Amidst Tyrese Haliburton’s unthinkably clutch postseason run in which he’s nailed a last-second game-tying or winning basket in all four series, including the NBA Finals, it’s the perfect time to see how his run compares to others in league history.
Most Clutch Individual Runs in NBA Postseason History
It’s not easy to quantify clutch performances — until Mike Beuoy, creator of Inpredict on X, created a “win probability added” stat that measures made and missed shots in clutch situations and considers how it added or subtracted to an individual’s team’s chances of winning.
While it’s not a perfect stat (none are), more often than not, it’s provided an accurate look at who the most clutch performers are in the regular and postseason.
by far https://t.co/xhWndX7UkE pic.twitter.com/vHSR0qToQJ
— Mike Beuoy (@inpredict) June 6, 2025
In the wake of Haliburton’s Game 1 Finals game-winner against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Beuoy published the updated version of where the Indiana Pacers’ guard stands in relation to other players.
We’re here to break down the top 10, starting with a run that resulted in an NBA championship.
10) Dirk Nowitzki | 2011
It may come as a slight surprise that Dirk Nowitzki, the engine behind the Dallas Mavericks’ 2011 title, comes in at 10th here.
During their run, the Mavericks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, swept the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers, defeated the Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook-led Thunder, and finished it off with a six-game series victory in the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat and the “Heatles” — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
It was a legendary run that delivered the franchise its first and only championship.
Nowitzki’s signature moment of that run was in Game 2 against Miami. Facing a 0-1 series deficit on the road, Nowitzki had the ball and was matched up against Bosh with the clock running down and a tie game. Playing for his jump shot, Bosh played tight defense before Nowitzki squirted by and flipped in a lefty layup that proved to be the game-winning shot.
The Mavericks went on to win Games 4, 5, and 6 with Nowitzki having a big hand in each one and coming away with the Finals MVP award.
9) LeBron James | 2009
James occupies several spots on the list, with 2009 the only one from his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After putting together a 66-win regular season with Mo Williams as the second-leading scorer, James led Cleveland in scoring in each of their first- and second-round sweeps of the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks.
He did the same in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic, averaging an eye-popping 38.5 points per game in the series. But the three points that will be remembered forever took place in Game 2 in Cleveland.
The Magic had taken a 1-0 lead away from their home floor and were threatening to win again, up two with exactly one second remaining. That was until James broke open at the top of the key and fired a game-winning 3-pointer as the clock expired, sending the arena into a frenzy.
Though the Cavaliers dropped the series in six games, the 25-year-old James continued to come into his own as a bona fide playoff performer, setting the stage for more to come.
8) Kevin Durant | 2012
The 24-year-old Durant and the young trio of Westbrook (24) and James Harden (23) took the NBA by storm in 2012, going 47-19 in the lockout-shortened season. That pitted them against the defending champion Mavericks and Nowitzki, a known killer in the clutch, in the first round.
But in Game 1, the moment was Durant’s to be had. Trailing by one point with nine seconds left, the Thunder gave Durant, the 2012 scoring champ, the ball.
“Oh!” ESPN color commentator Hubie Brown exclaimed as Durant’s fallaway jumper bounced off the front rim, off the backboard, and finally through the net.
The Thunder, led by Durant’s scoring, swept the Mavericks before sweeping the Lakers and taking down the San Antonio Spurs in six games. They were finally defeated in the Finals against the Heat and their star trio — despite Durant averaging 30.6 points per game on 54.8% shooting from the field.
7) Robert Horry | 2005
A career role player, Robert Horry was known for his clutch shot-making acumen — in multiple playoff runs. For the Spurs in 2005, Horry made this ranking worth it alone in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
San Antonio was on the road facing the Detroit Pistons with the series tied at two apiece. In regulation, he scored a put-back layup with 1:46 remaining and 30 seconds later knocked down a 3-pointer to retake the lead.
With the game in overtime, Horry drove the lane and finished with a poster and-one dunk with his left hand. Although he missed the free throw, he more than made up for it by nailing the game-winning 3-pointer with just 5.9 seconds remaining off a Manu Ginóbili pass.
“Unbelievable!” exclaimed play-by-play announcer Al Michaels as the shot went through. “This guy is off the charts!”
6) Rashard Lewis | 2009
Rashard Lewis, a revolutionary stretch big man during the mid-2000s, had one of the greatest moments of his career during the ECF against James’ Cavaliers. The Game 1 loss that Cleveland suffered was largely at the hands of Lewis, who nailed a clutch go-ahead triple with under 15 seconds left that proved to be the difference-maker.
Lewis did that along with a number of strong performances down the stretch of their seven-game series victory over the Boston Celtics in the semifinals and their NBA Finals matchup against the Lakers.
Though Orlando lost in five games to LA, Lewis had a particularly impressive Game 2 in which he produced a 34-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist effort in the overtime loss, in which he hit several shots during the end of regulation and in overtime.
5) Anthony Davis | 2020
Wearing Black Mamba jerseys in memory of the late Kobe Bryant, Anthony Davis had his Mamba moment during the Lakers’ Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets.
Down one point and facing the possibility of the Nuggets tying the series heading into Game 3, Davis came off a screen and fired a difficult 3-pointer for the win. The shot splashed through, and cameras caught Davis yell “Kobe!”
Though that was the most memorable clutch moment of Davis and Los Angeles’ run to winning the title in the bubble, there were several other moments where he stepped up with the game on the line and delivered. In the Finals against the Heat, Davis averaged 25.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game as the Lakers breezed to a five-game series victory.
4) Robert Horry | 2002
Before his time with the Spurs, Horry spent seven seasons in Los Angeles with the Lakers alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant. With two all-time greats, the Lakers didn’t need clutch shooting elsewhere on the roster — until they did.
Down 2-1 in the WCF to the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles was down two points with roughly 10 seconds remaining. Bryant drove into the lane and missed a floater. O’Neal managed to grab the rebound but then missed a put-back. Before anyone knew it, the ball had been batted out to the top of the key by the Kings’ Vlade Divac — right into Horry’s waiting grasp.
He fired the 3-pointer up and swished it through the net, tying the series in a flash. If not for that shot, Los Angeles would’ve been facing a 3-1 hole with the series shifting back to Sacramento. But the shot went in and the Lakers went on to beat the Kings and sweep the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals, completing a championship three-peat.
3) LeBron James | 2018
With star sidekick Kyrie Irving out for the entire postseason in 2018, it was essentially all on James to put the team on his back and lead them as far as they’d go. That’s exactly what he did, thanks to several clutch moments that will last forever.
There was the game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 5 of the first round against the Pacers, a fallaway jumper in Round 2 against the Toronto Raptors that tied the game late and, of course, the running, buzzer-beating game-winning floater in Game 3 of that same series to push Cleveland’s lead to 3-0.
Though the Cavaliers were swept in the NBA Finals by the super-team that the Golden State Warriors were, James put up a valiant effort all playoffs long and squeezed everything he could out of that team.
2) LeBron James | 2013
James’ second consecutive title run didn’t come without some close calls. It began in the Eastern Conference against Paul George and the Pacers, who held a one-point lead in Miami with just 2.2 seconds showing on the clock in overtime of Game 1. Sensing the moment, James flashed open at the top of the key and immediately burst to the rim, finishing a lefty layup right as the buzzer sounded and igniting a raucous cheer.
Then, there were the title-winning clutch plays in the Finals against the Spurs. Ray Allen’s corner 3-pointer to tie the series in Game 6 has been well documented, but it couldn’t have happened without James knocking down a 3 on the possession before to pull the Heat within two points.
In the eventual Game 7, the Heat were nursing a two-point lead with under 30 seconds remaining. James came off a screen and pulled up for a mid-range 2 and knocked it down, extending the lead to four points. It proved too much for San Antonio, and James’ improbable clutch plays directly led to his and the Heat’s second consecutive title.
1) Tyrese Haliburton | 2025
Not enough can be said about the run that Haliburton is currently on. He’s made a game-winning shot not once, not twice, but three times — with a game-tying bucket against the New York Knicks right in there as well.
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And these shots haven’t been easy, outside of him blowing past Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo for a layup — if that’s considered a breeze. It’s been a step-back 3-pointer (vs. the Cavaliers), running backwards fallaway jumper (vs. the Knicks), and a 20-foot sprinting pull-up (vs. the Thunder).
Even if he stinks it up for the rest of the Finals series against the Thunder, Haliburton’s 2025 playoffs run will go down as one of the greatest strings of clutch performances in sports history. Yes, sports history.