[BartParticipant]

1. Micheal Jordan
2.Kobe Bean Bryant
3.Allan Houston – Go Knicks!!!
4.Reggie Miller
5.Ray Allen

[D HampParticipant]

In no particular order:

Michael Jordan, Robert Horry, Reggie Miller, Larry Bird and Jerry West.

I hate these types of questions because they forge into an endless debate about who hit what clutch shot, the importance of that shot and the game, magnitude of the moment, ect. There could be 20 guys on this list.

Speaking of which, I don’t know how Ray Allen is on this guy’s list. He may be the “best” shooter in the NBA, but I don’t know him to be a “top five clutch shooter.” Not sure about Allen Houston, either.

“D Hamp is here to bring the truth.”

[weezy15Participant]

Kobe, MJ, reggie miller, Robert horry, chauncey billups

[WälseParticipant]

but anyway, i think Kobe has this rep as an all-time great clutch shooter, when statistically he is far from it. cant argue with D Hamps list at all. i’ll second what he said.

[TONYDABOSS77Participant]

reggie miller,jordan,kobe,jerry west,ray allen

[sheltwon3Participant]

I think Kobe has hit some of biggest shots at key playoff moments and that is why he is given that clutch player hype because he is a person that even if you know he is taking the last shot you can no stop him. I would have go with Reggie Miller, Kobe, MJ, Billups, Ben Gordon. Gordon is on his way to becoming one of the top clutch players and may earn himself a decent contract in these hard economic times.

[michaelds911Participant]

1) Michael Jordan – When you think of clutch shots, you think of the greatest. Just ask the Cavs and the Jazz….His two prime victims.

2) Robert Horry – Even if he sat the bench the whole game, you would put him in if there was 2 seconds left and you were down a bucket. Chris Webber probably would have had a ring, and the Piston most likely would have won their second if it wasn’t for “Big Shot Bob.”

3) Reggie Miller – Him hitting the 3, then getting the steal, then hitting another 3 all in 5 seconds against the Knicks is forever embedded in my mind.

4) Kobe Bryant – He would be at the number 2 spot, but most of his clutch shots are in the regular season. When he starts to create some post season dramatics he’ll get bumped up in my books.

5) Stephen Curry – I don’t care if he hasn’t proven anything in the league yet. What he did in the ’08 tourney was down right ridiculous.

[D HampParticipant]

Stephen Curry over Jerry West? West hit major shots in all of his SIX NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS…………. Too bad he only won one of those six champtinships.

[AntonioDanielsParticipant]

You have to realize there’s a difference between one’s favorites and who they really consider the best.

My top 5 favorite clutch shooters in no order:

1) allan houston

2) ray allen

3) reggie miller — absolute worst knick killer, but i probably have more respect for him than any other player aside from jordan

4) larry bird

5) dirk nowitzki

Actual top 5 in no order:

1) reggie miller

2) jerry west

3) larry bird

4) michael jordan

5) robert horry

[WälseParticipant]

feb 13, 09

i got this from a study comparing Kobe and Lebron. if anyone wants the entire article let me know. its pretty interesting.

“Game Winning Shot Opportunity = 24 seconds or less left in the game, team with the ball is either tied or down by 1 to 2 points.”

Here are the results, sorted by number of game winning shots.

Rank Player Fgm Fga Fg% Ftm Fta Ast T/O
0 League Wide 853 2858 0.298 610 815 352 296

1 LeBron James 17 50 0.34 14 20 6 4
2 Vince Carter 16 51 0.314 10 11 3 4
3 Ray Allen 15 39 0.385 4 6 1 2
4 Kobe Bryant 14 56 0.25 12 15 1 5
5 Carmelo Anthony13 27 0.481 7 11 1 4
5 Allen Iverson 13 33 0.394 6 8 1 2
7 Ben Gordon 12 34 0.353 6 6 1 4
7 Dirk Nowitzki 12 37 0.324 13 18 1 3
7 Joe Johnson 12 45 0.267 2 3 4 2
10 Paul Pierce 11 32 0.344 15 17 9 3
10 Dwyane Wade 11 40 0.275 13 17 3 2

Here we see Lebron is the NBA leader over the last five years in game winning shots. It’s hard to be too adamant about Kobe being the better clutch player based on these numbers. I also want to quote what 82games has to say about both players. I want to point out that Lebron’s FG percent is above the league average and Kobe is worse. First on Leborn, “LeBron James was just 4-19 in our previous look at game winning shots , so in the ensuing two and a half seasons, he has come up with very respectable 13-31 (.419) record and just the other day had a pure game winner at the buzzer to top the Warriors. In addition he has six assists and a healthy number of free throws earned.” On Kobe they have this to say, “…and then we get to Kobe Bryant . Kobe fans don’t like to hear it, but while their man is #4 in the league in total game winners hit, he holds the top spot in a less glamorous category: most game winning opportunity missed shots

[Mr. BasketballParticipant]

baron davis was the clutchest player of all time this season, for the opposing team. Whenever the other team needed a stop, he made sure to turn the ball over or jack up a wild 3. It does not get any more clutch than that.

[WälseParticipant]

i know the topic is “clutch shooters” but i think this is interesting nonetheless & i thought some of you might appreciate this.

The next argument that people will use in defense of Kobe is what he does in the clutch, which is, admittedly impressive. One thing that I take umbrage with though, is in making arguments like this (or for that matter his ability to create his own shot) it is dismissive of what Lebron does. Would anyone argue that Lebron, the player 66 percent of NBA players say is the most athletic , can’t create his own shots? Kobe is fantastic at it, but so is Lebron. The same applies for what happens in “clutch” time, you know when the game is on the line and the clock is ticking down. 82games.com has another stat that I like, “Clutch” stats. This measure points per 36 minutes when there is less than 5 minutes remaining in overtime, and the lead is five points or less either way. Here are the current leaders.
Player Pts
1 James 55.4
2 Anthony 54.7
3 Bryant 53.9
4 Wade 50.2
5 Paul 49.8
6 Nowitzki 42.3
7 Hamilton 41.6
8 Roy 40.5
9 Pierce 39.3
10 Billups 38.7

Note Lebron James is leading and Bryant is third. Anthony is probably the most underrated “clutch” player in the game and is second. This though only starts to demonstrate how much better Lebron is in the clutch. Here are more of the stats.
Player Fga Fg% 3pA 3p% Fta Ft% Pts Reb Ast T/o Blk Stl
Kobe 39 47.90% 7.7 50.00% 13.7 92.00% 53.9 9.9 6 1.6 0 0.5
Lebron 30.8 50.00% 8.5 36.40% 24.6 87.00% 55.4 16.2 11.5 7.7 0.8 3.1

So Lebron is taking far fewer shots but scoring more points. This is in part because he is far better at getting to the line (11 more free throw attempts per 36 minutes!!!) and partly because he has a higher shooting percentage. I also want to point towards a few other things. Look at the colossal rebound numbers (16.2) and assist numbers (11.5). The defensive stats are also enormously in Lebron’s favor. In fact the only areas where Kobe stands out are 3 pointers and turnovers. Admittedly the 7.7 turnover rate is way on the steep side, but considering how much he’s doing it’s hard to complain. All in all it’s very difficult to make a case that Kobe is better in the clutch than Lebron.

[nthegoodlifeParticipant]

Why does it measure points per 36 min(kind of random)? Isn’t there always less than 5min in ot (after tip). Just worded odd, thats all. BTW, what kind of shot? A spot up open J, or creating a shot. There’s a huge difference between the two, also very few players would intertwine between these two.

[D HampParticipant]

I’m from Denver. Most of Melo’s game winning shots came the year before Iverson came to town, or three seasons ago. He hit about seven game winning shots before the all-star break. He hasn’t done much since. He did hit a game-winning shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder this year when the were on track for the worst NBA season record.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

I know for a while, i dont know about now, but for a while he had the best percentagte for game winners in the current NBA

[michaelds911Participant]

I’m only going to put people and moments that I have actually seen or remember vividly. I’m not going to front and say Jerry West, because in reality I’ve probably only seen one or two games of his.

P.S.- When you look and see how horrible Davidson does when Steph Curry isn’t playing, it makes what he did in the tourney even more amazing.

[KATASTROPHEParticipant]

Jordan, Miller, Larry Legend, Magic, Kobe

[bluedevils12Participant]

Jordan, Kobe, rob horry, Reggie Miller, and ray ray

[WälseParticipant]

Kobe Bryant is so freakin overrated as a clutch player! it pisses me off! sorry, had to get that off my chest. go ahead and call me a hater now. lol

[WälseParticipant]

is it just me, or does Ben Gordon not know how to use the pass button. he forces more shots than anybody in the NBA. when he’s hot, he’s the man. but when he’s cold he will kill your team, and he wont ever stop shooting. gotta love his confidence though.

[sheltwon3Participant]

Lebron Clutch numbers are better because he can use his drive more effectively in the closing moments of games. I do see your argument and we should probably add Lebron to the mix. The thing with Carmelo is like what do said. He was super clutch that one year and now you don’t hear to much about him in the clutch especially since now they have Billups.

[cprizz15Participant]

Pierce hit some pretty big shots this year/playoffs last year..

[WälseParticipant]

i’m still not sure why 36 minutes. it is odd. i think it should be inside 5 minutes OR in overtime, and the lead is less than 5. thanks for pointing that out.

[nthegoodlifeParticipant]

Similar question –

Would anybody here have one of their shooters taking either type of shot? For instance, you might take Reggie Miller for your off a screen shot, but would you take him for creating one as well?

Just curious what and who you guys would say.

[Author]

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