Who Has Most NBA Game Winners?
Several players can get hot in the final seconds of a game and hit a clutch shot to win the game. They are known as “buzzer beaters.” Michael Jordan leads the pack with nine buzzer-beaters during his career. While Jordan retired in 2002, he still holds the record for most NBA buzzer-beaters.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan became one of the most successful basketball players in his career. He won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and was also a member of the All-Star team every year that he played in the league.
Jordan was known for his competitive drive and desired to win. He was a great shooter and passer, but he also excelled at defense and rebounding.
In 1988, he earned the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award for his 1.6 blocks per game. In addition to that, he was a regular on the All-Defensive Team and a member of the All-Star team.
During his time with the Chicago Bulls, he established several records and won several awards. He was a 10-time scoring champion and won six NBA Finals MVPs. He also received several other honors.
Kobe Bryant
Bryant, nicknamed “Black Mamba,” is a five-time NBA champion and was the league’s fourth-highest scorer. He was also the only player to win two NBA Finals MVPs, and his success on and off the court earned him a spot as one of the most influential sports figures ever.
He began his career with the Charlotte Hornets but was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996, where he had immediate success. All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers at the time, but Bryant quickly became a standout.
Bryant retired from basketball in 2016 and is remembered for his “Mamba Mentality” that helped him overcome adversity, including injuries and losing a son to an accident. He also partnered with non-profit After-School All-Stars and ran an annual summer camp called the Kobe Basketball Academy. He died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers.
LeBron James
LeBron James is one of the most successful NBA players ever. He has a career average of 37.2 points per game and has won seven championships.
He is also one of the most clutch players in the league. His seven game-winning buzzer-beaters are the most in NBA history.
Many players in the league have more game-winning shots, but none have more than James. He is also close to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in the number of game-winners he has hit.
James has made five buzzer-beaters in the playoffs, which is more than any other player. In addition, he has two three-point buzzer-beaters (in the 2009 Eastern Conference finals against Orlando and 2018 against Indiana).
Joe Johnson
It’s tough to pin down a particular definition of “revolutionary.” But one thing is sure: Magic Johnson revolutionized the NBA during the 1980s. Not only was Johnson a hybrid scorer and distributor who saw passing lanes nobody else could, but he also had the kind of personality that captivated the masses, making the game much more popular than it might have been.
He helped lead the Showtime Lakers to five titles, bringing his electric personality and enthusiasm to the Finals. His dazzling smile and otherworldly passing were a big reason the NBA transitioned from cultural irrelevance to mainstream acceptance.
Johnson returned to the Boston Celtics on a 10-day hardship contract in December, injecting life into the team battling COVID-19 throughout the first half of the 2021-22 season. He was rewarded with an ovation upon checking in for his lone game, a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 22.