It was the closeout of an era, though we didn't quite know it yet. Most people remember the Western Conference Finals 2017 for exactly one thing: Zaza Pachulia’s foot sliding under Kawhi Leonard.
The sound of that play still echoes. Seriously.
If you weren’t watching live on May 14, 2017, it’s hard to describe the sheer whiplash of that afternoon. The San Antonio Spurs were absolutely dismantling the "Superteam" Golden State Warriors. In Oakland. In Game 1. They were up by 25 points. Gregg Popovich had cooked up a defensive scheme that made Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry look human for the first time in months. Then, Kawhi went up for a jumper, landed on Zaza, and the trajectory of NBA history shifted.
San Antonio collapsed. Golden State swept. But the ripples of that series created the modern NBA landscape we’re living in right now.
What Really Happened With the Western Conference Finals 2017
Let’s be real: the Warriors were 12-0 in the playoffs for a reason. They had added Kevin Durant to a 73-win team. It was unfair. Most fans and analysts—including the crew over at Inside the NBA—basically assumed the Spurs were sacrificial lambs.
But the Spurs weren't playing along.
Kawhi Leonard was arguably the best player in the world at that specific moment. He was a two-way cyborg. In that first half of Game 1, he was shredding the Warriors' defense while simultaneously locking down their best scorers. San Antonio was playing "Beautiful Game" basketball on steroids.
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Then came the third quarter. Leonard had already tweaked his ankle earlier by stepping on his own teammate on the bench. He stayed in. Then, while shooting a fadeaway in the corner, Pachulia took an extra step. An "unnatural" step, as Popovich later famously ranted to the media. Kawhi’s ankle rolled. He was done for the series. He was basically done as a San Antonio Spur.
The Warriors went on an immediate 18-0 run. They won Game 1 by two points. The spirit of the Spurs was broken. Without Kawhi, they had to rely on an aging LaMarcus Aldridge and a roster of role players against four Hall of Famers in their prime. It wasn't a fight anymore; it was a coronation.
The Zaza Rule and the Death of the "Contested Shot"
The fallout from the Western Conference Finals 2017 wasn't just about who won the ring. It changed how the game is officiated. The NBA literally created the "Zaza Rule" because of this series.
Before this, "closeouts" were aggressive. Defenders would get as close as possible to a shooter’s space to rattle them. After Kawhi went down, the league office decided that defenders must give shooters a place to land. If you don't? It’s a flagrant foul.
This changed the math for shooters like Steph Curry and James Harden. It gave them a bubble of protection that didn't exist in the 90s or 2000s. Honestly, some purists hate it. They say it makes the game soft. But if you’re the Spurs and you lose a generational superstar because of a reckless foot, you’d probably want the rule, too.
Why This Series Still Matters Today
You can trace a direct line from this series to the current state of the league.
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First, consider Kawhi's exit. The injury in the Western Conference Finals 2017 led to a massive rift between Leonard’s camp and the Spurs' medical staff. That tension eventually forced the trade to Toronto. No 2017 injury, no 2019 Raptors championship. Think about that. The entire landscape of the Eastern Conference was decided by a landing zone foul in the West.
Secondly, it solidified the Warriors' dynasty as an unstoppable force. They finished those playoffs 16-1. That single loss to the Cavs in the Finals was the only blemish on a perfect post-season run. Had the Spurs won Game 1, maybe the Warriors' confidence shakes. Maybe Kevin Durant’s legacy looks different if they had to actually sweat out a seven-game series in the West.
The Stats Nobody Mentions
Everyone talks about the sweep, but look at the individual performances before the wheels fell off:
- Stephen Curry averaged 31.5 points over the four games. People forget how much he dominated once Kawhi was out of the picture.
- Kevin Durant was hyper-efficient, shooting nearly 60% from the field.
- Manu Ginobili, at age 39, was the Spurs' leading light in Game 3, putting up 21 points in a desperate attempt to keep them alive. It was one of the last "Grandpa Juice" performances we ever saw from him.
The Spurs were outscored by 114 points over the final three games. It was brutal. It was the largest margin of defeat in a conference final sweep in NBA history at that point.
Misconceptions About the "Dirty" Play
Was Zaza Pachulia trying to hurt Kawhi? This is the debate that will never die in San Antonio.
Popovich called it "dangerous" and "unsportsmanlike." He compared it to manslaughter. It was heavy stuff. Zaza, for his part, always claimed he was just playing hard. But the history was there. Zaza had a reputation for being a "physical" (read: borderline) player.
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The reality is likely somewhere in the middle. Most NBA players don't want to end a colleague's career. But they do want to intimidate. Zaza took a step he didn't need to take. Whether it was malicious or just reckless, it ended an era of Spurs dominance that had lasted two decades.
How to View the 2017 Post-Season Legacy
If you're a student of the game, you have to look at 2017 as the peak of the "Efficiency Era." The Warriors weren't just talented; they were a math problem. They took the most efficient shots at the highest volume.
The Spurs were the last bastion of the "Old Guard"—mid-range masters, heavy fundamentals, and tactical brilliance. When Kawhi went down, the Old Guard died. Since then, the league has leaned entirely into the pace-and-space, three-point-heavy style that Golden State perfected.
Actionable Insights for Basketball Historians
If you want to truly understand the impact of the Western Conference Finals 2017, do these three things:
- Watch the first 20 minutes of Game 1. Ignore the final score. Just watch how the Spurs defense manipulated the Warriors' spacing. It’s a masterclass in how to beat a superteam that no one has replicated since.
- Study the "Landing Zone" officiating. Next time you see a whistle for a defender stepping under a shooter, remember it started with Kawhi and Zaza.
- Track the Trade Tree. Look at how the injury led to Kawhi in Toronto, then Kawhi in LA. It’s the most influential injury in modern sports history.
The 2017 WCF wasn't a great "series" in terms of competition—it was a blowout. But in terms of impact? It’s probably the most important series of the last ten years. It changed the rules, it changed the rosters, and it changed how we define "dirty" basketball.
The Spurs haven't been back to that level since. The Warriors went on to win more rings. And we’re all still arguing about that one extra step in the corner of the Oracle Arena floor.
Source References:
- NBA Official Play-by-Play Logs (May 2017)
- Gregg Popovich Post-Game Press Conference (May 15, 2017)
- NBA Rule Change Memo regarding "Closing out on shooters" (September 2017)
- Basketball-Reference Series Advanced Metrics