It’s easy to look back at the NBA season 2017 2018 and just see the Golden State Warriors sweeping their way to a title. People remember the memes of J.R. Smith dribbling out the clock in Game 1 of the Finals. They remember LeBron James looking like he’d finally reached his breaking point. But honestly? That season was way more chaotic than the history books suggest. It was the year positionless basketball officially took over the league, and every front office went into a desperate, frantic arms race to figure out how to stop a juggernaut.
The league felt different.
The tension was everywhere. Kyrie Irving had forced his way out of Cleveland because he didn’t want to play in LeBron’s shadow anymore, landing in Boston. Chris Paul joined James Harden in Houston, a move everyone thought would fail because "there’s only one ball." Even Oklahoma City tried to build a "Big Three" by grabbing Carmelo Anthony and Paul George to pair with Russell Westbrook. It was a summer of massive swings.
The Houston Rockets and the "Math" of the NBA season 2017 2018
If you want to understand what really happened during the NBA season 2017 2018, you have to look at Daryl Morey and Mike D'Antoni. They weren't just trying to win games; they were trying to break the sport. They decided that the only way to beat Golden State was to out-math them. That meant a diet consisting almost exclusively of three-pointers, layups, and free throws. Mid-range shots? Basically banned.
James Harden was a physical anomaly that year. He won the MVP, averaging 30.4 points and 8.8 assists. It wasn't just the scoring; it was the way he manipulated the rules. He’d lure defenders into a "reaching" foul, or step back into a three that felt impossible to contest. Pairing him with Chris Paul worked better than anyone expected. The Rockets finished with a league-best 65 wins.
They were the only team that didn't look terrified of the Warriors.
When the Western Conference Finals rolled around, Houston actually had Golden State on the ropes. They were up 3-2. Then Chris Paul’s hamstring gave out at the end of Game 5. It’s one of the biggest "what-ifs" in basketball history. In Game 7, the Rockets missed 27 consecutive three-pointers. 27. You couldn’t do that again if you tried. If they make even two of those shots, the entire narrative of the decade changes.
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LeBron James vs. The World
While Houston was playing chess, LeBron James was basically carrying a heavy bag of rocks up a mountain in Cleveland. The NBA season 2017 2018 was arguably the greatest individual season of LeBron’s career, mostly because he had no choice. Kyrie was gone. Isaiah Thomas, who they got in the trade, was injured and didn't fit. Kevin Love was in and out of the lineup.
LeBron played all 82 games. He was 33 years old, and he was doing things like hitting game-winning fadeaways against Toronto in the playoffs that just demoralized an entire country.
The "LeBronto" era was peak sports comedy, unless you were a Raptors fan.
The Cavs traded half their roster at the February deadline, bringing in George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr. It was a desperate move. Somehow, LeBron dragged that ragtag group through a seven-game series against the Pacers and another seven-game series against a very young, very hungry Celtics team led by a rookie Jayson Tatum. By the time he reached the Finals, he was gassed, but he still dropped 51 points in Game 1. It was arguably the best Finals performance ever—until J.R. Smith forgot the score.
The Rise of the Rookies and a New Guard
We also saw the beginning of the future that year. This wasn't just about the old vets.
- Ben Simmons vs. Donovan Mitchell: The Rookie of the Year race was heated. Mitchell was carrying a Utah Jazz offense as a first-year player, while Simmons was a triple-double machine who technically wasn't a "true" rookie since he sat out his first year with an injury.
- Jayson Tatum’s Arrival: In the playoffs, Tatum wasn't playing like a kid. He was dunking on LeBron in Game 7 of the ECF and showing the footwork of a ten-year vet.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo's Leap: People forget that 2017-18 was the year Giannis really started to look like a future MVP. He averaged 26.9 points and 10 rebounds, officially putting the league on notice that the "Greek Freak" was no longer a project—he was a problem.
The Warriors’ Fragile Dynasty
On paper, Golden State was unstoppable. They had Durant, Steph, Klay, and Draymond. But if you watched them daily during the NBA season 2017 2018, you could see the cracks forming. The joy was starting to leak out of the building. Durant was getting more sensitive to media criticism. Steve Kerr was constantly trying to keep the locker room from getting bored.
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They finished with 58 wins—a great number for any other team, but for them, it was their lowest total since the dynasty started. They were coasting.
Steph Curry missed a lot of time with ankle and knee issues, which meant Kevin Durant had to carry the load. When they were all healthy in the playoffs, they were still the best team on earth, but they weren't the invincible force of 2017. They were beatable. They just happened to be playing against a Houston team that got unlucky and a Cleveland team that was essentially LeBron and a bunch of guys who happened to be there.
The Process Finally Worked (Sort of)
The Philadelphia 76ers finally saw the fruits of "The Process" during this season. Joel Embiid played 63 games, which felt like a miracle at the time. Ben Simmons was a force. They won 52 games and looked like they were going to dominate the East for the next decade. There was this weird energy around the team—a mix of extreme arrogance and genuine talent. They ended up losing to the Celtics in the second round, mostly because Brad Stevens coached circles around Brett Brown, but it was the year the NBA had to stop laughing at Philly.
Misconceptions about the 2017-18 Season
A lot of people think this season was boring because the outcome felt "predestined." That’s a mistake.
First, the Western Conference was a bloodbath. The difference between the 3rd seed (Portland) and the 9th seed (Denver) was only three games. Every single night mattered. Denver actually missed the playoffs on the very last day of the season in a literal "play-in" game against Minnesota. It was high-stakes drama that people tend to forget because the Finals sweep overshadows it.
Second, the "tanking" was at an all-time high. This was the year that led the NBA to change the lottery odds. Teams like the Suns, Grizzlies, and Mavericks were shamelessly losing games to get a shot at Deandre Ayton or Luka Doncic. It was a race to the bottom that made the bottom half of the league look like a completely different sport than the top half.
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What we learned for the future
If you look back at the NBA season 2017 2018, the biggest takeaway was that the "Superteam" era was starting to cannibalize itself. The pressure to win immediately was causing teams to trade away every asset they had. We also learned that the three-point revolution wasn't just a trend; it was the new reality. Teams were finally realizing that if you weren't taking 35+ threes a night, you were essentially starting the game with a deficit.
The tactical evolution was fast. Coaches were switching everything on defense. Traditional centers who couldn't move their feet were being played off the floor. Greg Monroe, once a walking 20-and-10 guy, was suddenly a backup because he couldn't guard a pick-and-roll at the level. The game became about "gravity" and "spacing" more than "post-ups" and "toughness."
Actionable Insights for Basketball Historians and Fans
To truly appreciate what went down in 2018, you should revisit the tape with a specific lens. Don't just watch the highlights; look at the context.
- Watch Game 1 of the 2018 Finals again: Focus only on LeBron James. It is perhaps the highest "Basketball IQ" game ever played. He knew where every Golden State player was before they did.
- Study the Rockets' defensive switching: They were the first team to successfully bother the Warriors by simply refusing to give up open looks on screens. It became the blueprint for the rest of the league.
- Analyze the 2018 Draft Class: Look at how many players from that year became the faces of the league today—Luka, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 2017-18 season was the end of one era and the literal birth of the current one.
- Check the standings movement: Look at the "Western Conference race" from March 2018. It was the most competitive month of regular-season basketball in the modern era.
The NBA season 2017 2018 wasn't just a coronation for Golden State. It was a year of extreme stress, tactical genius, and the last time we saw LeBron James in his "Final Boss" Cleveland form. It was the year the league's math changed forever, and the ripples of that season are still being felt in every trade, every draft pick, and every three-pointer taken today.
To get the most out of this history, compare the shot charts from 2018 to 2013. You’ll see the "mid-range dead zone" emerge in real-time. This wasn't just a season; it was the moment the NBA officially became the game we see now.