1) Derek Fisher, 2004 Conference Semifinals, Lakers vs. Spurs, Game 5

Fisher lost his Lakers starting point guard job in ’03-’04 to Gary Payton, but coach Phil Jackson still liked to rely on him in crunch time. The crunchiest time of all came in game five of a second round series against the defending champion Spurs, which was even at two games apiece. With 0.4 seconds left in the game, Tim Duncan hit an incredible off-balance jumper to give San Antonio a 73-72 lead. Coming out of a timeout, Kobe Bryant was unable to shake a double team, forcing Payton to inbound to Fisher, who managed to catch the ball, turn, and heave a desperation jumper. Before the referees even had a chance to consider reviewing the shot on replay, Fisher was celebrating by triumphantly racing off the court and into the locker room (the replay was upheld and a Spurs protest was denied). Duncan called it a “lucky shot” to which Shaquille O’Neal responded “one lucky shot deserves another.” The loss snapped a 17-game home winning streak for the Spurs, and they wouldn’t get another chance in San Antonio that season, as the Lakers put away the series two days later in Los Angeles in game six.

2) Bob Harrison, 1950 NBA Finals, Lakers vs. Nationals, Game 1

Over 50 years before Derek Fisher, another overlooked Lakers guard had his own career-defining shot. Minneapolis were the defending champs in 1950 but technically the underdogs against the Nationals, who owned home court advantage and finished 34-1 at home during the regular season. The Lakers stole game one in Syracuse behind their star center George Mikan, around whom their entire offense was built. Harrison was the starting shooting guard for the Lakers but averaged just 4.5 points per game for the series. It was an unfamiliar role for a player who once scored 139 points in a junior high school game but Harrison got his chance when game one was on the line. With just seconds left and the game tied 66-66, Mikan blocked a layup attempt, which was rebounded by Minneapolis’ Jim Pollard. Harrison caught a pass from Pollard at half court, took one dribble, and then heaved a 40-footer that somehow found the bottom of the net. The Lakers went on to win the series in six games. Harrison would become more of an offensive focal point later in his career, making three All-Star appearances.

3) Mario Elie, 1995 Conference Semifinals, Rockets vs. Suns, Game 7

Patrick Ewing was the #1 draft pick in 1985, Karl Malone was #13, and Mario Elie fell to pick #160. While Elie never matched up to those two stars individually, he did have one shining moment, leading to a championship that Ewing and Malone can only fantasize about. It also victimized the infamously title-less Charles Barkley, who finished this game with 18 points and 23 rebounds in a losing effort. Elie was a sixth man extraordinaire for Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who always played him in late game clutch situations. It paid off dividends here, with Elie playing unlikely hero. With 20 seconds remaining and the score tied 110-110, a Suns half-court trap forced Kenny Smith to rotate the ball away from expected shooter Clyde Drexler and it wound up in Elie’s hands. Elie calmly nailed a baseline three-pointer and coldly blew a kiss to the silenced Phoenix crowd, lending the shot its “Kiss of Death” nickname. It closed out a 3-1 series comeback for the Rockets, who went on to win their second consecutive title.

4) John Paxson, 1993 NBA Finals, Bulls vs. Suns, Game 6
5) Steve Kerr, 1997 NBA Finals, Bulls vs. Jazz, Game 6

No, the ball wasn’t always in Michael Jordan’s hands with the game on the line. In 1993, Paxson got his turn. The veteran guard lost his starting position to B.J. Armstrong in ’92-’93 following knee surgery. But coach Phil Jackson didn’t fully trust the young Armstrong, so it was Paxson in the back court alongside Jordan in the waning moments of game six of the 1993 NBA Finals. Chicago had blown an eight point lead by scoring only nine points in the first 11 minutes of the fourth quarter, all of them from Jordan but still had a chance to win with 14 seconds left and trailing by two. It’s unclear exactly what Jackson had drawn up for the final play but in-bounder Horace Grant was likely calling an audible when he threw it to Paxson, who finished the series with a three-pointer. In the second Jordan championship trilogy, Kerr took over Paxson’s role in the rotation but was struggling in the 1997 Finals. Heading into the waning moments of game six, Kerr had scored just 24 points total in the series, shooting only 42% from the field. Nonetheless, Jordan told Kerr to “be ready” during a late game timeout and the sharp shooter was just that, hitting a jumper that clinched championship number for Chicago. At the championship rally days later in Chicago, Kerr joked that he had “bailed Michael out again.”

6) Glen Davis, 2009 Conference Semifinals, Celtics vs. Magic, Game 4

About as graceful as a hippo wearing a tutu and generating most of his scoring from the post, “Big Baby” Davis was the last guy on the floor whom you’d expect to hit a game winning jumper. Thrust into the 2009 postseason starting lineup due to a Kevin Garnett knee injury, Davis stepped up, averaging 18.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in a first round series win over the Bulls. Boston had fallen behind 2-1 in the Conference Semifinals against the Magic when Davis provided his own “little m” magic. Trailing by one point in game four with 11 seconds remaining, the Celtics were in desperate need of offense after missing eight consecutive field goals. Team leader Paul Pierce was the obvious option but he was double teamed at the top of the key, while Ray Allen was being shadowed and blanketed by Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu. Having slipped off the screen that was intended to free Pierce, Davis found himself wide open in the corner and nailed the game-winning shot on the Pierce assist. It turned out to be a pyrrhic victory, as the Magic won the series in seven games and moved on to the NBA Finals.

7) Rik Smits, 1995 Conference Finals, Pacers vs. Magic, Game 4

The Indiana Pacers were already accustomed to late-game dramatics in the 1995 playoffs by the time they reached the Conference Finals. This was the postseason run that included Reggie Miller scoring eight points in nine seconds to give the Pacers a remarkable come-from-behind victory over the Knicks. In a tight game four of their closely contested Conference Finals against the Magic, a less likely hero emerged for Indiana. Penny Hardaway had just given the Magic a 93-92 lead with 1.3 seconds left and Pacers coach Larry Brown called timeout to draw up a play. All eyes in Indiana’s Market Square Arena were on Miller, expecting him to bail them out again. But Brown instead utilized Miller as a decoy and instructed the ball to go to Smits at the top of the key. Smits caught the ball, pump faked Tree Rollins (Shaquille O’Neal had fouled out), then sank the buzzer beating jumper. It was dubbed the “Memorial Day Miracle” but the Pacers were ultimately unable to contain O’Neal or Hardaway, and lost the series in seven games.

8) Don Nelson, 1969 NBA Finals, Celtics vs. Lakers, Game 7

There’s other iconic moments in game seven of the 1969 NBA Finals, one of the greatest contests in league history, that are more well remembered. But it all culminated in Nelson’s unlikely game winner that clinched the 11th and final title of the Bill Russell dynasty. It had been an up-and-down series at that point for Nelson, who barely made an impact in games three, four, and five before exploding for 25 points in a game six win. Prior to his game seven heroics, the Celtics had blown a 17-point lead, with the Lakers comeback memorably spurred by Mel Counts replacing an injured Wilt Chamberlain. It was starting to appear like Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke’s balloons stored in the rafters were going to be deployed after all, but the Celtics hung tough late and led 103-102 in the final minute. When John Havlicek had the ball poked away while driving to the basket, it bounced directly to Nelson wide open at the free throw line. His jumper clanged off the back of the rim, hung in the air for what seemed like forever, then softly fell through in what would be the game’s decisive points

9) Metta World Peace, 2010 Conference Finals, Lakers vs. Suns, Game 5

Lakers fans had a love-hate relationship with World Peace throughout ’09-’10. Signed as a free agent at Kobe Bryant’s behest, World Peace enticed with his game changing defense while posing serious risk with his combustibility and questionable decision making. World Peace stayed out of trouble in L.A. but still made the Lakers faithful groan with every ill-advised three-point shot or attempt at play making. This came full circle in a must-win game five of the Conference Finals against the Suns. World Peace was essentially non-existent for the first 47 minutes of the game, with just two points on 1-of-8 shooting and four rebounds. The Lakers held an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter but the Suns had battled back to tie it 101-101 with 3.5 seconds left. A final play was drawn up for Bryant, of course, but he air balled a contested jumper. But there was World Peace, in the right place at the exact right time, hauling in the rebound and tossing it back up into the basket with 0.7 seconds left. This seemed to active something in World Peace, who was a major contributor for the rest of the Lakers’ title run, to the point that Phil Jackson called him the MVP of the NBA Finals game seven win.

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10) Vinnie Johnson, 1990 NBA Finals, Pistons vs. Blazers, Game 5

Few nicknames have ever been as apt as “The Microwave” for Vinnie Johnson, a player who could heat up in a hurry off the bench and finish games he didn’t start. The Blazers found that out all too well in the deciding fifth game of the 1990 NBA Finals. Johnson was having a inconsistent series, scoring just four points across the first two games and just one point in the first three quarters of game five. In typical “Microwave” fashion, none of that mattered in the fourth quarter. The Pistons rallied late to erase a seven-point Trail Blazers lead and held the ball down one with seconds left. Isiah Thomas hit Johnson in the corner, where he shook off the defending Jerome Kersey and let fly a poorly-arced duck that somehow swooshed through the net. It clinched a second consecutive title for the Pistons and capped an incredible late performance for Johnson, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. Because the shot went down with 0.07 seconds left, Johnson earned a new secondary nickname, “007, Detroit’s James Bond.”

11) Eddie Johnson, 1997 Conference Finals, Rockets vs. Jazz, Game 4

There was no brevity of drama in the 1997 playoffs, which saw four startling game winning shots across the Conference Finals and NBA Finals, ending with Steve Kerr’s NBA Finals clincher. First up was an unlikely source in the Western Conference Finals in Johnson, who had averaged just 7.0 points per game through the first two postseason rounds. The Rockets trailed the Jazz 2-1 in the series and needed a major fourth quarter comeback to tie game four with 6.7 seconds left. The 38-year-old Johnson had already been an improbable hero in game three, efficiently dropping 31 points off the bench in a Rockets win. He had scored just four points thus far in game four, deferring to his future Hall of Fame inductee teammates Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, and Hakeem Olajuwon. But when Matt Maloney found him wide open at the top of the arc, Johnson buried the buzzer beating three to tie the series. But it was ultimately all for naught, as the Jazz advanced on a John Stockton buzzer beater at the end of game six.

12) Dudley Bradley, 1986 First Round, Bullets vs. 76ers, Game 1

It’s not clear why Bradley was even on the court to make this shot. A defensive specialist, Bradley had averaged just 2.8 points per game in the regular season and had finished dead last in the NBA amongst eligible players in three-point shooting percentage. As the Bullets broke their timeout to run a last play, 76ers television announcer Jim Barniak even happened to remark that the defense didn’t need to pay attention to Bradley. According to coach Kevin Loughery, the play had been drawn up for Cliff Robinson but it was Bradley who received the inbounds pass. Double teamed, he was forced to spin and heave up a desperation three-pointer that somehow banked in off the backboard as the buzzer sounded. It ended an incredible comeback with the Bullets scoring the final 18 points of the game and Julius Erving missing three consecutive high pressure free throws which could have put it away. Philly did recover from this and rally to advance in five games. Bradley attempted seven more three-point field goals in the series and made just one of them.

13) Sean Elliott, 1999 Western Conference Finals, Spurs vs. Trail Blazers, Game 2 
14) Avery Johnson, 1999 NBA Finals, Spurs vs. Knicks, Game 5

An All-Star level player in his prime, Elliott had fallen off dramatically after tendinitis repair surgery in 1997. But not only did Elliott have the winning shot in game two of the Conference Finals, it was also his best overall performance of the 1999 postseason, finishing with 22 points and shooting 6-of-7 on three-pointers. With 12 seconds remaining and the Spurs in possession, Portland must have expected the ball to go to Tim Duncan or David Robinson or even 1997 NBA Finals hero Steve Kerr. But it was Elliott who received the inbound pass, tightrope walked the sideline, and drained a high-arcing three-pointer for the win. It was San Antonio’s first lead of the entire day and fans took to calling it the “Memorial Day Miracle.” The Spurs went on to sweep the Blazers and were on the precipice of their first championship when another hero emerged. Leading the Knicks 3-1 in the Finals, the Spurs were trailing 77-75 in game five and had one last chance to tie or win. Elliott had the ball in his hands again but in typical “Spurs Way” fashion, made the extra pass to Johnson, who drilled the title winning three-pointer. A 5’10” un-drafted free agent, Johnson had battled for years just to make an NBA roster and this was a fitting climax of his efforts.

15) Joe Johnson, 2017 First Round, Jazz vs. Clippers, Game 1

One of the deadliest shooters of his generation, Johnson was a seven-time All-Star and regularly averaged 20+ points per game in his prime. But this was a different Johnson, a 35-year-old on his last legs, receiving sporadic playing time off the bench. He was Utah’s sixth-leading scorer in ’16-’17 with 7.8 points per game but the man of the moment when the team played its first playoff game in five years. With Rudy Gobert sidelined by a knee injury and Gordon Hayward struggling with his shot, Johnson came alive, dropping a team high 21 points off the bench, on 9-of-14 shooting. He made several clutch shots down the stretch, finishing with a pretty buzzer beating floater over the outstretched arms of DeAndre Jordan to give the Jazz a surprise 97-95 victory. Johnson put in another turn-back-the-clock performance in game four with 28 points, and the Jazz advanced in seven, but he contributed little in a second round loss to the Warriors.

16) Ray Allen, 2013 NBA Finals, Heat vs. Spurs, Game 6

Like a few others on this list, Allen would not have been eligible here if this shot had come earlier in his career. An All-Star during his stints with the Bucks, Sonics, and Celtics, he had already hit plenty of memorable postseason baskets as a star player and arguably could have been the Finals MVP in 2008. But Allen was 37 years old when he joined the Heat as a free agent in 2012, and for the first time in his career was coming off the bench and averaging less than 30 minutes per game. His playing time did increase during the playoffs, especially in the NBA Finals against San Antonio when the Heat opted to play more small ball with Chris Bosh at center, and his legendary three-point shooting made Allen still a must-play in crunch time. Game six of those 2013 Finals was one of the most thrilling (or frustrating, depending on your rooting allegiance) in league history, and it all turned on arguably the greatest shot in Finals history. San Antonio led for much of the game, and seemed primed to put it away late and clinch an improbable championship. With the Heat trailing 95-92 in the waning seconds, LeBron James missed a jumper but Bosh was able to secure a rebound and kick it outside to Allen. In a shot that he was singularly qualified to make, even at his advanced age and diminished skills, Allen stepped back and calmly nailed a three-pointer to send the game to overtime. Miami eventually won the game and the series, for their second straight championship.

17+) Robert Horry, 2002 Conference Finals, Lakers vs. Kings, Game 4, etc.

Of course it’s “Big Shot” Bob, the secondary player that became so known for hitting clutch playoff game winners that it turned him into a star in his own right. A brief history: 

It all started in his rookie season with Houston, in game seven of a 1993 second round playoff series against Seattle. With 32 seconds remaining in regulation and the score tied at 91-91, Hakeem Olajuwon passed out of a double team to Horry, who was standing just inside the three-point line and nailed a jumper to just beat the shot clock and give Houston the lead. They would eventually lose the game and series in overtime.

His first actual game winner came in the 1995 Conference Finals against San Antonio. Most people remember that series as a dominating mandate from Olajuwon over his rival David Robinson. But when game one was in doubt with the Rockets trailing 93-92 on the road, Horry hit a jumper with 6.5 seconds left and Houston stole the victory. In game three of that year’s NBA Finals against the Magic, Horry did it again, hitting a three-pointer on an Olajuwon kick-out to give the Rockets a 106-103 win and an insurmountable 3-0 series lead. 

Horry’s later exploits with the Lakers were even more memorable, and 2002 was the nexus point. (He had a huge three-pointer late in a tight game three of the 2001 NBA Finals against Philadelphia that was hugely important, but not a game winner). In the first round against Portland the Lakers were facing tough competition in game three, as they attempted to finish off the sweep. Trailing 91-89, Kobe Bryant drove to the basket, and when he drew in the defense there was Horry, open in the corner for the winning three-pointer, over the outstretched arms of Scottie Pippen. 

The 2002 Conference Finals seemed to be in Sacramento’s control. They held a 2-1 series lead and were dominating game four in Los Angeles. After Shaquille O’Neal scored the first basket of the game, the Lakers played the next 47+ minutes from behind, by as much as 23 points in the second quarter. But the Lakers came storming back in the fourth quarter, and after Vlade Divac made just one of two free throw attempts, Los Angeles was trailing 98-96 with 11.8 seconds remaining. They got the ball into the hands of Kobe Bryant, who missed a runner, and Shaq’s put-back was also off the mark. Divac tipped the ball away from the basket, expecting it to safely bounce away as the buzzer sounded, but instead it ended up in the hands of Horry, standing all alone at the top of the key. He calmly sank the buzzer beating three-pointer. After the game a bitter Divac called it a “lucky” shot to which Horry replied “that wasn’t luck, I’ve been doing that all my career. He should know.” 

That was enough to make a career for Horry, but he had one more big shot in him, in the 2005 NBA Finals. With the series tied 2-2, Horry’s Spurs and the Pistons battled back-and-forth all night in Detroit for game five. Horry, just a couple months away from turning 35, had 21 points (all in the fourth quarter and overtime) and seven rebounds off the bench, and at one point scored seven straight for San Antonio as they took an 88-87 lead. The game went to overtime and Detroit held a 95-93 advantage with 9.5 seconds left. Horry inbounded to Ginobili, and the Pistons unwisely doubled Manu in the corner, leaving Horry wide open for the game-winning three-pointer. Perhaps Detroit should have heeded the words out of the man’s own mouth: “I’ve been doing that all my career.”