10 Revenge Championships in NBA History

1979 Finals: Seattle Supersonics 4-1 Washington Bullets

Dennis Johnson (L)

1978 Finals: Washington Bullets 4-3 Seattle Supersonics

1978 sure had to sting for Sonics fans and especially Dennis Johnson. Johnson, an emerging star in that year's playoffs, had one of the worst playoff performances ever, going 0-14 in Game 7 as Seattle blew a 3-2 lead, losing 105-99 at home. Johnson admitted that he choked but vowed it wouldn't happen again. He sure didn't have to wait too long to prove it.

The two teams had to battle to get back, however, with the Sonics needing seven games to dispatch the Suns and the Bullets had it worse, needing seven games in both their playoff series. In the Finals, the Bullets continued where they'd left off and led by 18 in the 4th quarter of Game 1, but the Sonics fought back and ended up losing by just 2 points.

The comeback seemed to spark the Sonics who reeled off the next 4 games with Johnson, in particular, dominating the Bullets on both ends. His terrific showing throughout the series earned him Finals MVP honors, a remarkable turnaround from his no-show the previous year.