The History of Game 7: Championships, Heartbreak and Overtime Heroes

By Sports in 60 · 2026-10-30

With Atlanta and Golden State facing a championship decider, we revisit the history and unforgettable Game 7s across baseball, hockey and basketball.

Six games have settled nothing. Atlanta and Golden State are tied 3–3, and the WNBA championship is coming down to one more night. Game 7 is scheduled for Saturday, October 31, at Chase Center in San Francisco, with tipoff at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific. For the Dream and Valkyries, there is no next game to rescue a missed opportunity.

The occasion gives women’s professional basketball a new place in a familiar sporting drama. The WNBA moved to a best-of-seven Finals in 2025; that year’s championship finished in four games. Atlanta and Golden State now bring the format to its full distance. It is the league’s first Finals Game 7, but it follows generations of championship nights in baseball, hockey and men’s basketball.

A seventh game turns a long series into a single contest. Everything that came before still matters—injuries, fatigue, scouting and confidence—but the teams begin the deciding game tied in the series. One is about to become champion. The other will finish one victory short.

How many championship Game 7s have there been

Through the completed championships available before the 2026 WNBA decider, the modern World Series, Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals have produced 78 championship Game 7s between them. The comparison below counts championship rounds only. Earlier playoff rounds add many more and must not be mixed into these totals.

The latest additions to this championship history came in 2025: Oklahoma City defeated Indiana 103–91 in the NBA Finals, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated Toronto 5–4 in 11 innings in the World Series. Neither the NBA Finals nor Stanley Cup Final required a seventh game in 2026. Baseball’s 2026 championship also finished before Game 7.

A counting distinction matters here. A game labelled Game 7 is not always the winner-take-all seventh game of a best-of-seven series. The early World Series sometimes used a best-of-nine format, while ties could require an extra date. Those contests should not be counted as equivalent championship deciders.

Who invented Game 7

There is no single securely established inventor of Game 7 across professional sport. It is the final possible contest in a best-of-seven series: the first team to four victories advances or wins the championship. If each team wins three of the first six games, a seventh is necessary.

The format developed through league decisions and agreements between clubs. It offers a balance between giving teams repeated opportunities and keeping a series within a manageable schedule. It also creates the possibility of additional ticket sales and, in the broadcast era, a highly valuable deciding telecast. Those incentives help explain its appeal; they do not identify one person who invented it.

Baseball has the oldest established modern championship Game 7 among the leagues compared here. The first modern World Series, in 1903, was best of nine. There was no World Series in 1904. When the championship returned in 1905, it used a best-of-seven format. John T. Brush, the New York Giants owner, helped shape the rules that put that returning Series on a more formal footing, but calling him the inventor of Game 7 would go beyond what that history establishes.

The first modern World Series actually to reach a deciding seventh game came in 1909. Pittsburgh beat Detroit 8–0, with Babe Adams pitching a shutout. A format adopted earlier had finally delivered its ultimate test.

Baseball gave the modern championship decider its head start

The World Series has supplied 40 deciding Game 7s, from Pittsburgh’s 1909 victory to the Dodgers’ 2025 win in Toronto. The results are unusually useful as a warning against assuming that the home team must have the advantage: in those 40 games, visiting clubs won 22 and home clubs won 18. These are descriptive historical results, not a prediction model for the next series.

Five of those World Series Game 7s required extra innings. Washington beat the New York Giants 4–3 in 12 innings in 1924. Minnesota defeated Atlanta 1–0 in 10 in 1991. Florida beat Cleveland 3–2 in 11 in 1997. The Chicago Cubs defeated Cleveland 8–7 in 10 in 2016. Los Angeles beat Toronto 5–4 in 11 in 2025.

The 1991 game remains an outstanding example of pressure sustained over an entire evening. Jack Morris pitched all 10 innings for Minnesota, and the Twins won when Gene Larkin drove home the only run. The 2016 game carried a different weight: Chicago’s victory ended a championship drought dating to 1908, after Cleveland had erased a late deficit and a rain delay interrupted the contest before extra innings.

Not every famous finish needs extra innings. In 1960, Bill Mazeroski’s ninth-inning home run gave Pittsburgh a 10–9 victory over the Yankees. In 2001, Arizona beat New York 3–2 when Luis Gonzalez’s ninth-inning single ended the game. Both illustrate baseball’s particular version of Game 7 tension: the clock cannot run out, and a team trailing in the final inning still has its outs to use.

There is also the 1912 exception. Boston won that championship in Game 8 because an earlier game had ended tied. It was a deciding game, but it was not a deciding Game 7. The distinction explains why historical lists of winner-take-all World Series games can have different totals from lists restricted to Game 7.

Hockey made Game 7 a test of sudden death

The NHL introduced best-of-seven series for its semifinals and Stanley Cup Final in 1939. Its first Game 7 came immediately, in the semifinal between Boston and the New York Rangers. The Bruins won 2–1 in triple overtime, with Mel Hill scoring the deciding goal. The NHL’s first seventh game already demonstrated how far beyond regulation the occasion could stretch.

The first Stanley Cup Final Game 7 followed in 1942. Toronto beat Detroit 3–1 to complete a comeback from a 3–0 series deficit. The Maple Leafs’ recovery remains the only time a team has overcome that deficit to win the Stanley Cup Final.

There have been 18 Stanley Cup Final Game 7s. Only two went to overtime: Detroit’s 4–3 victory over the Rangers in 1950, decided in double overtime, and Detroit’s 2–1 win over Montreal in 1954, decided in the first extra period. Earlier playoff rounds have produced many more overtime Game 7s, but they belong to a different count.

For sheer duration, one of the great examples came in the opening round in 1987. The Islanders defeated Washington 3–2 in four overtimes when Pat LaFontaine scored in what became known as the Easter Epic. The players had already completed a full regulation game and three overtime periods before the winning goal arrived.

For Vancouver readers, the championship results include painful memories. The Canucks lost 3–2 to the Rangers in 1994 and 4–0 to Boston in 2011. Both teams had reached the final possible game of the season. Neither night produced the city’s first Stanley Cup.

The latest Stanley Cup Final Game 7 was Florida’s 2–1 victory over Edmonton in 2024. The Oilers had erased a 3–0 series deficit to force the decider, bringing the possibility of another 1942-style reversal into view. Florida stopped the comeback one win short and captured its first championship.

Basketball brings the ball back after every overtime

The NBA’s historical record includes its Basketball Association of America predecessor. The first Game 7 in that lineage was played in 1948, when the Philadelphia Warriors beat the St. Louis Bombers 85–46 in a semifinal. The first championship Game 7 arrived in 1951: the Rochester Royals defeated the New York Knicks 79–75.

The NBA Finals have since reached Game 7 on 20 occasions. Two required overtime, both involving Boston. In 1957, the Celtics beat the St. Louis Hawks 125–123 in double overtime to win the franchise’s first championship. In 1962, they defeated the Lakers 110–107 in one overtime.

Basketball’s extra periods create a different rhythm from hockey’s sudden death. A made basket does not end the contest. Teams continue through a five-minute overtime, then play another if the score remains tied. A team can fall behind, recover and lead again within the same extra period.

The 1969 Finals gave Boston a 108–106 Game 7 victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles. In 1970, New York defeated Los Angeles 113–99 in the game remembered for injured Knicks captain Willis Reed’s return to the court. In 2016, Cleveland beat Golden State 93–89, completing the first comeback from a 3–1 deficit in NBA Finals history.

That 2016 game is remembered for a sequence rather than a flood of scoring: LeBron James’s chasedown block, Kyrie Irving’s late three-pointer and Cleveland’s defense in the closing minutes. A Game 7 can be defined by the points a team prevents as much as the ones it scores.

The most recent NBA Finals Game 7, in 2025, ended with Oklahoma City beating Indiana 103–91. The full historical championship results appear below, alongside the hockey and baseball lists.

The most exciting Game 7s in history

Any list of the most exciting Game 7s involves judgment. A close score alone does not tell the whole story: a late comeback, a championship drought, an extraordinary individual performance or the final possession can make a game unforgettable. These selections span all playoff rounds. They are an editorial selection, not a statistical ranking, and earlier-round games do not increase the championship totals elsewhere in this article.

2016 World Series Chicago Cubs 8 Cleveland 7 in 10 innings

Chicago was trying to win its first championship since 1908. Cleveland was trying to end its own drought, dating to 1948. After the Cubs built a lead, Rajai Davis hit a tying two-run homer in the eighth inning. A rain delay then interrupted the game before the 10th. Chicago returned to score twice and survived Cleveland’s answer in the bottom half. The mixture of a lost lead, an unexpected pause and two cities carrying decades of expectation makes this a compelling choice for the most dramatic championship Game 7.

1991 World Series Minnesota Twins 1 Atlanta Braves 0 in 10 innings

For nine innings, nobody could score. Minnesota’s Jack Morris stayed on the mound through the 10th, keeping Atlanta off the board for an entire extra-inning complete game. Gene Larkin finally delivered the winning hit in the bottom of the inning. This was a different kind of thriller from a high-scoring comeback: every baserunner threatened to settle the championship, and every missed opportunity increased the pressure on the pitchers. Morris’s performance remains central to the game’s lasting reputation.

2001 World Series Arizona Diamondbacks 3 New York Yankees 2

Arizona entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 2–1 against Mariano Rivera, one of the most formidable closers the sport has known. The Diamondbacks tied the score, then Luis Gonzalez floated the winning single over the drawn-in infield. New York had been three outs from another championship; Arizona instead captured its first. The game belongs on this list because its decisive reversal came against a pitcher whose presence usually made a late Yankees lead feel secure.

1960 World Series Pittsburgh Pirates 10 New York Yankees 9

The Yankees tied the game in the top of the ninth. Bill Mazeroski answered in the bottom half with a home run that immediately ended both the game and the World Series. The extraordinary feature is the finish itself: a championship Game 7 decided by a walk-off home run. Neither team had time to regroup, change pitchers or prepare for another inning. One swing turned a 9–9 tie into one of baseball’s defining celebrations.

2025 World Series Los Angeles Dodgers 5 Toronto Blue Jays 4 in 11 innings

For Canadian readers, this is a recent and painful addition. Toronto and Los Angeles needed 11 innings to separate them, with the Dodgers winning the championship on the road by a single run. A deciding game that carries beyond nine innings gives every pitching change, baserunner and defensive play immediate championship consequences. It joins 1924, 1991, 1997 and 2016 among the World Series Game 7s decided in extra innings.

2016 NBA Finals Cleveland Cavaliers 93 Golden State Warriors 89

Cleveland had recovered from a 3–1 series deficit against a Golden State team that won 73 regular-season games. In the deciding game, LeBron James chased down Andre Iguodala for a late block, and Kyrie Irving made the three-pointer that put Cleveland ahead for good. The Cavaliers completed the first comeback from 3–1 down in NBA Finals history. The suspense came from how little scoring there was in the closing minutes: each empty possession made the next shot or defensive stop more consequential.

2019 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals Toronto Raptors 92 Philadelphia 76ers 90

With the score tied, Kawhi Leonard released a difficult shot from the right corner as time expired. The ball struck the rim, bounced and finally dropped. Toronto advanced, and the Raptors eventually won the championship. This was not an NBA Finals Game 7, but its last instant is among the sport’s most recognizable playoff images. The ball appeared suspended between victory being sealed and overtime beginning, while players and spectators waited for gravity to decide what happened next.

1957 NBA Finals Boston Celtics 125 St Louis Hawks 123 in double overtime

Boston’s first championship was anything but comfortable. The Celtics and Hawks needed two extra periods, and the final margin was only two points. The game began a championship era for Boston, but none of the dynasty that followed was guaranteed while this contest was unfolding. Its place in history rests on both its immediate drama and what it became the starting point for: a franchise winning its first title after surviving a double-overtime Game 7.

2002 NBA Western Conference finals Los Angeles Lakers 112 Sacramento Kings 106 in overtime

Sacramento and Los Angeles pushed their rivalry to an overtime decider with a place in the Finals at stake. The Lakers survived on the road, advanced and went on to win their third consecutive championship. The series is also remembered for controversy around the officiating in Game 6; that context should be acknowledged without treating disputed calls as proof that a later result was predetermined. Game 7 itself delivered the essential sporting tension: two strong teams still level after regulation, with the season reduced to five more minutes.

1987 NHL first round New York Islanders 3 Washington Capitals 2 in four overtimes

The Easter Epic stretched across four overtime periods before Pat LaFontaine scored the winner. By then, players and goaltenders had been asked to sustain concentration long beyond the length of a normal game. Every shot carried the possibility that the night would end immediately. This is one of the clearest examples of why hockey’s sudden-death format gives Game 7 a distinctive kind of suspense: there is no answering possession after the winning goal.

2013 NHL first round Boston Bruins 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 4 in overtime

Toronto led 4–1 in the third period and appeared close to eliminating Boston. The Bruins scored three times to tie the game, then Patrice Bergeron scored again in overtime. The reversal transformed an apparently secure Maple Leafs victory into one of the franchise’s most painful defeats. Its excitement is inseparable from the collapsing lead: supporters went from counting down the remaining minutes to watching an overtime in which either team’s next mistake could end the season.

1994 Stanley Cup Final New York Rangers 3 Vancouver Canucks 2

New York was trying to win its first Stanley Cup since 1940. Vancouver had forced the series to a seventh game and remained within reach late in the decider. Trevor Linden scored both Canucks goals, but the Rangers held on at Madison Square Garden. It is a particularly powerful selection for readers in British Columbia: the difference between a breakthrough championship and a lasting near miss was one goal. The same final whistle ended a 54-year wait in one city and extended the wait in another.

1939 NHL semifinal Boston Bruins 2 New York Rangers 1 in triple overtime

The NHL’s first Game 7 was already an epic. Boston and New York needed three overtime periods before Mel Hill scored to send the Bruins through. Its appeal is partly historical—the format was demonstrating its full dramatic potential at the first opportunity—and partly immediate. After regulation and two complete extra periods, one goal still separated survival from elimination. Modern Game 7 memories have a direct ancestor in that exhausting night.

Which one is the greatest

For an overall championship spectacle, the 2016 Cubs–Cleveland World Series decider and the 2016 Cavaliers–Warriors NBA Finals decider are strong choices. For sustained sudden-death tension, the 1987 Islanders–Capitals marathon is hard to surpass. For a single final image, Leonard’s bouncing shot in 2019 and Mazeroski’s home run in 1960 stand apart. The answer depends on whether a reader values the entire contest, the historical stakes or the instant that ended it.

What changes when a Game 7 goes beyond regulation

The playoff distinction is important. NHL regular-season three-on-three overtime and shootouts do not decide a Stanley Cup playoff Game 7. Baseball’s automatic runner in regular-season extra innings does not apply in the postseason. The deciding game continues under the playoff rules until somebody wins.

Why Atlanta and Golden State give this history a new chapter

The WNBA has already staged dramatic winner-take-all championship games under shorter formats. In 2024, for example, New York beat Minnesota 67–62 in overtime in Game 5 to win its first title. That was a championship decider, but it was not a Game 7. The distinction recognizes the achievement without rewriting the format.

Atlanta and Golden State now face the additional demands of a seven-game championship series. There have been more possessions to scout, more opportunities to adjust and more minutes accumulated by the players trusted to finish close games. The deciding night will test both the preparation across the series and the execution of individual possessions.

There is no historical rule that says the better regular-season team must win, that the home crowd will settle the result, or that the team which won Game 6 has captured the deciding advantage. The results across baseball, hockey and basketball include road victories, blowouts, narrow escapes and games that went deep into extra time.

On Saturday, Atlanta and Golden State will add their own result. The score is still unwritten. The tradition they are entering is already more than a century old.

Championship Game 7 results

These lists cover deciding Game 7s in the championship round only. Scores show the winning team first. Historical team names are retained. OT means overtime; 2OT means double overtime. Baseball figures in parentheses identify the number of innings when more than nine were played.

Stanley Cup Final results

NBA Finals results

World Series results