The Greatest Buzzer Beaters in NBA Playoff History

By definition, the NBA Playoffs often present matchups involving both the best teams and the best players the league has to offer, and the result can often be spectacular. Games frequently come down to the final quarter and even the final possession, with one fortuitous bounce of the ball often making the difference between winning losing.

With so many games coming down to those precious final few seconds, it’s no surprise that the NBA playoffs has seen its share of buzzer beaters. For sake of this list, we’re defining a “buzzer beater” as a shot made with fewer than two seconds remaining on the clock, and ideally with no time left at all.

While this parameter does disqualify some iconic moments (most obviously this one), there are still many incredible shots that have all decided games, and in many cases entire series. Damian Lillard did his best to make it onto the list with his Game 6 buzzer beater that eliminated the Houston Rockets in the first round of this year's Western Conference playoffs, but the beatdown Portland suffered at the hands of San Antonio immediately after negated the impact the shot might have had. With that, here are The Greatest Buzzer Beaters in NBA Playoff History.

Game: 2014 Western Conference Quarterfinals, Game 3

Just because Vince Carter made this incredible shot a couple days ago does not make it any less great. The eighth-seeded Mavericks, facing a Spurs team against whom they had struggled mightily for the past several seasons, looked like they were about to fall down 2-1 in their first round series when San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili flipped in a short-range bank shot with 1.7 seconds left. The Mavs called a timeout and drew up a play for Carter, whose miss at the buzzer in Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference semifinals eliminated his Raptors team and has dogged him ever since. There would be no such misery this year, as Carter’s brilliant up fake shook Ginobili and bought Vinsanity enough space to bury the game winner.

Game: 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinals, Game 4

You’d be forgiven if you didn’t much remember the 2006 Lakers. Outside of Kobe Bryant, they featured luminaries such as Smush Parker, Sasha Vujecic, and Luke Walton all playing key roles. They finished the regular season 45-37, riding what was probably Kobe’s best season of his career as the Black Mamba averaged 35.4 points on 41.0 minutes per game. The Suns, on the other hand, were loaded; they had the NBA MVP in Steve Nash, a still-in-shape Boris Diaw, and in-his-prime Shawn Marion. However, Bryant’s game-winning elbow jumper in overtime of Game 4 put the Suns in an unthinkable 3-1 series deficit in the first round. Despite the setback, though, they rallied back to win the next three games and send the Lakers home.

Game: 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 5

Reggie Miller had long since gained a reputation as a big-game player when the eight-seeded Pacers and the top-seeded Nets met in the first round of the 2002 Eastern Conference playoffs. In the decisive Game 5, though, Miller would add yet another chapter to his already astounding legacy.

With his team trailing by three points and just seconds to go in the game, a dizzying sequence following a pair of Richard Jefferson missed free throws saw Miller (with his back to the hoop) take a feed from Kevin Ollie, blindly turn around, and bank in a 40-foot, game-tying three pointer. This miracle heave sent the game into overtime, where Miller threw down a dunk just before the buzzer to once again tie the game. Alas, in double overtime, the Pacers’ game of chicken finally ended as the Nets took a 120-109 win.

Game: 1969 NBA Finals, Game 4

This is not a game you will see replayed for anything that transpired during the first 47:53; the Celtics and Lakers combined for 50 turnovers and both teams shot abysmally from the floor, and Los Angeles looked like they had the aging Boston squad on the ropes. The Lakers held a one point lead with seven seconds to go, but Elgin Baylor stepped out of bounds and gave the Celtics a chance to win the game and even the series at 2-2.

John Havlicek, Larry Siegfried, and Bailey Howell set a triple pick for Sam Jones, who managed to get an off-balance shot up around LA center Wilt Chamberlain, and the ball somehow managed to drop in after hitting both the front and back of the rim. The Celtics would go on to use the momentum created by Jones’ buzzer beater to win the series in a thrilling seventh game, the final contest of Bill Russell’s career.

Game: 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 4

With Kevin Garnett out for the playoffs with a knee injury, the Boston Celtics asked Glen “Big Baby” Davis to assume a starting role as they sought to defend their title from the previous season. In Game 4 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Davis found himself on the floor with his team trailing the Orlando Magic by one in the game and 2-1 in the series, watching on as Paul Pierce looked to hoist the team’s final shot; however, when Baby’s man went to double-team Pierce, the ball suddenly was in Davis’ hands as the clock neared zero. Big Baby buried the 15-footer (then hilariously pushed a kid aside while celebrating), evening a series that would eventually be won by Orlando.

Game: 1950 NBA Finals, Game 1

The first Finals in NBA history was not quite the high-octane, high-scoring affair we typically see in the modern era. Indeed, the first game of the 1950 NBA Finals was knotted at 66 when Minneapolis Lakers supersub Bob “Tiger” Harrison 1950 received a pass at midcourt with the clock winding down. His 40-foot prayer miraculously went through the hoop, propelling the Lakers to a win over the Syracuse Nationals in what remains the first recorded buzzer beater in Finals history.

Game: 1995 NBA Finals, Game 1

Before he was a famous studio host, Kenny “The Jet” Smith was a real-life professional basketball player; in fact, he set a record in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals that stood for 15 years when he hit seven three pointers against the Orlando Magic. While this night is often referred to as the “Nick Anderson Game,” it overshadows the heart-stopping performance of Smith, whose seventh and final three came with the Rockets down by three, Penny Hardaway’s hand in his face, and time running out. Houston would go on to win the game in overtime, sweeping their way to a second consecutive title.

Game: 1993 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 4

There was a conspicuous absence from the Celtics’ 1993 crunch-time lineup, as Larry Bird had retired and been replaced by the immortal Xavier McDaniel. Nevertheless, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, and others saw the last vestiges of the Celtics’ dynasty crumble in the least likely of places: Charlotte, North Carolina.

With 3.3 seconds to play and the Hornets up 2-1 in their first round best-of-five series, the Celtics had a chance return to the fabled Boston Garden for the deciding game if they could just hold their 103-102 lead. Parish—who was supposed to be guarding center Alonzo Mourning—got caught watching Kendall Gill coming off a screen and forgot about his own man, freeing Mourning to hit an improbable fadeaway from the top of the key at the buzzer and thus end the series.

Game: 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 4

Cleveland had barely gotten over the trauma of Jordan over Ehlo in 1989 when the teams met again in the 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals. This was a much more one-sided series, and with the Bulls up 3-0 and the clock winding down on a tied Game 4, it felt almost inevitable that MJ would once again put an emphatic end to the Cavaliers’ season. And end it he did.

With the game tied at 101, the Bulls brought the ball up the court and simply dribbled out the clock until seven seconds remained, at which point BJ Armstrong dumped the ball into Jordan in the high post. His Airness simply dribbled with his back to the defender, fired a turnaround as time expired despite having two hands in his face, and calmly raised his hands in victory as the Bulls moved on to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Game: 1976 NBA Finals, Game 5

The 1976 NBA Finals between the Suns and Celtics will never be discussed as one of the great series in basketball history; however, Game 5 went down as one of the most memorable games in NBA history, and that game’s hero (despite the fact that he ended up on the losing side) was Phoenix’s Gar Heard. With the series tied 2-2, the game already in a second overtime, and the Celtics leading by one after a go-ahead jumper by John Havlicek, a bizarre sequence saw a Chris Webber-esque timeout intentionally called by Suns’ guard Paul Westphal.

The rules at the time gave the back to Phoenix at half court after Boston made the technical foul shot, and Phoenix’s Gar Heard hit a turnaround jumper as time expired to tie the game and send it into triple overtime. Sadly for the Suns, the hometown Celtics would go on to win in the third OT and clinch the series the following game.

Game: 1995 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 4

The “Dunking Dutchman” did not always have to be throwing the ball down to be effective. The Indiana Pacers’ Rik Smits was often an unsung hero for the mid/late-90s era Pacers teams that were perennial contenders, and in Game 4 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals he put his skills outside of the paint on display. Indiana trailed by one point with 1.3 seconds on the clock, but with Shaquille O’Neal and Horace Grant having fouled out they lacked frontcourt depth on the floor. Smits got the inbounds pass at the elbow and faked Tree Rollins right out of the gym, giving himself a nice clear sight line to the hoop so he could bury the shot and even the series at two games apiece.

Game: 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Until Vince Carter’s buzzer beater on Friday night, LeBron James’ straight-on three pointer to win Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals was the last time a playoff game had been settled with a made basket and the clock showing 0.0 seconds. The favored Cavaliers were perilously close to dropping consecutive home games and falling behind 2-0 in the series, and they trailed by two points after a Hedo Turkoglu runner gave the Magic the lead with exactly one second to play. Despite the pressure of the moment and having Turkoglu right in his face, James gathered the inbounds pass from Mo Williams and calmly buried a fadeaway 23 footer to give his team the win and even the series. LeBron’s legacy as a clutch player took a giant leap forward right along with it.

Game: 1997 NBA Finals, Game 1

Michael Jordan’s legendary NBA Finals performances are, of course, too numerable to mention in one paragraph. He hit countless game-winning shots in his six appearances, but only one time did he bury a jumper as time expired to win a Finals game. That would be in 1997, where the Bulls and Jazz met in the famous “the Mailman doesn’t deliver on Sunday” game.

After MVP Karl Malone bricked two free throws with 9.2 seconds to go that would have put the Jazz ahead, Jordan dribbled out the clock until launching a game-winning 20 footer to give the Bulls the edge in the series. It also cemented Malone’s reputation as a guy who came up short in the clutch, something that would again come up the following year after Jordan stripped him in the waning seconds of Game 6 of the 1998 Finals.

Game: 1997 Western Conference Finals, Game 4

Eddie Johnson was the definition of a basketball journeyman by the time the ball found his hands in the dying seconds of Game 4 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals. After a successful run in the NBA from 1981 through 1994 playing for four different teams, he had played a year in the Greek league before returning stateside and playing two seasons for the Pacers before joining the Rockets.

Houston sure was glad they picked him up, though; with the game tied at 92 and the Rockets down 2-1 in the series, Johnson ended up with the ball after Clyde Drexler was swarmed by a double team and passed it off to Matt Maloney, who saw an open Johnson nearby and dished it off for the game-winning shot. This would, unfortunately for Houston, be the high point of the series as they went on to drop the next two games and see their season end.

Game: 1970 NBA Finals, Game 3

The great tragedy of this all-time great Jerry West moment is that no footage seems to exist. If something like this—an almost full court heave to send an NBA Finals game to overtime—had happened in 2014, Twitter would probably explode. In 1970, though, it meant very little. It’s also important to remember that it only counted for two points, as the three point line had not even been adopted yet.

The Lakers were trailing 102-100 at the time after Dave DeBusschere had just given the Knicks the lead, and West simply had to get as far up the court as he could before chucking up his 60 foot prayer. While his initial prayer was answered, the Lakers ended up losing in overtime despite West’s 34 points and dropped the series in seven games.

Game: 1986 Western Conference Finals, Game 5

It looked like a Celtics-Lakers showdown in the 1986 NBA Finals was inevitable; however, the Houston Rockets’ Ralph Sampson clearly had other ideas. He took it right to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the entire Western Conference Finals, averaging 20.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game for the series. In Game 5 with his team up 3-1 in the series and the game tied 112-112, Sampson saw his number called one last time. The inbounds pass from Rodney McCray came with Sampson’s back to the hoop and Kareem right in his shirt, but in one motion he leapt, caught the ball, turned half way around, and released a shot that hit the back iron and dropped through as the horn sounded, sending the Rockets on to the Finals.

Game: 2002 Western Conference Finals, Game 4

Anybody who has watched playoff basketball knows all about “Big Shot Rob.” Robert Horry made a name for himself as a crunch time assassin first with the Rockets, then with the Lakers, and finally with the Spurs. Of all his huge playoff moments (and there are many to choose from), this is the most clutch of them all. The Lakers—trailing by two points in the game and 2-1 in the series—were in huge trouble against their archrivals, the Sacramento Kings.

After both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal missed point blank attempts to tie the game, it looked like Sacramento was going to put a stranglehold on the series. The Kings’ Vlade Divac, attempting to simply knock the ball into empty space and ice the game, instead tapped the rock into the waiting hands of Horry, who calmly buried a three at the buzzer and set the Lakers on course for their third straight NBA title.

Game: 2004 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 5

One of the most underrated aspects of Derek Fisher’s famous “0.4” shot is that it totally overshadows an absolutely incredible make by Tim Duncan just before. With the Lakers up by one, Duncan hit a fadeaway jumper from the top of the key with Shaq in his face to push his team in front. It looked like San Antonio was going to take a 3-2 series lead, and that the Lakers would be ceding home court advantage as they headed back to Staples Center to try to keep their season alive.

Fisher’s improbable (and Spurs fans might argue, impossible) speed in collecting the ball, spinning, and firing up a shot makes this one of the highest degree of difficulty buzzer beaters in the history of postseason basketball, and while it did not propel them to a title, it certainly helped spark them to their fourth Finals appearance in five years.

Game: 1989 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 5

Poor Cleveland. All you have to do is mention “The Shot,” and a Cavalier fan will immediately sink their head in despair. It’s not a good sign when one of your franchise’s signature moments is when they’re on the receiving end of a series-clinching shot, and in particular it is the enduring highlight of Craig Ehlo’s entire 14-year career.

Cleveland led Game 5 of the first round, best-of-five series 100-99 with just three seconds to go, which unfortunately was more than enough time for a young Michael Jordan. MJ’s incredible hangtime introduced the world to why he was known as “His Airness,” and Ehlo’s dejected arm flop/total body collapse fully encapsulated just how gut-punching a moment that shot was for the Cleveland fans forced to watch it live.

Game: 1997 Western Conference Finals, Game 6

The Utah Jazz held a 3-2 series lead over the Houston Rockets in the 1997 Western Conference Finals, but with just 2.8 seconds to play in Game 6 and the scored tied at 100, they had to draw up a perfect out of bounds play just to get a shot off. Thanks in no small part to a strong (some would say moving) screen set by Karl Malone, John Stockton freed himself from both Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler, took the inbounds pass from Byron Russell, and buried a three pointer at the buzzer to send the Jazz to the Finals. It capped a remarkable fourth quarter flurry from Stockton, who scored 13 points in the game’s final 3:13 to push his team into the first NBA Finals in franchise history.