# What is the best comeback season in NBA history?

> Torn Achilles tendons, shattered legs, a kidney transplant and one baseball detour all sit behind these seasons. Some ended with a ring, others with a single reminder of what a player still had.

*By YPB Team · Published November 12, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-comeback-season-in-nba-history*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Bill Walton (1985–86)** — score 1000/1000
   After years of foot injuries, Walton played 80 games off the bench for Boston, won Sixth Man of the Year and a second title.
2. **Magic Johnson (1995–96)** — score 862/1000
   Returning four years after his 1991 HIV announcement, Johnson averaged 14.6 points in 32 games for the Lakers.
3. **Willis Reed (1972–73)** — score 801/1000
   Limited to 11 games the previous season by knee trouble, Reed won his second title and second Finals MVP with the Knicks.
4. **Derrick Rose (2018–19)** — score 767/1000
   Years after a 2012 ACL tear, Rose averaged 18.0 points for Minnesota and scored a career-high 50 against Utah on Halloween 2018.
5. **Michael Jordan (1995–96)** — score 767/1000
   Jordan's first full season after returning from baseball: league MVP, a then-record 72–10 Bulls team and a fourth title.
6. **Bernard King (1990–91)** — score 548/1000
   Six years after a 1985 knee reconstruction, King averaged 28.4 points for Washington and made the All-Star team.
7. **Jamal Murray (2022–23)** — score 448/1000
   After missing all of 2021–22 with a torn ACL, Murray averaged 20.0 points and helped Denver win its first championship.
8. **Alonzo Mourning (2005–06)** — score 329/1000
   Two years after a kidney transplant, Mourning blocked 2.7 shots a game as Miami's backup center and won his only title.
9. **Kawhi Leonard (2018–19)** — score 329/1000
   After playing nine games in 2017–18 with a quad injury, Leonard led Toronto to its first title and won Finals MVP.
10. **Kevin Durant (2020–21)** — score 329/1000
   Back from a torn Achilles that cost him all of 2019–20, Durant averaged 26.9 points in 35 games for Brooklyn.
11. **Grant Hill (2004–05)** — score 329/1000
   After ankle surgeries limited him to 47 games over four seasons, Hill averaged 19.7 points in 67 games and started the 2005 All-Star Game.
12. **Paul George (2015–16)** — score 329/1000
   A season after breaking his leg in a 2014 Team USA scrimmage, George averaged 23.1 points and returned to the All-Star Game.
13. **Klay Thompson (2021–22)** — score 0/1000
   Back in January 2022 after missing two full seasons with ACL and Achilles tears, Thompson averaged 20.4 points and won a fourth title.
14. **Amar'e Stoudemire (2006–07)** — score 0/1000
   After microfracture knee surgery cost him nearly all of 2005–06, Stoudemire averaged 20.4 points and made the All-NBA First Team.
15. **Dwight Howard (2019–20)** — score 0/1000
   After injury-hit, nomadic seasons, Howard rejoined the Lakers as a reserve center and won his first championship.

Tags: basketball, nba, seasons, injuries, comebacks