The best buzzer-beaters in basketball history

Cincinnati and UConn were engaged in a classic in the American Athletic Conference Tournament in 2016, but it looked like the Bearcats were going to come out on top in three overtimes. They held an 88-85 lead with just 0.8 seconds left and UConn needing to go the length of the floor with no timeouts. Freshman guard Jalen Adams had other ideas. Adams finished with a career-high 22 points, and the Huskies won the quarterfinal matchup, 104-97.

Everything means more when North Carolina and Duke, college basketball’s biggest rivals, do battle. That extends to buzzer-beaters, too. The Blue Devils were down three in overtime in a 1995 battle with the Tar Heels, but got new life thanks to a missed free throw. Capel took the outlet pass, took a few dribbles just inside of half court, and buried a running three-pointer just before the clock hit zeroes. Ultimately, his heroics weren’t enough, as North Carolina went on to win, 102-100.

Clark turned women’s college basketball — and really, the basketball world at-large — on its ear over the last two years. In addition to her routinely audacious shooting performances, she also had a flair for the dramatic, hitting a few buzzer-beaters to send Iowa to victory. You could go with her logo ball to beat Michigan State, but I’m partial to her off-balance, contested winner against Indiana, particularly since the Hawkeyes were down two at the time, whereas her winner over the Spartans came in a tie game. 

There’s really so much to love about Drew’s iconic winner that sent 13th-seeded Valparaiso past Mississippi in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. There’s the dynamite inbounds pass, the perfectly drawn-up and executed catch and tip pass, and then Drew’s three, which he later admitted he thought was short when he let it go. His flopping celebration? Also great. Add it all up and you have a buzzer-beater that has real staying power, more than a quarter century later. 

Top-ranked Syracuse was on the road and on the ropes in 2014 against one of their bitter rivals, the 25th-ranked Pitt Panthers. Things appeared grim for the Orange, as they were down 56-55 with 4.4 seconds left, and had to go the length of the court. Enter Tyler Ennis. Despite tight defense all the way up the court, and multiple Panthers flying at him as he rose to shoot, he buried a 35-footer to keep Syracuse atop the rankings and send Pitt fans home unhappy.

If you’re a basketball fan to any significant degree, you know that the minimum amount of time necessary to catch and shoot is 0.3 seconds. You also probably know that actually executing a shot in that time is exceptionally difficult. The 2004 Western Conference Semifinals series was knotted at two, and the Lakers were staring at a 73-72 deficit after Tim Duncan put the Spurs ahead with a contested fallaway jumper over Shaquille O’Neal. Los Angeles had just 0.4 seconds on the clock, but that was no problem for Fisher. The whole sequence is worth your time. 

Jim Calhoun’s UConn Huskies were anything but a perennial national power in 1990. In fact, that year’s team being a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament was a surprising development. That said, they cruised through the first two rounds before meeting fifth-seeded Clemson in the Sweet 16. It looked like Calhoun’s run would end there; Clemson led 70-69 with one second left, and UConn needing to go the length of the court. Scott Burrell’s inbounds pass found George, who barely got off the winning turnaround jumper as time expired. 

The Nets and Sixers were locked in a tight battle in February 2009, and truth be told, while it was a close game, it would normally have been just another forgotten contest in a very long, grinding NBA season. Philadelphia took a 96-95 lead with 1.8 seconds left. The Nets were out of timeouts. Trying to describe in words what New Jersey’s Devin Harris did next would not do it justice. I’ve watched it three or four times already, and still can’t believe it happened. 

The Magic were already up 1-0 in their 2009 Eastern Conference Finals series against James and the Cavaliers. Cleveland could ill afford to head to Orlando down 2-0. Cleveland was down 95-93 with just one second left when James played hero, hitting a contested catch-and-shoot three over Hedo Turkgolu to give Cleveland a 96-95 victory. Alas, it wasn’t enough, as the Magic went on to win the series in six games. 

A national championship decided by a true buzzer-beater? That’s a rarity. That’s also what we got in 2016, when Villanova, a No. 2 seed, locked horns with top-seeded North Carolina in the title game. The teams waged a back-and-forth battle all night, punctuated by a double-clutch, game-tying Marcus Paige three. Villanova was left with 4.7 seconds to get a good shot. Kris Jenkins gave them a great one. And Grant Hill called it. 

The 11th-seeded Panthers were locked in a tight battle with sixth-seeded Texas in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Texas had just tied the game at 72 on a floater with 2.7 seconds left. Instead of calling a timeout, Northern Iowa inbounded the ball to Jesperson, who took one dribble, cut to the middle of the court, and heaved in a prayer that banked home, thrilling the crowd and sending the Longhorns packing. 

Sure, we could cite Jordan’s buzzer-beater to down the Jazz in Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals. It was a true buzzer-beater, and it was another example of Jordan at his most unstoppable. But that shot happened after he was firmly entrenched as the best player on Earth. The more memorable shot, the shot that broke the hearts of an entire city, and really started his rise to true superstardom? That happened in Cleveland, in the decisive fifth game of the first round of the 1989 Eastern Conference Playoffs. A guy named Craig Ehlo was playing defense. 

Kukoc’s last-second thriller, a contested turnaround jumper from the top of the key that sent the Bulls past the Knicks in Game 3 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals, was notable not only for how impressive the shot was, but also for the fact that Scottie Pippen, angry that Phil Jackson drew up the last play for Kukoc, refused to take the court for the final seconds. Kukoc had just six points prior to his final shot, and while it thrilled the home crowd, the Knicks ultimately dispatched the Bulls in seven games on their way to an NBA Finals appearance.

There’s a compelling case to be made that Laettner’s shot to beat Kentucky and send Duke to the 1992 Final Four is the most famous shot in college basketball history. Kentucky’s Sean Woods had just hit a running bank shot to give the Wildcats a 103-102 lead with just 2.1 seconds left in overtime. That set the stage for Laettner, who took a perfect 75-foot inbounds pass from Grant Hill, calmly delivered a shoulder fake, spun, and hit a turnaround jumper for the win. Laettner’s shot capped a 31-point night that saw him go 10-for-10 from the field, and 10-for-10 from the line. The Blue Devils went on to win back-to-back national titles.

One of the occasionally annoying things about sports movies is that they usually make game action more over-the-top than it actually is, primarily for dramatic purposes. I defy you to watch Leonard’s shot, which sent the Raptors to the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals, and tell me Hollywood could have done it any better. The ball bouncing on the rim, the crowd’s anguished wait, Leonard’s uncertainty about whether the ball would go through, even the announcing team’s stunned reaction — it’s all perfect. Unless you’re a 76ers fan, of course.

A contested 37-footer is probably not what most coaches would draw up for a game-winning shot. Heck, it’s probably not what most players would attempt. Most players are not Lillard, of course. Portland’s point guard delivered an unbelievable dagger to the Thunder, completing a 4-1 series victory for the Trail Blazers in the 2019 Western Conference First Round by burying a three over Paul George. It’s hard to blame George, who probably figured Lillard would try something other than take a half step inside the logo and fire. 

If we’re going for sheer clutch shots, did anyone on this list have a better two-game run than Ogunbowale? First, she sent Notre Dame past undefeated UConn in the national semifinals with a step-back jumper that swished through with just a second remaining. She one-upped herself in spectacular fashion two days later with a true buzzer-beater to take down 37-1 Mississippi State, and win a title for the Irish. Seriously, check out the swish, and the degree of difficulty. One of the best, most significant buzzer-beaters ever. 

Half of the charm of Reed’s game-winning heave to send Arkansas past defending national champion Louisville in the 1981 NCAA Tournament is how dated the whole thing looks. There’s Bryant Gumbel throwing it to Marv Albert, who has to take the throw, set the scene, and call Reed’s shot all within about a four-second span. Albert nailed the call just as much as Reed nailed the shot. This image doesn’t match what I’m describing? Of course it doesn’t, but it is an Arkansas-Louisville basketball matchup. Guess that means you’ll have to watch the video for yourself. 

Before Arike Ogunbowale or Caitlin Clark, there was Smith. North Carolina trailed Louisiana Tech 59-57 with 0.7 seconds left in the 1994 National Championship Game. With the Tar Heels inbounding from under the basket, Smith slipped away from traffic in the lane, caught the ball on the wing, and let fly with a three-pointer. Her aim was true, and North Carolina won their first national title in program history. As a nice footnote to her winning shot, Smith also tied an NCAA Tournament record with 23 rebounds. 

If you’re of a certain age, you remember life BY (Before YouTube). In that bygone era, this may have been the most famous, craziest buzzer-beater you could find on various web sites. It would make the rounds, and almost 20 years later, it’s still almost as wild. We’ll let the video tell the tale. 

(Oh, and congratulations to the 2022 Randolph-Macon Men’s Basketball team, which won the Division III National Championship. Their picture will have to do in the complete absence of any images of the Guilford College basketball team, past or present. Do you think they even know of the horrors visited on their program by Mr. Snipes, nearly 20 years prior? But I digress.)

Depending on who you talk to, the NBA’s rule that a timeout advances the ball to half court in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime is either an ingenious way to create more memorable moments, or a contrivance that unfairly favors the offensive team. One inarguable consequence of the rule is that you rarely see any insane coast-to-coast game-winning shots, or crazy heaves from beyond half court to win a game. Strus pulled off the latter for the Cavaliers against Dallas on Feb. 27, hitting a 65-footer for the 121-119 win. I’d suggest you watch the video. There are a lot of fun nuggets contained within. Well, for non-Mavericks fans, anyway.

The 2021 NCAA Tournament was different from the norm, at least in terms of its presentation. All games were held in the state of Indiana, and venues operated at 25 percent capacity, while the nation still recovered from the initial onslaught of COVID-19. The atmosphere may have been different, but the dramatics were the same. Suggs and Gonzaga were trying to extend their perfect season against 11th-seeded UCLA in the Final Four. A Johnny Juzang layup with 3.3 seconds left looked certain to send the game to a second overtime tied at 90, but Suggs had other ideas, rushing up the floor, pulling up just inside of half court and banking home the winner to end one of the best tournament games this century.

A late jumper by Dave DeBusschere seemed like the dagger for the Lakers in Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals. The Knicks led, 102-100, and there were three seconds on the clock, which was still running. Wilt Chamberlain quickly inbounded the ball to West, who heaved a shot from well beyond half court that found nothing but net, shocking New York and delighting the crowd. Of course, the three-point shot was still years away from coming to the NBA, so the miraculous heave only forced overtime. Ultimately, the Knicks prevailed in the game, 111-108, and took the series in seven games. 

Know what no one else in this fraternity of buzzer-beating shooters can claim? Making one that snapped a 111-game winning streak, like William did. The Mississippi State guard vanquished mighty UConn with an ice-cold jumper from the right elbow after a broken final possession that looked like it might not yield a quality final look. William’s shot propelled the Bulldogs to the National Championship Game in their first-ever Final Four appearance, but they ultimately came up short against South Carolina.