The NBA Playoffs have given us some of the best moments in the league’s history. Here are the 30 biggest shots to have gone in during the NBA Playoffs.
What makes the NBA Playoffs so exciting is that the game slows down, becomes more physical and the half-court game becomes all the more crucial. This allows these high-stakes playoff games to go down to the wire. Everybody loves close, competitive games, especially when they yield iconic, last-minute shots.
While the NBA regular season can be a little also-ran, the NBA Playoffs always find a way to deliver. Here are the 30 best shots in NBA Playoffs history.
30. Kobe Bryant’s fadeaway against the Phoenix Suns: 2010 Western Conference Finals, Game 6
Kobe Bryant won five NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers before retiring at the end of the 2015-16 NBA season. He was a lethal, go-to scorer for 20 years with the Lakers, emerging as the closest thing to Michael Jordan we’ve seen since his second retirement from the game in 1998.
Bryant’s greatest moment in his multiple playoff runs came against the Pacific Division rival Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals. Up by five points with under a minute to play, Bryant drains a ridiculous fadeaway over Suns small forward Grant Hill to seal the deal for the Lakers to advance to the 2010 NBA Finals.
Hill was all over Bryant in that moment of immense desperation for the Suns down 105-100 at home facing elimination. Bryant got open on a great pump fake to the outside. He corralled the ball near the three-point line and went to work in isolation like he did for so many years.
Again, Hill gave everything he had to keep Bryant from icing the game, but came up short on Bryant’s most impactful shot of his career. Bryant would flex his dominance after that smooth stroke from just inside the three-point line by giving Suns head coach Alvin Gentry by giving him the playful butt-tap.
The Black Mamba was a bona fide assassin for years in the NBA. His shot over Hill was pure venom to kill the Suns’ hopes at playing for an NBA Championship. This is the good stuff that happens when you go into your Musecage.
29. Allan Houston’s series clincher versus Miami Heat: 1999 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 5
Allan Houston goes down as one of the better sharpshooters of his generation. He came into the league out of Tennessee, making buckets from distance first for the Detroit Pistons and then most notably the New York Knicks.
In the late 1990s to early 2000s, one could argue that Houston was the best player on the Knicks not named Patrick Ewing. Injuries would shorten his prime far too early, but Houston’s most famous NBA moment cam in the 1999 Eastern Conference Playoffs against the Miami Heat.
The 1998-99 NBA season was a strike-shortened year following Michael Jordan’s second retirement. New York was the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and took the top-seeded Miami Heat to the deciding Game 5.
Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy drew up his greatest play to get the accurate Houston open for a game-winning running jump shot. Houston would make the jumper and Van Gundy would beat his former mentor in Miami head coach Pat Riley.
This was the peak of the Heat/Knicks rivalry of that era. New York would win the Eastern Conference Finals over the rival Indiana Pacers in six games before falling to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the 1999 NBA Finals.
28. Charles Barkley owns David Robinson: 1993 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 6
The best part of TNT’s Inside the NBA is without question the always-entertaining Charles Barkley. We never know what that knucklehead is going to say on national television. Before becoming a superstar analyst, Barkley might be the best NBA player to have never won an NBA Championship.
His best shot at winning a title came in the 1992-93 NBA season, his first year with the Phoenix Suns. Barkley wasn’t a role model, but was the league MVP that season. His Suns would fall to the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls in the 1993 NBA Finals, but Barkley would have his day in the sun against The Admiral David Robinson.
Robinson was the star center for the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio was good, but not great in the 1990s. During the 1993 Western Conference Semifinals, Barkley asserted his dominance over the Robinson to raise the Suns to the Western Conference Finals.
At the top of the key, Barkley would go isolation on Robinson and hit the series-clinching shot with 1.8 seconds left on the clock in Game 6 in Phoenix. The Suns would knock off a tremendous Seattle SuperSonics team in the Western Conference Finals in seven games before falling to the Bulls in six in the NBA Finals.
Barkley was every bit a unicorn as a player. He was a notoriously awful practice player. Barkley was never really in game shape, but could do a bit of everything in his Basketball Hall of Fame career with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Suns and the Houston Rockets.
27. John Paxson’s game-winner versus Phoenix Suns: 1993 NBA Finals, Game 6
Now known as the second half of the infamous Chicago Bulls front office tandem GarPax, Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson delivered one of the most signature shots of the Jordan Era of the Bulls.
Chicago was playing a solid Phoenix Suns team in the 1993 NBA Finals. This was Charles Barkley’s best year as a professional and Chicago had the opportunity to three-peat as NBA Champions. Down 98-96 with 14.4 seconds left in Game 6, Bulls forward Horace Grant would kick the ball out the sharpshooting Paxson to stun the Suns in Phoenix.
Paxson’s three-pointer gave the Bulls at 99-98 lead with 3.9 seconds left in the game. Grant would pack Kevin Johnson at the buzzer to give the Bulls a third-straight NBA title. Jordan would retire for the first time after this game to pursue a career in baseball.
Three-pointers have become commonplace in the NBA during the small-ball era of the league. However, their usage would normally come late in games during Paxson’s playing career. Chicago didn’t want a Game 7, as Phoenix may have been the most worthy Finals adversary of the Jordan Era.
Basketball history may be totally different if Paxson didn’t drain the most important shot of his NBA career. Maybe Barkley and the Suns would have won a championship? Perhaps Jordan doesn’t leave the sport for two years in the wake of the three-peat?
26. Ron Artest’s bank-shot buzzer-beater versus Phoenix Suns: 2010 Western Conference Finals, Game 5
The basketball artist formerly known as Ron Artest is a player unlike any before him. Not only did he change his name mid-career to Metta World Peace, but he was the primary figure in The Malice at The Palace for the Indiana Pacers and a shot-making legend for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Two of Artest/Peace’s most unforgettable basketball moments happened in the same 2010 NBA Playoffs. He would nail the NBA Finals clinched over the Boston Celtics in Game 7, but his putback against the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals was his greatest second on the hardwood.
Los Angeles had dropped two in a row in Phoenix and was on the precipice of dropping a third game in a row to go down 3-2 to the Suns before Game 6 on the road. Up 101-98 on the Suns, Artest would miss a terrible three-pointer in the final minute, allowing Phoenix to tie it up on a slick Jason Richardson three with 3.5 seconds left in the game.
Lakers forward Lamar Odom would in-bound the ball to set up Kobe Bryant game-winning shot. Bryant heaved up a prayer on a highly contested fadeaway three. Artest was in the right place at the right time to totally redeem himself with the most clutch putback of all-time.
The Lakers would win 105-103 at home to go up 3-2 on the Suns. Los Angeles would defeat the Suns in Phoenix to reach the NBA Finals. If not for Artest’s great positioning under the basket, maybe Phoenix or Boston win that NBA Finals?
25. Sean Elliott’s Memorial Day Miracle versus Portland Trail Blazers: 1999 Western Conference Finals, Game 2
Before the San Antonio Spurs became a small-market dynasty, they had to hit an improbable shot to even have the chance at winning one. San Antonio had one of the better teams in the NBA during the strike-shortened 1998-99 NBA season. However, the Spurs had never one an NBA Championship up to that point.
Against a formidable foe in the 1999 Western Conference Finals, the Spurs were about to lose a game at home to the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland point guard Damon Stoudamire hit a free throw to put the Trail Blazers up 85-83 with 12 seconds left in Game 2.
Needing a big play, small forward Sean Elliott hit the biggest shot of his life. He drained a three-pointer with Trail Blazers power forward Rasheed Wallace in his face with nine seconds left to ultimately win the game 86-85.
In San Antonio, this shot is known as the Memorial Day Miracle. Elliott had been diagnosed with a severe kidney ailment. He needed surgery badly, but powered through it during the 1999 NBA Playoffs. It was an awkward three-point shot over an elite defensive player in Wallace during a moment when San Antonio needed it most.
The Spurs would go on to sweep the Trail Blazers in four games. They would handle the New York Knicks in five games to win the 1999 NBA Finals, the first championship of the Gregg Popovich era in San Antonio.
24. LeBron James sinks Orlando Magic at the buzzer: 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2
LeBron James has been a star player in this league from almost the first jump in 2003 as an 18-year old. James had to leave Cleveland for four years to learn how to win championships. Now he’s back, winning championships.
Two years before James went to college in South Beach, he made his most important of his Cavaliers’ career. James did take his Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007, but his game-winner over the dangerous Orlando Magic in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals was his biggest make to date.
Before The Block, there was a series of painful moments in Cleveland sports. The Cavaliers had a middling existence before James’ arrival in 2003. Off a screen, James was able to get open and sink The Shot over Magic power forward Hedo Turkoglu to win the game at the buzzer.
James was more of a distributor, rim attacker and defender than a three-point shooter at that time. Frankly, he still is, but this was James’ big NBA Playoffs moment of his first stint in Cleveland.
His iconic moment would come a little over seven years later against the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals. Along with the Kyrie Irving game-winning three, those two events unseated James’ clutch three-pointer to thwart the Magic. For a while, that was the Cavaliers’ best moment on the hardwood in their history.
23. Damian Lillard series-clinching three versus Houston Rockets: 2014 Western Conference Quarterfinals, Game 6
The Portland Trail Blazers have a proud NBA history. Though the Trail Blazers only have one NBA Championship to date, they are never bad for far too long. However, there was a 14-year stretch where the Trail Blazers didn’t win a playoff series. That all ended on this ridiculous shot from point guard Damian Lillard.
After the infamous Jail Blazers ran their course, Portland did not advance into the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs until Lillard unleashed this series-clinching buzzer beater in Game 6 against Houston.
Lillard had to run off a screen to the other side of the court to get open for an insanely difficult three-point attempt. He had to pretty much shoot across his body on the road, as he had no time to set and plant.
Down 98-96 with 0.9 seconds left in the game, Lillard out-hustled Rockets wing Chandler Parsons of the in-bound. The Moda Center erupted when Lillard’s three went through the cylinder. It was the biggest shot made by the Trail Blazers in Moda Center history.
In all honesty, only the Rip City shot back in the 1970s was a more impactful shot for the Trail Blazers. This shot added a level of respect to Lillard’s game outside of the Pacific Northwest. He was an All-Star and became a superstar with this one jumper from distance.
22. Rik Smits stuns Orlando Magic at buzzer: 1995 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 4
Rik Smits had a nice 12-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers. He was the former No. 2 overall pick by Indiana out of small Marist College. The Dunking Dutchman was seven-foot-four by played much nimbler than his massive frame indicated.
Though he was teammates with one of the best jump-shooters of all-time in Pacers shooting guard Reggie Miller, Smits had his now unforgettable shot in Pacers lore. His Game 4 buzz-beater to stun the Orlando Magic in the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals capped off one of the best sequences in NBA Playoffs history.
Miller would hit the go-ahead three-pointer to give the Pacers the lead. Orlando’s star point guard Penny Hardaway would answer with his own highly contested three-point field goal. Indiana had one out-of-bounds play to make it happen in Indianapolis.
Smits would get the rock and throw one of basketball’s most memorable pump fakes. He completely shook Magic center Tree Rollins for the game-winning lean-in jumper. Indiana would tie the series at two games apiece.
Though Orlando would beat the Pacers in seven games to get to the 1995 NBA Finals, maybe the Pacers would have put up a better fight in the finals? Orlando was hopelessly swept by the defending champion Houston Rockets in four games.
21. Kyrie Irving’s game-winner versus Golden State Warriors: 2016 NBA Finals, Game 7
In one of the best Game 7’s of all-time, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving made himself a legend in Northeast Ohio by hitting the game-winning three-pointer to complete the 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Points were becoming increasingly hard to come by down the stretch in Game 7. Both Cleveland and Golden State were locked-in defensively. Somebody was going to have to make a difference. Irving had the confidence to take and make the biggest shot of his life. He nailed a three-pointer over Warriors point guard Stephen Curry inside of a minute left in the game.
That shot would give the Cavaliers a 92-89 lead late in Game 7. Cleveland would hold on to beat the Warriors 93-89. This three from Irving along with The Block from LeBron James will forever be associated with the end of Cleveland’s 51-year championship drought.
Irving hit this shot over the unanimous NBA MVP Curry. The Warriors had their chances to exploit the Cavaliers in transition, but were unable to get a meaningful bucket late. It was only fitting that Irving got to make that championship-clinching bucket. His atrocious defense in Game 1 was a major reason that Cleveland dropped the series opener.
The biggest play in Irving’s career didn’t come anywhere near the buzzer. That hurts his shots’ status as being one of the signature moments in NBA history. However, time will be the best thing on this play’s side. It was culturally significant and generationally impactful.
20. Robert Horry saves San Antonio Spurs versus Detroit Pistons: 2005 NBA Finals, Game 5
It’s been over a decade. We to be reminded of three things: 1.) The Detroit Pistons were an outstanding basketball team in the mid-2000s. 2.) Manu Ginobili used to have long hair. 3.) Robert Horry plays his best ball in the NBA Playoffs.
Horry won seven NBA Finals in his long NBA career: two with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs. He had already left an indelible mark on the story of the NBA Playoffs with a shot that the Sacramento Kings are still recovering from way back in 2002.
Three years later, Horry did it again, this time in the 2005 NBA Finals. Horry was a rotational big for most of his career. His ability to make to make threes as a stretch-five prototype made his a playoff legend. Ginobili would whip this ball to Horry for the game-winning three in Game 5.
Detroit power forward Rasheed Wallace opted to double-team Ginobili in the left corner instead of sticking to his man Horry like he should have. Just because he didn’t play for the 2002 Kings doesn’t mean Wallace should have been unaware of Horry’s ability to thrive in winning time.
This was the second time that an all-time shot in the NBA Playoffs went off on Wallace. The Memorial Day Miracle in San Antonio and this. Horry had one more big moment in the twilight of his career. He sure saved it for a great time against a great team in the 2005 Pistons.
19. Eddie Johnson shocks Utah Jazz from three: 1997 Western Conference Finals, Game 4
Though there were two Eddie Johnsons playing basketball around this time, the guy we’re talking about here won NBA Sixth Man of the Year back in 1989 with the Phoenix Suns. After spending a year overseas in Greece, Johnson came back to the NBA for five more years.
This is the time frame where Johnson had his signature moment in the NBA. Playing for the Houston Rockets, Johnson came up big for Houston against the Utah Jazz in Game 4 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals.
Houston was still very much Clutch City in the late 1990s. They had a fierce Western Conference Finals foe in Utah. The Jazz wanted to get to the NBA Finals, but Houston wasn’t going down without a fight.
With 6.7 seconds left on the clock, Houston in-bounded the ball with the game tied at 92. After trying to go to the left side of the court, the ball would find its way into Johnson’s hands well beyond the three-point arc. He would sink the buzzer-beater to defeat the Jazz 95-92 to win Game 4 at home. Houston went bonkers.
The Jazz would go on to win that series a few nights later in Game 6 to reach Utah’s first trip to the NBA Finals. Though Houston would not win another NBA Championship in the Hakeem Olajuwon era, Johnson’s game-winner was the final highlight of that era of Rockets basketball.
18. Reggie Miller gets free for three versus Chicago Bulls: 1998 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 4
The Indiana Pacers were always a pesky bunch during the 1990s and the early 2000s in the Eastern Conference. A big reason for that was that their superstar shooting guard Reggie Miller made big-time bucket after big-time bucket.
In the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals, it was no different for Miller in the Pacers. They had to go up against the juggernaut division rival Chicago Bulls. Chicago had won two-straight NBA Championships and were looking at a second three-peat of the Michael Jordan Era.
Keep in mind that this was a different era of NBA basketball where contact was largely allowed in playoff basketball. Miller would shove his opponent down in the low post to ultimately get open past Jordan to hit a crazy game-winning three with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
Miller was able to loop around the Bulls defense, catch the in-bounds pass and put up another iconic three-pointer. The 1997-98 Bulls were the best team that Miller’s Pacers had meant in the Eastern Conference Finals up to that point. Indiana would lose in a seventh game on the road in Chicago.
The home team would win all seven games in this best-of-seven series. Indiana would eventually get to an NBA Finals in 2000, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers. If it weren’t for Jordan being the best basketball player of all-time, maybe Millers’ 1997-98 Pacers could have been NBA Champions?
17. Mario Elie’s Kiss of Death versus Phoenix Suns: 1995 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 7
That two-year stretch when Michael Jordan hovering around the Mendoza Line at the plate for the Birmingham Barons was the Houston Rockets’ time to shine in the upper echelon of the NBA. They had an unbelievable center in Hakeem Olajuwon, so it was easy to see how they could win back-to-back NBA Finals in 1994 and 1995.
To have a shot at repeating, the Rockets had to put away an excellent Phoenix Suns on the road in Game 7 of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals. Rockets big man Robert Horry would throw a powerful over-the-head pass to wing Mario Elie open in the corner to hit a three.
Elie would nail the corner three and blow a kiss to the saddened Suns bench. That made shot from distance put Houston up 113-110 with 7.1 seconds remaining. Houston would go on to beat the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the Western Conference Finals and sweep the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals to win a second NBA title.
The shot is known as the Kiss of Death in basketball circles and very popular in the Houston area. It was part of the Clutch City phenomenon that swept the City of Houston during this era. Until the Rockets became washed up with Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen on the team, the Clutch City Rockets were the toast of the town.
Though they never met in the NBA Finals, one would have to wonder how a series between Houston and the Chicago Bulls would have shaken out? Pippen and Jordan would have been more than a handful for the Rockets’ backcourt. However, few teams in NBA history were as clutch as those mid-1990s Rockets.
16. John Stockton takes over versus Houston Rockets: 1997 Western Conference Finals, Game 6
John Stockton built a hall of fame career on his elite distribution and pick-pocketing skills. He was a fearless competitor into his early 40s for the Utah Jazz. While he made a living feeding power forward Karl Malone in the low post, his greatest moment in NBA history came on a shot he made with the ball in his hands.
Utah was tied with the Houston Rockets at 100 with 2.8 seconds left in Game 6 of the 1991 Western Conference Finals. The Jazz had the opportunity to in-bound the ball with a chance to win it.
Everybody on the Rockets defense keyed in on Malone and the other Jazz scorers, leaving Stockton laughably wide open to drain an uncontested three-pointer to send the Jazz to their first NBA Finals in franchise history.
Doing this in Houston was validation for the Jazz’s right to face Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the 1997 NBA Finals. Houston had been the best team in the Western Conference for the last several years. Utah finally managed to get past the Western Conference goliath that was the Rockets and into the NBA Finals.
Though Utah didn’t win an NBA title that season or in the 1998 NBA Finals, this remains the greatest shot in Jazz basketball history. It’s only fitting that it came from their legendary pass-first point guard in Stockton.
15. Dudley Bradley’s improbable game winner versus Philadelphia 76ers; 1986 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 1
This has to be the most unlikely game-winner of in NBA playoff history. It only adds to the mystique of what all unfolded in Game 1 of the 1986 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the favored Philadelphia 76ers and the underdog Washington Bullets.
Philadelphia was the No. 3 seed in the series and Washington was the No. 6 seed. The 76ers held a comfortable 17-point lead in Game 1 at home. Washington kept grinding away until the Bullets upset the 76ers in Game 1 95-94 on a three-pointer from Dudley Bradley.
Power forward Dan Roundfield would put in a tip-back to put the Bullets down by only two. On the ensuing Washington possession, Roundfield would in-bound the ball with three seconds left down two. Bradley would pull off a series of spin moves before sinking the go-ahead three at the buzzer.
Philadelphia was stunned that Bradley was even able to get a shot off with that tight on-ball defense, much less make the prayer of a three-point heave. You better believe that Bradley called bank because it was open at The Spectrum that night in Philadelphia for Washington.
The 76ers would go on to win that best-of-five series Game 5. They would fall to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games. Not to say that the Bullets would have knocked off either Milwaukee or Boston on that side of the bracket, but who would have thought Bradley would have capped off a 17-point comeback with a bank-shot three-pointer?
14. Alonzo Mourning in winning time versus Boston Celtics: 1993 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 4
The Charlotte Hornets made an outstanding selection with their No. 2 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, taking center Alonzo Mourning out of Georgetown University. Mourning would go on to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame mostly for his stellar play for years with the Miami Heat.
Before taking his talents to South Beach, Mourning hit the biggest shot in Charlotte Hornets history. Keep in mind that Charlotte was still an expansion team in the early 1990s. The Hornets had not qualified for the NBA Playoffs until year five as an organization in 1992-93.
Charlotte faced the Boston Celtics in the 1993 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Up 2-1 in the best-of-five series, Charlotte had its opportunity to knock off the Celtics on a Larry Johnson try in the final seconds. The Hornets benefited from getting another stab at it with a little over three seconds on the clock.
Mourning would get the rock at the top of the key and hit a falling down two to end the Celtics’ season. The Hornets would advance with a 104-103 victory to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Though they would lose to the New York Knicks in five in the next round, the buzz was alive in the hive.
The Hornets would make the Eastern Conference Playoffs a handful of times before being relocated to New Orleans. Charlotte got an expansion team in the form of the Charlotte Bobcats, but it wasn’t the same. Since the NBA came back to the Queen City in 2004, Charlotte has only made the Eastern Conference Payoffs three times, losing in the first round in all three series.
13. Derek Fisher’s 0.4 Shot versus San Antonio Spurs: 2004 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 5
During the 2000s in the Western Conference, it was the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs and everybody else. So of course the Lakers and the Spurs would have some classic games in the Western Conference Playoffs.
Perhaps the signature game from the rivalry series was Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals. It was a low-scoring affair that went down to the wire, ending in Derek Fisher’s 0.4 Shot to lift the Lakers to victory.
Fisher’s Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant would sink a mid-range shot with 11.6 seconds left on the clock. Spurs power forward Tim Duncan hit the presumptive game-winner with 0.4 seconds left. Did the Lakers have the time to get one last shot off to win on the road in San Antonio.
Fisher would catch-and-shoot off the in-bounds pass to lead the Lakers to an improbable split-second victory, 74-73. It was an awkward over-the-shoulder shot from the left-handed Fisher. Nine times out of 10 that shot doesn’t go in.
Los Angeles would win the series and knocks of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2004 Western Conference Finals before losing to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Of the Phil Jackson era, this is the greatest shot made by a backcourt player.
12. Jerry West hits the longest two of all-time versus New York Knicks: 1970 NBA Finals, Game 3
To be the logo of a professional sports league, you had to have been tremendous during your professional career. Jerry West is the logo for the NBA as the superstar shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1960s and 1970s.
West may have only won one NBA Championship in 1972, but his greatest moment on the hardwood came in Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals versus the New York Knicks. New York forward Dave DeBusschere hit made a jumper to give the Knicks a two-point lead with three seconds left in the game.
Down 102-100 and no timeouts left, West took the in-bounds pass from Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain and started to push the ball up the court. Roughly 60 feet away from the basket, West would throw up a prayer. It was answered as West hit his signature basket to force overtime.
New York would go on to win the game due to West spraining his ankle in that overtime period. Just getting there was an unbelievable feat for the Lakers. Had three-pointers been part of the game at that time, Los Angeles would have won the game and possibly the best-of-seven series.
New York would win the pivotal Game 7 in the famous Willis Reed Game. Two years later would West finally be an NBA Champion. The Lakers would defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 1972 NBA Finals.
11. Magic Johnson’s Baby Sky Hook versus Boston Celtics: 1987 NBA Finals, Game 4
The Sky Hook was the shot that Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar mastered to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. It showed that big men like Abdul-Jabbar could play ball with a touch of finesse.
When he left Milwaukee for Los Angeles, his game came with him and it inspired a teammate of his to follow in his footsteps in winning time. Abdul-Jabbar will always have the Sky Hook, but Lakers point guard Magic Johnson will always have the Baby Sky Hook.
Johnson is widely regarded as the greatest point guard in NBA history. Known for his distributive skills and range to guard anybody defensively, Johnson’s definitive moment in the NBA Playoffs came when he shot the basketball like Abdul-Jabbar.
The Lakers and Celtics renewed their fierce NBA rivalry in the 1980s. In Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals, Johnson would make use of the Baby Sky Hook to sink the winning shot over Boston big men Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.
Johnson would call it the “junior, junior, junior sky hook”, nodding to Abdul-Jabbr about his flattering game-winner. Los Angeles would go on to beat the Celtics in six games to win the 1987 NBA Finals.
10. Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson nukes the Portland Trail Blazers: 1990 NBA Finals, Game 5
Vinnie Johnson was an important rotational player for the Detroit Bad Boys Pistons. He also has one of the NBA’s longest-lasting nicknames: The Microwave. That is because Johnson could heat up in an instant coming off the Pistons’ bench.
Detroit won its first NBA title the year before over the Showtime Lakers. The Pistons were the dominant team in the superior Eastern Conference at that time. They still had to go through a tough Portland Trail Blazers team in the 1990 NBA Finals.
Up 3-1 in the series, Johnson would get the ball in the corner with the game all tied up at 90 points apiece. He would go to work in isolation on Portland’s Jerome Kersey. Johnson would get his 14-foot shot off to make the series-clinching bucket with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
The Pistons would win back-to-back NBA Finals after Johnson’s best shot of his career. Detroit would stay playoff relevant for the next few seasons, but would not win another NBA Finals until 2004 when Larry Brown’s team topped the Los Angeles Lakers.
Though they weren’t quite a dynasty, it is impossible to tell the story of the NBA without the interesting chapter about the Bad Boy Pistons. Nobody embraced being the antagonist quite like Detroit did at that time.
9. Ralph Sampson dethrones Los Angeles Lakers at the buzzer: 1986 Western Conference Finals, Game 5
When the Houston Rockets went back-to-back with collegiate standout centers with consecutive No. 1 overall picks, some ripped Houston, questioning how Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson would play together on the court?
It only took a few years before those critics realized that Houston was on the cusp of something special. Sampson’s promising NBA career took a turn for the worse due to injuries in the late 1980s, but before that he delivered the first clutch shot in Clutch City’s history.
Houston was up 3-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals versus the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. The game was tied at 112 with one second left on the clock. Olajuwon had been ejected and Houston had one shot at an in-bounds play to reach the NBA Finals.
Sampson would receive the in-bounds pass and launch a twisting, turnaround jumper to send the Rockets to the NBA Finals. Given that Los Angeles would win five NBA Finals during the Showtime era, this was one of the bigger series upsets of the 1980s.
Houston would go on to lose to the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA Finals in six games, but it wasn’t because of Sampson’s play. He still earned Springfield enshrinement for his prolific basketball career. Sampson and Bill Walton are two of the most physically gifted centers in NBA history. It’s a shame neither could stay healthy.
8. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s greatest Sky Hook versus Boston Celtics: 1974 NBA Finals, Game 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s game was technically sound, but never got the fans out of their seats. He was the most efficient low-post scorer in NBA history. His signature shot became known as the Sky Hook.
To this day, nobody has been able to dominate a game offensively with the hook shot like Adbul-Jabbar did with his. In his second to last year with the Milwaukee Bucks, Abdul-Jabbar sank the biggest shot of his NBA Playoffs career.
Milwaukee was playing the Boston Celtics in the 1974 NBA Finals. Game 6 went to double overtime and Celtics beloved sixth man John Havlicek made a jumper to put Boston up by one late. Abdul-Jabbar would get the in-bounds pass and make his signature Sky Hook over Boston’s Henry Finkel.
This would give Game 6 to the Bucks by a single point to force a win-or-go-home Game 7. Boston would go on to win the 1974 NBA Finals. Abdul-Jabbar would force a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975 in hopes to be better accommodated for his Islamic faith.
In Los Angeles, Abdul-Jabbar would join Magic Johnson and James Worthy, helping bring the Showtime Lakers five titles before retiring from the sport. Milwaukee has not had the same playoff success since Abdul-Jabbar left. They do have another guy that’s really good with a hard to spell name. Only time will tell what Giannis Antetokounmpo does for the Bucks.
7. Reggie Miller’s 8.9 Seconds versus New York Knicks: 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 1
Without question, the greatest sequence in Indiana Pacers basketball history is something truly remarkable that Reggie Miller did in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals versus the rival New York Knicks.
Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds to overcome a six-point deficit with 18.7 seconds left to stun the Knicks in Game 1. Here is how it all went down in Madison Square Garden. Pacers point guard Mark Jackson would in-bound the basketball to Miller where he would since a three to make it 105-102 Knicks.
On ensuing in-bounds pass by the Knicks, Miller would shove Knicks forward Anthony Mason to come up with a steal. Knowing that the Pacers needed points in a hurry, he dribble out beyond the three-point line and made the game-tying bucket.
Indiana’s Sam Mitchell would foul Knicks guard John Starks with the game tied at 105 to force two free throws. Starks would choke and miss both of them. Miller would be fouled after grabbing Patrick Ewing’s missed shot after the second Starks missed free throw. Indiana would go up by two on the made Miller free throws. Indiana would go on to win Game 1 107-105 over New York.
The Pacers would take Game 7 over the Knicks to reach the 1995 NBA Finals, where Indiana had to deal with an emerging power in the Orlando Magic. Though the Pacers would loss to the Magic in seven, Miller’s eight points in 8.9 seconds is the definitive moment of the 1995 NBA Playoffs and Miller’s Hall of Fame career.
6. Robert Horry’s three to eviscerate Sacramento Kings: 2002 Western Conference Finals, Game 4
A few years after he heaved that terrific over-the-head pass to Mario Elie in the corner and a few years before he buried the Detroit Pistons, Robert Horry had the biggest shot in Western Conference Finals history.
Horry had a knack for delivering in big moments in the NBA Playoffs. The definitive moment of his illustrious playoff career came against the Sacramento Kings in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers were down 99-97 to the Kings at home with a little over 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant would attack the rim and miss. Los Angeles center Shaquille O’Neal would miss the outback attempt.
Miraculously, the rebound off O’Neal’s attempt would go long. The ball rolled to Horry beyond the three-point line. He would drain the buzzer-beater to beat the Kings 100-99 at Staples Center. Los Angeles would go on to win the series 4-3.
The Lakers would go on to three-peat in the NBA Finals, as they knocked off the New Jersey Nets in a four-game sweep. Horry would win two more titles with the San Antonio Spurs. Los Angeles would reload and win two more with Bryant and Pau Gasol later in the decade. Sacramento has never fully recovered from this excruciatingly painful Game 4 loss to rival Los Angeles.
5. Gar Heard’s “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” to force triple-overtime versus Boston Celtics: 1976 NBA Finals, Game 5
Gar Heard spent 11 seasons in the NBA on five different teams. He spent the bulk of his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns (1976-80), so it would come as no surprise that his lasting NBA Playoffs legacy would come in Phoenix.
Heard was traded mid-season to Phoenix from the Buffalo Braves. The Suns would reach the 1976 NBA Finals. In Game 5, that’s when Heard sank “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”. It was late in double overtime when Heard would have given something for Ralph Waldo Emerson to write about.
Boston guard John Havlicek would hit a shot with two seconds left to give the Celtics a one-point advantage. The Boston Garden erupted and stormed the court. However, Phoenix guard Paul Westphal would intentionally call a timeout Phoenix didn’t have to force a technical free throw. Boston’s Jo Jo White would make the bucket to give the Celtics a two-point lead.
That being said, it allowed the officials to come to their sense and put a second back on the clock. Phoenix would in-bound the ball and Heard would shoot his shot, forcing a third overtime. Boston would win in triple overtime and the 1976 NBA Finals in Game 6.
Phoenix would have won this game if the NBA had replay like it does now. It was a head’s up move by Westphal to force the technical. He’d be an NBA head coach one day. The Suns may not have won the game, but Heard still hit the biggest shot in Phoenix history.
4. Dennis Johnson’s clutch layup off Larry Bird’s steal versus Detroit Pistons: 1987 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5
The 1987 Eastern Conference Finals was a collision course between a champions contender not he rise in the Detroit Pistons and the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics. Isiah Thomas’ Pistons were on the precipice of stealing Game 5 in Boston.
However, Thomas’ biggest gaffe as a player would come inside of five seconds. The Celtics find a way to capitalize with an incredible sequence of events. All Thomas had to do was in-bound the ball and Detroit was going to win the game.
Instead, Thomas panicked and threw a terrible in-bounds pass that Celtics small forward Larry Bird would intercept. Bird would toss it to the cutting Dennis Johnson for a go-ahead, game-winning layup. Boston would go on to win the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals, 4-3.
This is considered to be Bird’s greatest play as a Celtic and the second greatest steal in Celtics history behind John Havlicek’s in the 1965 NBA Finals versus Philadelphia. It was also the definitive moment of Johnson’s Hall of Fame career.
Boston would fall to the rival Los Angeles Lakers in the 1987 NBA Finals. Johnson would tragically pass away at the age of 52 in 2007 while coaching the NBA D-League’s Austin Toros. He would be posthumously enshrined in Springfield in 2010 for his contributions to the game of basketball.
3. Michael Jordan’s final shot versus Utah Jazz: 1998 NBA Finals, Game 6
For a certain generation of Michael Jordan fans, this is the play many of us remember about the greatest player in NBA history. His Final Shot versus the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals helped make Jordan’s NBA legacy impenetrable.
Chicago was down 86-85 inside of a minute left in Salt Lake City. Utah was on the cusp of forcing a Game 7 in the 1998 NBA Finals. The Jazz had the basketball and were looking to point the game out of reach for the Bulls.
Jordan would punish Jazz power forward Karl Malone will a timely steal. He would push the ball up the court for one last shot. Jordan would drive into the paint, step on the brakes and hit a game-winning mid-range jumper with 5.2 seconds left on the clock.
Chicago would win the 1998 NBA Finals and Jordan would return from basketball for a second time. This was the last time that the Bulls played in an NBA Finals. The team would crater after Jordan’s retirement and Scottie Pippen’s exodus to the Houston Rockets.
Jordan later work In the Washington Wizards front office and even play for the team before retiring for a third time. Today he is the majority owner for his home state’s Charlotte Hornets. The Final Shot was a storybook ending to what should have been the final chapter of Jordan’s NBA career.
2. Ray Allen’s unbelievable game-tying shot versus San Antonio Spurs: 2013 NBA Finals, Game 6
It was over. The Larry O’Brien Trophy was in the process of being brought out to the American Airlines Arena hardwood in Miami. The San Antonio Spurs were about to win their fifth NBA Finals, but Miami Heat shooting guard Ray Allen wasn’t ready for that to happen just yet.
Miami was down 95-92 with 19.4 seconds left in Game 6 facing elimination. Heat small forward LeBron James would put up a three, but missed. Miami power forward Chris Bosh would gather the rebound with nine seconds left.
Bosh would kick it out to Allen as he back pedaled for a desperation game-tying three-point heave. Allen would drain the bucket to force overtime. Needless to say, the Larry O’Brien Trophy would go back into the catacombs of American Airlines Arena.
Miami would go on to win Game 6 and then Game 7 to win the Heat’s second straight NBA Finals. To think that they were only one Allen three-pointer from elimination is simply incredible.
Allen built a hall of fame career by being one of the best sharpshooters of his generation. He increased the popularity of the three-point shot. While Allen is better known for his time with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Seattle SuperSonics and the Boston Celtics, his signature moment definitely came while with the Heat.
1. Michael Jordan over Craig Ehlo and the Bulls win!: 1989 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 5
If there is a moment that perfectly encapsulates Michael Jordan’s illustrious NBA career, it would have to be The Shot he hit over Craig Ehlo in Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. It would clinch an upset victory for the Bulls, as they would advance to the second round.
Cleveland owned Chicago during the regular season, completing the 6-0 series sweep of the Bulls. Keep in mind that Jordan was just a star player at this time that had still yet to learn how to win in the NBA Playoffs. That narrative would begin to change with The Shot.
Jordan had hit a jumper to put the Bulls up 99-98 with six seconds left in win-or-go-home Game 5. Ehlo would make a layup to five the Cavaliers a 100-99 lead with three seconds left on the clock. Then, Jordan took over again.
He would shake Ehlo to get open on the in-bounds pass. As the game clock expired, Jordan would nail the jumper at the free throw line. He would leap ecstatically and pump his fist in the air. Ehlo would fall to pieces on the hardwood in defeat.
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Johnny Kerr’s call of “the Bulls win!” and Jordan’s celebration make this the long-lasting image of his one of a kind NBA career. It may have only been a win over a division rival in a first-round playoff series, but this was the start of something phenomenal in Chicago.