Amongst all of his accolades, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry also holds the unofficial label as the greatest shooter in NBA history. Naturally, a handful of these shots have secured wins for the Dubs.
Let’s look back on the best last-second buckets chef Curry has cooked up. (Of course, Curry has a reel of quarter-ending buzzer-beaters, but we’re sticking to the clutch buckets here.)
7) Curry Downs Dallas, Pt I (Jan. 4, 2018)
Tied 122-122 at the American Airlines Center, Curry lulled the Mavs defense to sleep with an initially slow pace up court. After a Draymond Green screen, Curry burst to the top of the arc for an open look before a lunging Dirk Nowitzki could effectively close out. Ballgame.
6) Curry Puts Kris Humphries on Skates (Jan. 10, 2014)
In a matchup at Oracle Arena vs. the Boston Celtics and the game tied at 97, Curry used a David Lee screen to force a switch off Avery Bradley that left Kris Humphries on a dangerous island. Not surprisingly, Curry torched Humphries (who had already been victimized by Blake Griffin earlier that week), using a killer crossover combination to put Humphries on skates before splashing a deep J with 2.1 seconds to go.
5) Curry Beats the Orlando Magic (Dec. 3, 2014)
Down by two, Warriors coach Mark Jackson smartly elected not to use one of his three remaining timeouts (a theme in these clips). Curry sauntered up-court in rhythm, then hit a sick lefty in-n-out dribble to get Tobias Harris on a yo-yo before smoothly stepping back into a go-ahead three with 02.2 seconds left.
4) Curry Reads The Matrix (Dec. 11, 2013)
Once again, with the game tied, Curry coolly ambled into a game-winner (somebody pick him up full-court!). This time, at 93 a pop with under 20 seconds remaining, Curry was up to the challenge of beating Shawn Marion one-on-one after a switch with Jose Calderon. Curry got a screen from Andrew Bogut, sized up Marion, made a few calculations, then dribbled right with conviction. At the elbow, instead of taking a typical step-back, Curry hit Marion with a nasty up-fake to create an open look and put the Warriors up with 1.5 seconds on the clock.
3) Curry Downs the Mavs, Pt. III (Apr. 1, 2014)
At 120-120 in overtime, after a Jermaine O’Neal rejection/possible goaltend, the Warriors guard took the rock with about 13 seconds remaining. Head coach Steve Kerr saved his timeout, allowing Curry to dice up Jose Calderon. With Klay Thompson chillin’ in the opposite corner and no other Warriors player in position, Curry briefly toyed with Calderon before sinking a step-back dagger with 0.1 seconds remaining.
2) Game 3, Western Conference Semifinals vs. New Orleans Pelicans (Apr. 24, 2015)
An absolute hardwood classic, up 2-0 in the series but trailing by three, Curry’s miraculous shot to send Game 3 to overtime not only displayed his tremendous shot-making, but also his elite re-location ability—a skill that, with his quick release, has enabled him to get off tons of extra shots over his career.
With 9.6 seconds left. the two-time MVP received the inbound and clanked a decent look, only to dash to the corner when he realized David West was hustling down the offensive rebound board. West found Curry, who somehow drained a rainbow fadeaway trey with 2.8 seconds left. You could argue Curry was fouled by two Pelicans on the contest. Even his dad, Dell, looked surprised after that one went in.
1) The “Double Bang” vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (Mar. 3, 2016)
So far, this is the signature shot of Curry’s career, and an epic culmination of one of the greatest regular season games of the century (at least).
118-118 in overtime, Kerr—again—opted against a timeout, letting his point guard confidently mosey up the court. Curry, noticing Russell Westbrook wasn’t picking him up early enough, identified his preferred spot from a few steps away, and pulled up from the ‘D’ in “Thunder” to stun the raucous Oklahoma City crowd with 0.6 seconds remaining.
The best part about this clip is the rare two “bangs” it garnered from an ecstatic, voice-breaking Mike Breen. The only unfortunate detail are the ill-fated sleeved jerseys.
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