The entire landscape of the NBA changed the moment Kevin Durant decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors in 2016. After all, this was one of the game's most potent scorers, the 2014 league MVP joining a Warriors team led by 2015 and 2016 MVP Stephen Curry .
At that point, it seemed like every other team in the league was playing for second place, a notion that was crystallized when Golden State captured the 2017 title, breezing through the postseason and losing only once.
However, the 2017-18 season saw one West team embrace the challenge of toppling the mighty Warriors: the Houston Rockets . Led by veterans Chris Paul and James Harden , the Rockets' roster was built specifically to counter the Dubs.
Filled with "3-and-D" guys who could defend Curry as well as Durant, Draymond Green , and Klay Thompson , thereby preventing mismatches, they befuddled the Warriors and came within a win of ousting them in the 2018 NBA Western Conference Finals.
A player who remembers that showdown well is P.J. Tucker . From the stinging pain of the loss in Game 7 to the root canals he endured before Game 7, Tucker shared the details of that ordeal during his recent appearance on "NBA T2."
A 6'5" forward who wasn't athletic or quick, the undisputed "sneaker king" of the NBA played 14 seasons and won a title in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks . Whatever he lacked in attributes most NBA players had, he more than made up for with his toughness and grit, which was on full display in the last two games of that series.
In Game 6, he played with three cracked teeth that needed a dental procedure to fix. Not only did Tucker endure that, but he did so without using any medication.
"I had four root canals. I had one injection. It was like four and a half hours' worth of dental work. Then to fly four and a half hours... I didn't take medication because I don't like medication. I was going through it," Tucker recalled .
While some players would have balked at playing, especially after an intensive procedure, Tucker said wild horses couldn't have dragged him away from the basketball court for Game 7. No matter the pain, P.J. couldn't miss the chance to compete for a spot in the NBA Finals.
"I didn't give a s—t. This is what I've dreamed of my entire life. I'm prepared to die out here. There's no other place in the world I'd rather be. Whether I have all my teeth or none. It didn't matter," he asserted.
Despite his dental issues, Tucker toughed it out and played 44 minutes and 39 seconds of Game 7, registering 14 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and four steals. Although it wasn't enough, P.J. said he still has fond memories of that series, mainly because of the high-level competition.
"Incredible. It was fun. It didn't go the way we wanted it to, but just that energy of that was everything," P.J. remembered. "Playing on their ring night. All the playoff battles. Being able to play against maybe the best scorer to ever play the game, and a good friend of mine, was fun. That just made my career, for real."
Tucker's statistics never jumped off the page, yet he was someone coaches trusted to be on the floor during crucial moments, simply because the man never hesitated to do whatever he could to get a victory.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
