Who’s more clutch than Gilbert?It’s time for the Finals, where superstars cement their reps as crunch-time performers and role players can build a legacy on being known as clutch. Just look at the ’90s-era Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan’s six rings established him as the game’s most legendary clutch player — arguably the most clutch athlete in any sport, ever — and guys like John Paxson and Steve Kerr will be forever known for delivering when it mattered most. With that in mind, we took a look at today’s NBA ballers to craft a list of the League’s Top 10 clutch players …
10. Manu Ginobili — Hate him or love him, the guy hits big shots on the regular. He specializes in hitting the dagger three that sends teams to the showers with an L.
9. Gilbert Arenas — Remember the game-winners against Utah and Milwaukee this year? Remember the flurry of crunch-time buckets while scoring 54 points on the Suns and 60 on the Lakers? Bottom line, you don’t want to see the clock ticking down and Agent Zero with the ball in his hands if you’re playing or rooting for the other team. Last year Gilbert went shot-for-shot with LeBron in the first round of the playoffs; imagine if he had been healthy this year? The Cavs might be watching the Finals instead of playing in them.
8. Baron Davis — Whether hitting a step-back three or steamrolling a defender to the bucket, no one on the Warriors hits more big shots than B-Diddy. Watching him dispose of the Mavericks on a shaky knee got him a spot on this list.
7. Derek Fisher — 0.04 seconds. ‘Nuff said. Fish doesn’t have star status, but he has a history of hitting big shots in the playoffs. One of this year’s memorable postseason moments was Fisher dealing with a family crisis and still hitting shots to ice a Utah home win over Golden State. He’s either an undersized two-guard or a point guard without much of a handle, but there’s a reason he’s always on the court when his team is in a tight spot.
6. Allen Iverson — He’s been doing it for years … he just has no hardware to show for it (other than the ‘01 MVP). But if you’ve been following A.I., you know he carried some sorry Philly teams to a lot of wins in games they had no business winning. Now that he’s paired with ‘Melo, maybe a championship is finally in the works.
5. LeBron James — Hitting just about every significant shot in this Cleveland run to the Finals gets ‘Bron on this list. And remember the postseason game-winners he hit last year?
4. Carmelo Anthony — Knocked down 11 game-winners during the ‘05-06 season, more than anyone else in the League. Even with another Top-10 clutch player on his team (A.I.), ‘Melo is still the guy Denver goes to if they need a crucial bucket.
3. Dwyane Wade — On his way to leading the Heat to last year’s ‘chip, Wade got into the lane, got to the line, hit every jumper necessary, made some big-time defensive plays, and basically did whatever needed to be done to get a ring.
2. Kobe Bryant — Who else is gonna take the last shot? Everyone knows he’s getting the ball in the clutch, and they still can’t do anything to stop him.
1. Robert Horry — You wouldn’t ever design a play for him, or let him try and take someone 1-on-1 for a crucial score, but Big Shot Bob is still the game’s most clutch player. He’s hit clincher after clincher in the postseason for the Spurs, Lakers and Rockets. That’s why he’s on the verge of getting his seventh ring.
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June 7th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
rob stewart says:
Basketball and God. check it out, here is a link:
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/06/02/praying-shot/
June 7th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
dank says:
aye Kyle, i agree with the names on your list (9 out of 10), but not the order in which you put em in. thats cute…robert horry being more clutch than Kobe. i dont think that out of the active players today, anyone beats kobe. he saved the lakers from an 8 game losing streak against the blazers with 3 after 3, (oh and scored 65 by the way). he hit a late 3 to send a game to overtime against the rockets (falling out of bounds) dude is clutch for entire games, not just for 1 shot in the 4th quarter. im not even going to try to argue anymore because it wouldn’t be fair to anyone else on this list. that’s why he deserves more praise than anyone else.
now, here’s how we fix this list: move horry down to 6th or 7th. remove my countrymate manu ginobili (i can name you 10 argentinean players better than ginobili, ending with me). bump up Agent 0 to 2nd and put d wade 3rd, melo, lebron, AI, B-diddy, D-fish, Big shot Bob, KG (hit a couple gamewinners this year, props for taking it upon himself, prolly woulda had more if it werent for Ricky Suckets) and spot #10 is up for grabs.
im sure there’s a few good players i missed, so please, feel free to rub it in my face everybody. just dont remove kobe from #1 and you’re guarenteed breathing for the rest of your life. and please DO NOT even TRY to add Nowitzki or Nash because you will be castrated. have a good day.
June 7th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Frank F says:
I can’t comprehend how Manu made this list. I made a list of top ten floppers, and he just edged out Vlade Divacs for the number one spot. But seriously, how is Ginobli and Baron Davis on this list, but there is no T-Mac or Chauncey? That’s unacceptable.
June 7th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Celts Fan says:
I was reading this, waiting to rip you for having Horry 2nd to Kobe. Well done for knowing that clutch and overall ability are 2 different things. I’d probably take out Manu (awful foul on Dirk in game 7 last year) and maybe Baron and put in Paul Pierce (who’s hit some big shots over the past few years that no one’s seen cuz we suck) and Chauncey (Mr. Big Shot is very undeserved, but the bottom 10 most clutch, absolutely) at the end, but I have no complaints about the list. Well done guys….
June 7th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Austin Burton says:
Seeing as T-Mac has his history of first-round exits, I can’t argue too hard for him being named as a Top-10 clutch player. Then again, that 13 points in 30 seconds was real clutch. Good call on Pierce, CeltsFan (no bias there, I’m sure); I’d put him in my Top 10. And I’d probably add Cassell.
June 7th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Girlybballluver says:
Lebron James should not be on this list!!
June 7th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Horace B says:
Hey Dank, could you please tell us the other 9 Argentineans that are better than Manu? Thanks! BTW what NBA team do YOU play for?!
June 7th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Kyle says:
Pierce almost made the list. But no one has heard anything out of the Celtics in forever. Like Austin said T-Mac loses in the 1st round every year. How clutch is that?
June 7th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
boris says:
Stupid foul last year aside, Ginobli is the key scorer for the Spurs when things start tightening up in the playoffs in the 3rd and 4th quarters. He deserves his spot. Good list, but there are too many differences between regular season clutchness (Melo) and playoff clutchness (Horry, Billups, etc.). Melo has yet to do anything in the playoffs so I wouldn’t have him on my list, but if yr taking regular season into account then maybe Horry has to drop. Good list anyway.
June 7th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
dank says:
wow, Frank F just handed me the dagger. I forgot my alltime favorite player, Tmac. i feel like an idiot. im going to shoot myself.
hey Horace: Gladly!, and just for shits and giggles ill add in 5 more argentinean basketball players better than ginobili.
1)Andres Nocioni (Bulls)
2)Carlos Delfino (Detroit Basketball)
3)Luis Scola (Spain, draft rights to Spurs)
4)Fabricio Oberto (Spurs)
5)Pepe Sanchez (Played for the Warriors)
6)Ruben Wolkowyski (he played somewhere in the US)
7)Diana Taurasi (parents are argentinean)
8)my 5 foot 10, 11 year old sister (El Toro Girls NJB)
9)my 16 year old brother (Mission Viejo High School)
10)Walter Herrmann (Bobcats)
11)Daniel Farabello (Europe?)
12)Leonardo Gutierrez (Europe)
13)Gabriel Fernandez (Europe)
14)Pablo Prigioni (take a wild guess where he’s playing)
15)Me (unsigned)
tune in next week for 10 Canadians better at basketball than Steve Nash
Upcoming lists:
6/18 10 German basketball players better than Nowitzki
6/25 10 Brazilian basketball players better than Leandro Barbosa
June 7th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Celts Fan says:
There was absolutely a bias for Pierce, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. I’m by no means trying to campaign for the top spot, just bottom of the top 10.
June 7th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Knickhopeful says:
If clutch means, who do you need to ice a game, I think you have to go with Kobe, even though I am not a fan of his. I think you can play great defense on him and he’ll still make the shot. Horry has had his fair share of game winners, but as rightly stated, its not like the last play of the game is drawn up for him consistently. His game winners are the result of the defence collapsing on the usual suspects on his teams (Hakeem, Shaq, Duncan) I don’t think Lebron deserves a spot here just yet….though he did pull through on a clutch hip check on Nash, but that’s another story
June 7th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Knickhopeful says:
Horry’s hip check, not Lebrons..
June 8th, 2007 at 3:16 am
Jason Bomer says:
Anyone who doesnt believe Horry iS #1 is a member of the Spurs Hater Club…Yes Kobe has made many game winners but when have they ever mattered? Horry is a “playoff performer” and what other coach wouldnt give 10 game winners guring the regular season to get that one in the playoffs? Which Horry has bout nine game winners in the playoffs and what could have been better than Game 5 of the Spurs ‘o5 run…and with the Lakers against the Kings with time running out to keep them alive? Oh yeah! killing the Nuggets this year!!!! Thats why Horry is gettin $5 mil to play 14 min during the regular season but being the seventh man on the best team in the NBA (would be 6th if Ginobili started). BIG Shot Rob is clearly NO.1
June 8th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Amar says:
just a point of information, before laying an egg in the playoffs, Mehmet Okur was shooting 55% from three in the last 5 mins of games in the regular season. He had some strong games, and won some with last second shots, and many dagger threes. His shot over steven jackson (which was called a two, not a three) in game 2 of the 2nd round was more akin to what he was giving utah all season long. He has some really good games, vs. the suns in phoenix, atlanta on the road, the sonics, and almost won some other games (NJ, Wash, NY) by himself as the rest of the team didn’t show up. He’s not a top 10 guy, in clutch ability, but he is getting there in the regular season for sure.
June 8th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
dank says:
Mehmet Okur can suck it.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
nuffsed says:
Manu Ginobili should be in the top 3 clutch players along with Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. It is not just the extraordinary clutch shots that Manu somehow throws out of his endless bag of tricks, but his overall clutch performance in big games. Time and time again Manu Ginobili carries his team on his back in the 4th quarter of close games and games seemingly out of reach of winning. st(D)ank includes everyone else on the 2004 Olympic Argentinian team as being better than Manu, yet his contribution is one of the main reasons they even got the opportunity to play for the gold! So Manu flops…there’s still no denying his magnificent plays. Kobe Bryant throws a tantrum after every losing season! I want to be traded, no wait…I want to be traded. But does that take away from his game? And since we’re talking about tantrums, why not include (Mr. We’ll Never Know) Steve Nash from the (What if they really WERE as good as the Spurs)S*ns? Steve Nash makes more game-winning shots than most players in the league. So what if he can’t accept that he lost fair and square to the Spurs yet again and that he’s a crybaby sore loser…he is still a clutch player. Robert Horry IS the ultimate big shot player. It is true as others have pointed out that few plays are designed for him, but does that mean that his big shots don’t matter? Would you have said this if he were still a Laker? Think about it Spurs-haters! LeBron’s performance in Game 5 against Detroit is definately clutch. If you’re going to accept Baron Davis, then you have to accept LeBron too. As for Allen Iverson and Melo…they have made too many big shots in the regular season only to crap out in the playoffs to even be worth mentioning. Derek Fisher has *ne questionable big shot. Look at the sequence frame by frame. It’s more like the 0.4 hoax. Which might explain why the Lakers ran to the visitor’s locker room in less than 0.4 seconds immediately afterward. Sadly, everyone loves to hate the Spurs, so they will believe anything that undermines their superior talent. I take LeBron’s dunk over Tim Duncan poster as a compliment and attestment to Tim Duncan’s defensive skills. The more you hate them, the more you acknowledge the Spurs as the team to beat. Because aside from your personal biases, excuses, and accusations, and despite the lack of huge endorsement deals and support from the media and basketball fans, they manage to overcome this adversity and win championships. Which ultimately makes them the perennial underdogs!
June 8th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
dank says:
i dont hate the Spurs. I think Tim Duncan is one of the greatest to play the game, as boring as he is, he is one of the best at what he does. I love the Spurs for again crushing the Suns, proving that defense is what wins games. and i will forever be on Big Shot Bob’s fan list (ok, how about nuts? now am i a spurs hater) for what he did out here in LA for us. that is undeniable. but, i think kobe is more clutch than anyone. period. for a dude that plays 1 on 5 day in and day out, i will NOT let anyone say he’s number 2.
i hate manu because he gives us Argentineans a bad name, and because he has a horrible bald spot. You dont see Nocioni flopping. With Nos, its the other way around, he’s thrown bows at D-Wade and Melo. He’s a Man. Manu, on the other hand, is missing a few characteristics of what a MAN consists of in today’s NBA, some of them which are: lack of balls, lack of dignity, and a desire for acting. He, along with Mr. Raja Bell, Steve Nash, and Anderson Varejao are just some of the girly men in today’s NBA who will forever lack respect for playing like they care more about what they wear for postgame interviews (see Steve Nash) than knocking down a penetrating guard. they’d rather flop than get a flagrant(ok, maybe we can exclude Raja for taking down KB24 last year, but still, he flopped on those bows, and he prolly clotheslined kobe cus KB called him a puss). do these guys belong in the NBA? deservedly so, they have talent obviously (nash less than anyone).
and Manu being clutch? bite me
June 8th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
nuffsed says:
First of all I said that Manu deserves to be in the top 3 of clutch players along with Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. Not that he should be number one. But if we are talking about clutch shots that lead to championships, then he is definately a contender for number one. Dank, if you are a Spurs fan, then you know that Manu is usually THE MAN with the ball in the final seconds of a close game. Why? Because of his ability to make the clutch shot/play needed to win the game. Again, what does flopping, or your interpretation (like it really matters anyway) of what a man is have to do with Manu’s ability to make the clutch shot? By the way, what makes Tim Duncan so boring anwyay? I always have a great time watching him dismantle teams in the playoffs year after year. Spurs basketball is not like a quick gunshot wound to the head, but more like a cancer that slowly but eventually consumes you. But with America’s fascniation with violence, I suppose it’s no surprise you find them boring.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
nuffsed says:
First of all I said that Manu deserves to be in the top 3 of clutch players along with Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. Not that he should be number one. But if we are talking about clutch shots that lead to championships, then he is definately a contender for number one. Dank, if you are a Spurs fan, then you know that Manu is usually THE MAN with the ball in the final seconds of a close game. Why? Because of his ability to make the clutch shot/play needed to win the game. Again, what does flopping, or your interpretation (like it really matters anyway) of what a man is have to do with Manu’s ability to make the clutch shot? By the way, what makes Tim Duncan so boring anwyay? I always have a great time watching him dismantle teams in the playoffs year after year. Spurs basketball is not like a quick gunshot wound to the head, but more like a cancer that slowly but eventually consumes you. But with America’s fascniation with violence, I suppose it’s no surprise you find them boring. Bite that bullet!
June 10th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Quan says:
Well, well. Another time the D gets shorted. What about Chauncey aka Mr. Big Shot aka Reverend Ice Cold? The half court shot against the Nets in ‘04? Ask the Nets if they thought that shot would drop. As a matter of fact, ask any team that fouls my man with anytime left on the clock. Yes he did not play well against the Cavs (but neither did a lot of the Pistons), but the brother has a dagger for any team surgically attached to his right hand. He is neva scared when the clock is running down. As for who to take off, if anyone I would say Baron. As much as I like him, he has done well in these playoffs, whereas Chauncey has been killing people since he has hit the D.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:47 am
FAM says:
ur a fool if u think KOBE aint #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 11th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Ian says:
dank
stupid comments about manu
on a team that has timmy he gets the ball in crunch time and always delivers