The 7 Biggest ‘What Ifs?’ In Sports Since The Start Of The 21st Century

In sports, we react to what happened, who won, who lost, and what it means for the teams and players. Even though the games write stories no author could come up with, thinking about alternative endings can be fun too, and that’s certainly the case with the biggest “What Ifs” we’ve been treated to since the new millennium rolled around.

These Are The Biggest What-Ifs In Recent History

A lot of What Ifs would be as simple as flipping a single game result; this instead focuses on specific plays, decisions, and injuries.

This is also a lot of guesswork and cope, but hindsight is 20/20, so let’s entertain the possibilities.

What If Derrick Rose Never Got Injured?

With a double-digit lead and just over a minute left, the Chicago Bulls should have been putting the finishing touches on a Game 1 win against the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs in 2012. Instead, star player Derrick Rose drove the lane, tore his ACL, and was never the same player again.

If Derrick Rose never got injured, the Bulls would have been LeBron’s biggest competition in the East for the following decade. The former No. 1 seed Bulls, with a Big Three of Rose, Butler, and Noah, would have almost certainly prevented James from reaching eight straight Finals appearances.

Rose remains the youngest MVP in league history, so one can assume he would have won at least one more. Jimmy Butler would have had no reason to leave Chicago, and the Heat would have had to find another way to rebuild.

What If The 2012 Thunder Never Broke Up?

The Thunder/Sonic franchise drafted three consecutive future MVPs but couldn’t keep them together long enough to win a championship.

If Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook had never split, they might not all have won an MVP, but they would have a ring together. The Thunder and Warriors would have had legendary battles in the Western Conference playoffs and likely would have traded off championships.

As individuals, they might not have all had the facilities to win an MVP. Westbrook likely doesn’t get the usage rate to average a triple-double, and they wouldn’t have let Harden take that many step-backs. As the ringleader, KD still gets his MVP and also keeps his dignity for never backstabbing the franchise.

What If Seattle Runs The Ball In Super Bowl XLIX?

The Seattle Seahawks had the ball on the goal line, needing a touchdown to win the Super Bowl; they elected to throw, it was picked off, and the rest is history.

If the Seahawks hand the ball off to Marshawn Lynch, he likely scores and secures Seattle secures its second Lombardi Trophy in a row. The Legion of Boom goes down in history as an all-time defense, and the Seahawks era would just be getting started. But this would come at the cost of losing the Richard Sherman hand-on-face GIF.

There’s also the case of Tom Brady. He would be staring at his third consecutive Super Bowl loss, and the question of whether he could get it done in the big game would have to be asked. The Patriots likely wouldn’t have made any drastic changes, but they’d face a lot of added pressure going forward.

What If Drew Bledsoe Never Gets Injured?

Speaking of Brady, he was just a backup until Mo Lewis laid a hit on starting QB Drew Bledsoe toward the start of the season in 2001, giving Brady his chance.

If Drew Bledsoe had continued as the Patriots’ starting QB and played out his contract, the Patriots would likely still find some success thanks to great defense and legendary coaching. However, they do not become the dynasty that lasts nearly 20 years and changes the course of NFL history forever.

As for Brady, he would have still found his way, just maybe somewhere else. It’s hard to say he never would have gotten another shot; it just might have been much later in his career. He likely wouldn’t win seven Super Bowls, but once a team started him, he wasn’t going back to the bench.

What If Patrick Mahomes Was Drafted By The Bears?

The Browns selected Myles Garrett 1st overall in 2017, not a very regrettable pick. But at number two, the Bears took a quarterback, with Patrick Mahomes still on the board.

If Mahomes is drafted 2nd overall instead of Mitch Trubisky, it’s safe to say the Bears would have their first 4,000-yard passer. Unfortunately, it would also be enough of a butterfly effect to rob us of the Double Doink. On the plus side, Mahomes and Rodgers would have made the Bears-Packers rivalry must-see television for years.

Mahomes did have the luxuries of sitting behind the consummate professional Alex Smith for a year and playing under Andy Reid. So maybe he doesn’t have the level of success he had right away, but he definitely gets the Bears at least one Super Bowl.

What If Andrew Luck Doesn’t Retire Early?

Andrew Luck played just six seasons in the NFL before retiring right before the start of the season in 2019 at the age of 29. He racked up four Pro Bowls and an AFC Championship appearance in his short stint in the league.

If Luck doesn’t retire early, the Colts’ recent history looks a lot different. They would definitely have had more than one division title in the past 10 years and would likely have made a Super Bowl run. Building around Luck would have been easy; T.Y Hilton and Luck would have been a stable connection that just needed a defense.

As an individual, Luck definitely wins an MVP (and potentially more than one). The only thing preventing him from doing so was the reason he retired: injuries. He would have had a Hall of Fame career, but he likely would have continued to miss time due to poor O-line play, resulting in unnecessary wear and tear.

What If Conor McGregor Never Fought Floyd Mayweather?

Conor McGregor seized the opportunity of a lifetime, accepting the first ever UFC/Boxing cross over fight. Each fighter made over $100 million, but we never got the same McGregor back in the octagon.

If Conor McGregor had never fought Floyd Mayweather, the landscape of MMA and boxing would look very different. It’s not crazy to say that without their trailblazing, we would have missed out on many superfights over the last decade. One could argue we would never even have seen the rise of Jake Paul.

Floyd was at the tail end of his career, but Conor was 9-1 in the UFC at the time. Without the money and fame that came with this fight, he likely wouldn’t have fallen to 10-5.

This was the first time we had seen Conor truly get TKO’d, and who knows what that did to his confidence. If this fight never happened, Boxing and MMA definitely would have stayed more separate than they are now, and McGregor would have ended his UFC career in a more dignified way.