The play-in game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors was one to remember. It was a hard-fought game that came down to the wire. The game concluded with what could have been one of the most clutch moments in the decorated career of LeBron James.
With 58.2 seconds left in the game, James sank a go-ahead three-pointer from 34 feet out. The shot came off of a pass from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who was trapped in the paint with nowhere else to go.
It appeared that it would be a wasted possession in which the Lakers were stopped from scoring and the game would remain tied with the Warriors having possession. However, Pope spotted James beyond the three-point arc.
James caught the ball and launched up what appeared to be a prayer on a shot that was contested well.
This shot went on to be the final score of the game from either team and would secure the Lakers’ spot in the 2021 NBA playoffs.
In what was one of the toughest seasons of the LeBron James era in Los Angeles due to injuries, having something break the way of the Lakers in such a big way felt amazing.
After the game, when asked about the shot, James was quoted as saying, “After Draymond’s finger to the eye. I was literally seeing three rims out there. I just shot for the middle one”.
While it can not be argued that this was the most clutch moment for LeBron James this season, the question is raised on if it is the clutchest moment of his entire career.
There are a handful of moments that come to mind when thinking of the most clutch plays in LeBron James’ career.
The first is likely the Game 7 block against the Golden State Warriors that went on to be a key reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers won the game and in turn the 2016 NBA Finals.
While “The Block” is without a doubt the best play of LeBron James’ career, especially when considering the circumstances around the play, it did not by itself win the Cavs the game.
Without Kyrie hitting the shot that put the Cavs ahead, it is likely that the block would have been lost in history.
However, with the deep three from James against the Warriors in the play-in game, it was the one point in the game that you can point to and say that is the moment that LeBron’s team won the game.
Another moment that comes to mind from the plethora of LeBron James clutch postseason moments is his shot against the Orlando Magic in the 2009 playoffs.
In this game, the Cleveland Cavaliers were down by two points in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals with a single second left to play.
LeBron was inbounded the ball well behind the three-point line and keeping in theme with these moments, he cashes the shot to win the game for Cleveland.
The Cavs went on to lose this series against the Magic leading to this moment being more lost to history while all signs point to this shot against the Warriors being one that is remembered for the remainder of his career.
The final clutch moment that will be covered is LeBron’s buzzer-beater against the Chicago Bulls in 2015.
This shot came in the same series that Derrick Rose banked in a three at the buzzer to give the Bulls a series lead over the Cavs.
In the very next game, the Cavaliers found themselves tied with the Bulls with regulation coming to a close. However, James did not let the game go to overtime.
He hit a jumper at the buzzer to tie the series.
The shot against the Warriors will go down as more clutch for two reasons.
The first being that this game against the Warriors was a single-game series with major playoff implications. If the shot against the Bulls would have been the deciding factor in the series, then it would easily eclipse this most recent moment.
Along with this, the shot against the Bulls was a midrange shot rather than a deep and contested three.
If the Los Angeles Lakers continue to do big things in the postseason run and even potentially win a championship, this shot will be looked back at as the moment that set it all into motion and likely seen by many as the most clutch moment in the amazing career of LeBron James.