LUCKY SAMPSON

Ralph Sampson was a legit NBA superstar in the 80s who was known for two things: punching people in the 1986 NBA Finals and eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers with a miraculous buzzer beater. Let’s focus on the latter. Sampson and the underdog Houston Rockets surprisingly dominated the favored Lakers—led by Kareem, Magic, and Worthy—in the 1986 Western Conference Finals, jumping to a 3-1 series lead. In Game 5, Rockets had a chance to eliminate LA with the game tied with only a second left. Sampson caught a high inbounds pass at the post, spun in the air in one motion, and scored the very rare alley-oop buzzer beater on a lucky bounce. The series-ending shot looked awkward and ugly and defied logic, which is why this is one of the greatest buzzer beaters in the NBA. After the game, Sampson said: “This is the greatest moment of my basketball career.”

DAME TIME

If you’re wondering what gave Damian Lillard the right to brand himself Dame D.O.L.L.A. and drop rhymes like “I stand out because I’m a soldier in a sucker’s game,” enter Exhibit A: this playoff moment down 2 with 0.9 seconds left in Game 6 of the 2014 NBA Playoffs. The play starts out ordinarily—with defensive schemes being shouted and the offense winding up to move like clockwork. Then, like a burst of energy, as if someone fired a gun, Lillard made a mad dash for the ball, leaving his defender two steps behind. He clapped his hands for the ball to signify the start of Dame Time, took the shot, and became a hero. (“I just want you to know/ Everybody needs a hero,” he later rapped.) Aside from breaking the hearts of the Rockets, the shot also catapulted the Portland Blazers to the second round for the first time in 14 years, which is why this is one of the greatest buzzer beaters in the NBA. After the game, Lillard said: “That’s definitely the biggest shot of my life—so far.”

JOHN STOCKTON, CRUSHER OF DREAMS

Before “super teams” were frowned upon by purists, the Houston Rockets fielded its own version in 1997 with the Hall of Fame triumvirate of Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Charles Barkley. The mini-dream team failed to make it to the NBA Finals, however, thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer from John Stockton. With less than 3 seconds left in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, Stockton caught the ball at the top of the key and delivered the soul-crushing, season-ending blow to the Rockets, which is why this is one of the greatest buzzer beaters in the NBA. “The Rockets suck,” Stockton probably said after the game, because he is a straight-up gangster who doesn’t care about your dreams.

THE SHOT

Any Michael Jordan highlight package—or any NBA’s greatest moments list—wouldn’t be complete without The Shot. The play had all the elements of an A-list buzzer beater masterpiece: the dramatic set-up (Bulls down 1 on the road with 3 seconds left, series tied at 2), the commentary (“A shot on Ehlo…Good! The Bulls win!”), the double-clutch shot (the Jordan jumper trademark), and the celebration (you’ve copied the fist pump at least once in your life, admit it). The Shot would become one of the key bullet points of Jordan’s résumé, which is why this is one of the greatest buzzer beaters in the NBA. After the game, Jordan said: “I never saw it go in, but I knew right away from the crowd reaction—silence—that it was good.”

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