. 76ers for the third straight year, a trilogy that had already produced two heartbreaking Game 7 losses for Philadelphia.
In the West, it was a rematch between the defending champion Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks, a series that felt unfinished ever since Mark Aguirre had missed last year’s matchup with injury. On paper, both series looked competitive. In reality, they turned into something closer to a collapse.
Philadelphia entered the Eastern Conference Finals with something they had never possessed before in this rivalry: control. As the number one seed, the Sixers finally had home court advantage over Boston, and for the first time, the Celtics were not the favorites.
Boston had survived the Hawks easily in the previous round, but the cracks were already visible. The absence of Robert Parish had quietly changed everything.
Without their longtime anchor in the middle, Boston no longer had the same defensive backbone, and it showed immediately. Charles Barkley dominated the series physically, Moses Malone punished the Celtics inside, and Maurice Cheeks consistently controlled the pace.
By Game 5 in Philadelphia, the series was effectively over. Barkley finished the closeout with 28 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks, while Malone added 22 and nine. Larry Bird managed 20 points and eight rebounds, but once again found himself completely alone.
The Celtics lost the series 4–1, marking the first time in the Re↠Written Rings universe that Boston had been eliminated before the NBA Finals.
Out West, the collapse was even more shocking. The Los Angeles Lakers entered the series as defending champions, led by a four-time MVP in Magic Johnson, and yet were quickly overwhelmed by a Dallas team that looked faster, deeper, and more aggressive in every area.
Game 1 set the tone immediately, as the Mavericks won by 36 points behind a massive performance from Mark Aguirre, who scored 37 points. Derrick Harper added 35, Dale Ellis chipped in 21, and the Lakers looked completely unprepared.
Magic finished with 17 points and 11 assists, but no one else showed up. Game 2 was closer, and Magic responded with a near-perfect night of 31 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists, and three steals, yet even that wasn’t enough.
Dallas still won. By the time the series shifted to Los Angeles, the Lakers were already on the brink, and the situation only got worse. Dallas won again on the road, and then closed out the sweep in Game 4.
Aguirre nearly recorded a triple-double in the final game with 28 points, nine rebounds, and ten assists, while James Worthy and Magic both posted solid stat lines that ultimately meant nothing. The defending champions were swept without ever truly threatening the series.
The result felt almost unreal. In four seasons of this alternate universe, Magic Johnson had won MVP every single year, yet now found himself with only one championship to show for it.
The Lakers dynasty that never quite formed was officially dead. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks, a franchise that had nearly been eliminated in the first round, were now heading to their first ever NBA Finals.
They had the best record in the league, but no one expected them to dismantle the defending champions this easily. It wasn’t just an upset — it was a statement that the old hierarchy no longer applied.
When both series ended, the Finals matchup felt completely foreign. No Celtics. No Lakers. No familiar safety net for the league’s narrative. Instead, it was Dallas vs. Philadelphia — two franchises defined more by frustration than glory.
In real history, the Celtics reached the Finals in 1987, while the Sixers wouldn’t return until 2001 and the Mavericks wouldn’t reach the stage until 2006.
In the Re↠Written Rings universe, all of that happened nearly two decades early. The pillars of the league collapsed in a single postseason, and what remained was a Finals that never should have existed, yet somehow felt earned.
Dallas had survived chaos and then destroyed the champions. Philadelphia had finally broken through the Boston barrier after years of failure. For the first time, the NBA entered a championship series without any of its traditional guardians, and with that, the 1987 season crossed the point of no return.
Something happened in the 1987 NBA Finals that would not occur in real life for nearly three decades. In the Re↠Written Rings universe, history arrived early.
The championship series featured two franchises that were never supposed to be here: the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks. No Celtics. No Lakers. No Bird. No Magic.
Instead, the league’s two top regular-season teams found themselves face-to-face in a Finals that felt both unfamiliar and strangely inevitable. For Dallas, this was their first Finals appearance in franchise history.
For Philadelphia, it marked their return to the championship stage after a four-year absence. It wasn’t the matchup the NBA expected — but it was the one the season had earned.
The series immediately took an unexpected turn. After four games, the Mavericks held a commanding 3–1 lead, putting them one win away from their first championship.
Dallas had looked dominant all postseason, powered by Mark Aguirre’s scoring, Derek Harper’s playmaking, and a surprisingly deep supporting cast that included Rolando Blackman, Dale Ellis, and Benoit Benjamin. Philadelphia, meanwhile, looked like a team running out of answers. Yet somehow, with their season on the line, the Sixers refused to fold.
Game 5 became the first crack in the Mavericks’ armor. Philadelphia won on the road, 121–112, behind a strong all-around effort led by Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, and Dr. J. Barkley finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Dr. J added 20 points, including several clutch baskets late. The series shifted back to Philadelphia for Game 6, and suddenly the pressure felt real.
Game 6 delivered one of the most dramatic endings in Re↠Written Rings history. Down late, Mark Aguirre scored eight straight points to keep Dallas in the game.
The final minute was pure chaos. Barkley was called for a three-second violation in the NBA Finals with the season on the line, a moment that felt almost too absurd to be real.
And that wasn't all, the defining moment of the entire Finals may not have been a superstar play, but a simulation decision that changed history. Late in that game, 2K inexplicably subbed out Dale Ellis for Brad Davis—removing one of the Mavericks’ most reliable scorers from the biggest possessions of their season.
With only seconds to go, Davis took the shot that would have given Dallas the lead… and missed. Philadelphia secured the rebound, and forced a foul. It’s impossible not to believe that if Ellis is on the floor in that moment, that shot goes in, the series ends in six.
Instead Dallas failed to capitalize on its final possession too. Aguirre missed the potential game-tying shot at the buzzer, and Philadelphia survived, forcing a Game 7.
At that moment, history loomed. No team had ever come back from a 3–1 deficit in the NBA Finals — not in real life, and not in this universe. That wouldn’t change in reality until LeBron James and the Cavaliers in 2016. Here, in this alternate timeline, the Sixers had a chance to do it in 1987.
Game 7 was never close. Philadelphia dominated from the opening minutes, building a double-digit lead by halftime and extending it into a full-blown blowout in the fourth quarter.
The final score, 109–88, felt surreal considering where the series had started. On the road, in the most hostile environment possible, the Sixers completed the impossible. They had erased a 3–1 deficit and won the NBA Finals.
The symbolism was overwhelming. Charles Barkley, who never won a championship in real life, lifted the trophy in only his third NBA season.
Dr. J captured another title in a universe where his legacy expanded far beyond its real-world limits. Moses Malone, who last won a championship in 1983, did it again four years.
Barkley was named Finals MVP, finishing the series with averages of 25 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. In the closeout Game 7, Malone led the way with 27 points and 15 rebounds, while Barkley added 23, 12, and seven.
For Dallas, Aguirre scored 25 points in the loss, but once again found himself without enough help. After taking a 3–1 lead, the Mavericks had completely collapsed.
Looking back at the series as a whole only makes the result more unbelievable. Dallas won three straight games after losing Game 1, including two road wins.
In Game 4, Aguirre dropped 35 points, while Dale Ellis recorded a double-double with three steals. Philadelphia looked finished. But then everything flipped.
In Game 5, Malone exploded for 34 points and 13 rebounds. Barkley followed with a monster performance in Game 6. And in Game 7, the Mavericks simply ran out of answers.
For Dallas, it was the cruelest ending imaginable. They finished the season with the best record in the league, reached the Finals for the first time in franchise history, and came within one win of a championship — only to become the first team ever to lose a Finals after leading 3–1. Their historic season would always be remembered, not for how dominant it was, but for how it collapsed.
For Philadelphia, it was the opposite. A team that had spent years losing to Boston, years living in the shadow of past glory, suddenly stood alone at the top of the league. The 1987 Philadelphia 76ers became champions in a way no team ever had before. They didn’t just win — they rewrote what was possible.
In real history, this Finals never existed. Barkley never won a ring. The Mavericks never came close. No one came back from 3–1 until 2016. But in the Re↠Written Rings universe, all of that happened at once.
The season ended not with familiarity, but with a championship no one predicted and a legacy no one expected. In the real world, 1987 belonged to the Lakers and Celtics once again, with Magic Johnson defeating Larry Bird on the league’s biggest stage in what felt like the NBA’s inevitable destiny.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia and Dallas were footnotes—both eliminated in the first round, Moses Malone never even seeing the postseason floor, and neither franchise anywhere near the championship conversation.
But in the Re↠Written Rings universe, that entire reality was erased. Instead of another chapter in the Magic–Bird era, the Finals became Sixers vs. Mavericks, a matchup that never even came close to existing in real life.
Players who were never teammates, never contenders, and in some cases never even on those rosters—John Long in Philadelphia, Dale Ellis and Benoit Benjamin in Dallas—became central figures in a championship story that history itself never allowed to happen.
And that’s what made the 1986–87 season the true breaking point. Not just a different champion, but a completely different league—one where dynasties collapsed before forming, forgotten teams ruled the stage, and the NBA’s most iconic era was replaced by something far stranger, more chaotic, and entirely its own.
What will the future bring, can the Sixers repeat or will be see a new champion stay tuned!
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