If you could have any player in NBA history to take the biggest shot of the game to win the NBA Finals, most would probably pick Michael Jordan or perhaps Kobe Bryant. Some may even consider Kevin Durant. However, not a lot would entrust the ball to LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has carried a perception of coming up short during clutch situations. Likewise, James sometimes passes up shots to open teammates when the game is still up for grabs. Thus, some think the magnitude of the moment may be too big for the four-time NBA champion.
However, if you look through the archives, James has actually made some of the most memorable game-winning shots in NBA history. In fact, The King owns quite a long list of clutch buckets through his 18-year career in the NBA, including most recently his ridiculous 3-pointer over Stephen Curry in the 2021 play-in tournament.
That shot wasn't a buzzer-beater to win the game (it did just beat the shot clock), so it won't be on this list, but here are the five most clutch buzzer-beaters of LeBron James' career.
5. Clutch on both ends in Game 5 vs. Pacers (April 25, 2018)
The 2017-18 Indiana Pacers proved to be a worthy first-round opponent for the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James entered the 2018 postseason with 21 straight wins in the first round, dating back to 2012. The Pacers snapped that when they defeated the Cavaliers in the opening game of the series. Cleveland bounced back and won Game 2, and eventually regained home-court advantage with a four-point win in Game 4.
This set up a pivotal Game 5 with the series knotted at 2-2. The Cavs and Pacers went at it for the entire game. Indiana found itself with a golden chance to steal the game when it had possession with 10 seconds remaining and a three-second difference with the game clock and shot clock. Pacers star Victor Oladipo saw himself in an isolation situation with LeBron James and managed to drive past him to the bucket for what could have been the game-winning layup.
However, James timed the shot with one of his patented chase-down blocks to save the game, leaving 3.0 seconds left on the game clock. With the final possession of the game, the ball went to none other than James, who pulled up at the top of the arc for the game-winning triple over Thaddeus Young. The King buried the game-winner, sending Quicken Loans Arena into a frenzy to secure the series lead.
The win proved to be an important one for the Cavaliers, as Indiana wound up blowing them out in Game 6 on their home floor. Cleveland, however, just managed to squeeze past their gutsy first-round foes with a close four-point win in Game 7.
4. Banker to bury Raptors' hopes and dreams (May 5, 2018)
LeBron James and the Cavaliers had owned the Toronto Raptors in their two previous matchups in the postseason. With Cleveland coming from a grueling seven-game series against the Pacers in the first round and Toronto holding home-court advantage over the Cavaliers, the Raptors had all the confidence in the world that 2018 would finally become the year they would get past their tormentors for the past two years.
However, Toronto fumbled a costly Game 1 with a close, heartbreaking defeat in overtime and got blown out of their own building in Game 2. James’ magnificent performances through the first two contests depleted the confidence of the No. 1 seed in the East that season.
The Raptors, down 2-0 and losing home-court advantage entirely, were essentially done. Nonetheless, they still gave a fighting effort in Game 3. They managed to come back from a double-digit deficit entering the fourth quarter and tied the game with a 3-pointer from then-rookie OG Anunoby with 8.8 seconds remaining.
That time only set up what eventually became another LeBron James masterpiece. Taking the full length of the court, James raced down the floor, got to his spot, and rose up over Anunoby for a picture-perfect floater off the glass to officially take ownership of the Raptors.
James shattered Toronto’s hearts once again and soon enough, the LeBronto memes surfaced all over Twitter. The Cavaliers proceeded to sweep the Raptors in Game 4, but this surely became the defining moment of the series.
3. Jumper to even series vs. Bulls (May 10, 2015)
Derrick Rose sank an impossible off-the-window triple at the buzzer in Game 3 to give the Chicago Bulls the 2-1 series edge over LeBron James and the Cavaliers. With Game 4 still in Chicago, the Bulls threatened to take control of the series with a win at home.
Trailing by seven entering the final period, Cleveland went on a flurry at the beginning of the quarter to retake the lead and take control of the game. The Cavs led by as much as seven in the fourth, but Chicago bounced back and managed to tie the game at 84-apiece with a Derrick Rose layup with 8.4 seconds remaining. Bulls fans were going nuts at this point as they managed to draw an offensive foul on James prior to Rose’s game-tying shot.
With no timeouts left, James raced down the floor and drove to the basket. However, the Bulls blocked his initial layup attempt out of bounds. This, however, still left the Cavaliers 1.5 seconds. With no chance to talk things over and set up a play, James received the ball on the left wing and nailed a well-defended long 2-pointer over the outstretched arms of Jimmy Butler to win the game and even the series.
The Cavaliers ended up winning the rest of the way to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
2. Free lane to bucket to win Game 1 vs. Pacers (May 22, 2013)
The Indiana Pacers gave the Miami Heat a lot of trouble in their second-round series the year before. With another year of experience under the belt of the up-and-coming Pacers, Indiana emerged as Miami’s toughest obstacle in the East. Surely, the Pacers showed up in Game 1 and gave the defending NBA champions all they could handle. Indiana proved to be a scrappy bunch after Paul George swished an impossible 3-pointer over LeBron James with 0.7 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Miami and Indiana traded blows in the extra session. The Heat, up by two with the game winding down, ended up fouling George on a 3 with just a couple of seconds remaining in OT. George confidently sank all three freebies to give the Pacers the lead and the opportunity to steal Game 1.
With 2.2 seconds left, the Heat drew up an amazing floor-spacing play to give James a free lane to the basket for a left-handed layup (with some help from an overplay on defense from George) to win the game and get the 1-0 series lead.
The Heat ended up needing that Game 1 win as Indiana came back in Game 2 to beat Miami. A loss would have been disastrous for the defending champs. Nonetheless, they managed to get rid of the Pacers in a grueling seven-game series to make a return trip to the NBA Finals.
1. Top-of-the-circle 3-pointer vs. Magic (May 22, 2009)
The 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers finished with the best record in the NBA at 61-21. Sweeping their way through the first two rounds of the playoffs, LeBron James and the Cavs looked poised to make their second Finals appearance in three years. Opposite them in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, however, stood the 59-23 Orlando Magic, led by superstar center Dwight Howard.
Entering the East Finals with no defeats, the Cavaliers lost their first game of the playoffs with a heartbreaking one-point loss in Game 1. Cleveland opened Game 2 with a flurry, racing to a lead as large as 23 points in the second quarter. However, the Cavaliers saw their huge lead dissipate as Orlando slowly inched its way back into the game.
The Magic finally tied the game at 93-all off a Hedo Turkoglu triple. The Cavs drew an empty possession on the next play, giving the Magic a prime opportunity to go back to Orlando with a 2-0 series lead. Turkoglu took that golden chance and nailed another clutch bucket to give the Magic the 95-93 lead with a solitary second to go.
With basically their season on the line, the Cavaliers went to James to save the day. The 2008-09 league MVP received the ball at the top of the arc and fired up a high-looping 3-pointer that rattled its way through the hoop. The entire crowd at Quicken Loans Arena went unglued as James celebrated with his teammates.
Unfortunately, Cleveland ended up losing the series in six games as Orlando proved to be too much for them. Nonetheless, this shot is arguably LeBron’s most iconic game-winner of all time.
Follow Us
Subscribe