Rockets

19/04/2024 18:22

Kawhi Leonard's four bounces, Damian Lillard's wave goodbye to Paul George, Kyrie Irving's step back over Steph Curry in the NBA Finals, these are just some of the clutch NBA playoff moments that have elevated current superstars to legendary status.

With the 2024 playoffs set to begin Saturday, what better way to celebrate the highest of stakes than to take a survey of the playoff landscape and examine the best clutch performers this post-season has to offer.

In case you missed it, the NBA has an award rewarding the "clutchness" of a player now and the inaugural recipient of the NBA Clutch Player of the Year award (also known as the Jerry West award) last season was Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox, ahead of Chicago's DeMar DeRozan and Miami's Jimmy Butler.

This list isn't about determining who should win that regular season award, but more so about the 10 players we should most expect to have the biggest moments on the biggest stage in 2024:

KYRIE IRVING

He owns the most clutch playoff moment of any active player with his NBA Finals Game 7 winner against the Warriors back in 2016, and if you think that's too far back a reference point, there's Irving's wonder floater with his left hand to beat the Denver Nuggets from earlier this season:

In the greatest show of respect, he is considered by his own peers to be the most skilled player in the league and his ability to get off a shot against any type of defence and not be weighed down by any circumstance is second to none.

This season, Irving is shooting a mind-boggling 73 per cent on twos during what the NBA defines as clutch minutes (final five minutes of games within five points or fewer) and 42.1 percent on threes. He's also knocked 21 of his 22 free throws.

NIKOLA JOKIC

The Sombor Shuffle is ready for its next post-season tour.

Nikola Jokic may not be one of the first players one thinks of when deciding on clutch, but let's face it, he's not someone who screams best player in the NBA when you look at him, either. The big man delivers from both inside and out and there's not much anyone not named Victor Wembanyama can do to contest his shot. He can make any pass in the book under the highest duress, and is the rare big man you can bank on at the free-throw line as well.

He even made it look Stephortless against the man himself this season:

Jokic finished fourth in clutch scoring this season while shooting 62.3 percent on twos, 39.1 percent on threes, and 81.8 percent at the foul line.

JAMAL MURRAY

Making Jokic all the more dangerous is having Murray as his partner in crime. Frankly, the same can be said vice versa. The Kitchener Shuffle is nasty in its own right and Murray is another guard who can turn crevices into blissful paradise and his clutch playoff exploits beginning with the “Bubble Murray” tour of 2020 make you shake your head in astonishment.

On the season, Murray has shot 64 per cent on twos and 40 per cent on threes in the clutch, as well as a healthy 84.2 per cent at the foul line. There are no good choices when it comes to defending this duo and there's a reason they set the records they did en route to winning the Denver Nuggets its first championship last season.

You're a special kind of clutch when you can call your own "BANG!" with Mike Breen on the mic.

LUKA DONCIC

If accounting for Irving isn't enough, how about Luka Doncic as a Plan B? The Slovenian loves a stepback in the clutch, and with his 6-foot-7 frame, that shot is virtually impossible to contest. Dallas is a terrifying playoff opponent because any close game is a game Doncic and Irving will fancy.

Doncic has shot 50 per cent on twos and 40.9 per cent on threes this season, though he is a pedestrian 76 per cent at the free-throw line. Doncic announced himself on the playoff stage with a game-winner against the L.A. Clippers during the 2020 playoffs, and he'll be licking his chops at the prospect of inflicting more pain on that team in the first round.

DAMIAN LILLARD

We're splitting hairs with this top five. Dame Time took his talents to Milwaukee this season and it didn't take long for the Bucks faithful to get acquainted with his prowess in the clutch.

Lillard finished the regular season with the third-most clutch points, behind only DeRozan and Steph Curry. Uncharacteristically, he only shot 29.5 per cent on his clutch three-point attempts.

His team is going to need an overdose of Dame Time in the first round, though, as Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to miss at least the first couple games of the series against an Indiana Pacers team that wants all the smoke.

LEBRON JAMES

It is absurd that a 39-year-old LeBron James is shooting 71 per cent on twos in the clutch. Maybe it's that old man/dad strength but the fact that he can still play bully ball against younger, top-notch athletes who are supposed to be passing him by speaks to his greatness. It's no coincidence that the Lakers are a league-best 24-9 in games that are within five points or fewer with five minutes remaining.

James probably hasn't got a fair shake from the masses on his efficiency in the clutch over the course of his career but he has gotten it done time and time again with the game on the line. For a career spanning over two decades, 2011 now stands as quite a singular exception.

KAWHI LEONARD

This may be the last season to play the respect card with Leonard when debating a list like this. Canada knows as well as anyone what Leonard is capable of when the stakes are highest but it will soon be five years removed since the Raptors' championship and young pups are on the charge while Leonard tries to have another extended post-season.

The Clippers' lone trip to the conference finals during the Kawhi-PG era came with Leonard on the shelf and this post-season is already starting with the two-time Finals MVP wearing a questionable tag heading into Game 1 against Dallas. The first part of being clutch is actually playing.

SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER

The Hamilton, Ont., native was sensational all season, and part of why he will finish inside the top three in MVP voting is because of his clutch factor. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot 64.6 per cent on twos, 35.7 per cent on threes, and 89.7 per cent on free throws in the clutch this season.

Gilgeous-Alexander showcased that his slithery drive can be effective even when the game grinds to a halt, and this game-winner against the champs was about as tough a move to guard as you can find:

As young as the Thunder are, they went 23-11 in games that were within five points or fewer with five minutes remaining (when SGA played) largely because of the best Canadian player in the league.

ANTHONY EDWARDS

Anthony Edwards is built for the big moments, and it's not just on the offensive side of the ball. His biggest clutch moment this season was a Herculean block in the dying seconds to rescue a victory for the Wolves against the Pacers. The man hit his head on the rim while rejecting the shot…

That's the commitment level he's shown on the defensive end this season and he's shooting 58 per cent on twos in the clutch as well. It's Ant Man's multiverse, we're just living in it.

TYRESE HALIBURTON

Tyrese Haliburton made a name for himself during the In-Season Tournament and the first half of the season where he flirted with MVP candidacy. A hamstring injury scaled back his individual success but it's time to turn over a new page with the playoffs.

Haliburton finished the season shooting 66.7 per cent on twos, 40 per cent on threes, and 94.4 per cent on free throws in the clutch. His biggest three came against Milwaukee at the In-Season Tournament, and he had a big celebration, too, stealing Lillard's go-to move and staring at his imaginary watch.