Top 5 Clutch Players in the Last Twenty Years

When looking at which players are the best in the clutch we have to consider more than just hitting the game winner. As you will see in this list the players higher up don’t only hit a single shot to win the game they make about 3 or 4 shots leading up to the game winner as well. These guys are the best at making huge shots in big moments to ensure they come out with the W.

Honourable Mentions:

Gilbert Arenas
Known as Mr Video Game or Agent Zero for a good reason he was one of the best shooters in the league. He made long range threes look easy. His best game winners include a long range three he hit against Utah on the buzzer and against Chicago with two defenders draped on him.

Tracy McGrady
Unfortunately T-Mac’s career was forced short, who knows how good he may have been. However we saw how good he could be when he scored 13 points in 35 seconds in a playoff game against the Spurs. He has a total of 6 game winners in his career including one in Game 2 vs Dallas over Dirk Nowitzki.

Derek Fisher

Derek Fisher does not get enough credit for his part in the Lakers dynasty that won 5 championships. He wasn’t the most athletic or the most skilled but over his time as a player he is one of the best in the crunch time.
His best performances include:
The lay up against Boston in Game 3 of the Finals
Those two three pointers against Orlando in game 4 of the Finals giving the Lakers an insurmountable lead.

And of course the 0.4 shot VS the Spurs

5. Ray Allen
Ray has had some incredible game winners most of them coming from behind the 3 point line. He has a total of 16 game winners in his career

Some of his best include the 2009 playoffs vs Chicago where he hit the game winning 3 in double OT

Against Philly he made a game tying 3 then the game winning 3 only seconds later

While in Seattle he hit the game winner after the score was tied 149-149
But his best shot and probably the biggest shot ever hit in the last 20 years was the game tying 3 that saved Miami’s season and sent game 6 to overtime.

4. Robert Horry
Robert Horry is known for his ability to hit game winners. He has been one of the most clutch players to ever play the game

In 2002 Game 3 vs Blazers he hit a game winning 3 with 2 seconds left
In the 2005 NBA Finals with the Spurs Game 5 he scored a 3 with 5.8 seconds left to go up by one and seal the win

And his most recognizable shot was in 2002 WCF Game 4 where he made the 3 with seconds to spare against the Kings.

3. Reggie Miller

There is not much to say about Reggie. One of the fiercest competitors and best 4^th quarter players to ever play the game. In game 5 of the 199 ECF he made 25 points in the fourth quarter against the Knicks. In the following year he scored 8 points in the final 9 seconds to win the game from what seemed an impossible position.

In game 4 in 1998 against the Bulls Reggie made the game winner over Michael Jordan to tie the series at 2-2 after being down 2-0.

2. Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan has a total of 25 game winners the second most in NBA history.

He has ‘The Shot’ in Game 5 against Cleveland where he sealed the series for Chicago. In 1997 he made the game winner against Utah to win game 1. His most famous shot is in his final game as a Bull where he stole the ball from Karl Malone and on the other end hit the game winner to win the Championship in Game 6.

1. Kobe Bryant

Kobe has the most game winners ever in the history of the game with 36. But what makes Kobe so good is that he will hit the last 3 shots of the game and all of them can seem impossible. When it comes down to making impossible shots there is no one that has ever played the game better than Kobe Bryant. We saw an example this year against Toronto where Kobe made three, three pointers in the clutch after the Lakers looked like they were about to lose. In 2004 he made an impossible shot against the Trailblazers to force OT then another one to win the game. His most memorable clutch performance was against the Suns in game 4. Kobe made a ridiculous floater lay up to send the game into Overtime and then he hit the game winner over Raja Bell to seal the victory. 

Here is possibly Kobe's best clutch performance:

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