In Honor Of Tyrese Haliburton's Late Game Heroics, Relive Some Of The Best Recent NBA Playoff Game Winners
I'm not sure about anyone else, but I'm still buzzing from last night's thrilling Game 1. There's just something about not only playoff basketball, but also NBA Finals basketball, that's unlike anything else. The stakes, the tension, the execution, last night was everything we love about competition and sports in general. Not only was the level of play insane, but it was also your classic David vs Goliath moment. Even all these hours later, I'm still not really sure how to process what the hell happened.
But what I do know is that there's nothing better than playoff game winners. I don't care what round they may happen in or whether they are at home or on the road, game winners rule. I also know that it's Friday in the summer, and my guess is that if you clicked on this blog, you have ZERO interest in working today, so I figured, coming off Haliburton's heroics why not take some time and run through some of my favorite playoff game winners in recent NBA history?
Now, I would like to include a disclaimer. This is not every game winner that has ever happened in recent years, so don't get all bent out of shape if your personal favorite isn't included in this blog. These are just a handful of moments that came to me as I sat down to put this blog together in an effort to help any stoolie out who is either stuck in their cube hating life or is maybe hiding in the shitter just looking to kill a little more time before they have go back to hammering some cold calls or filling out some TPS reports. We're in this together.
Cool? Cool. Let's have some fun.
Tyrese Haliburton
There's no need to overthink things. Considering Haliburton's heroics is what inspired this blog, he obviously gets the top spot. The tough part is picking which playoff game winner to go with, so why not all 3?
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It's a damn shame Haliburton's toe was on the line vs NYK, otherwise this might be the most insane collection of game winners in a single postseason run…..maybe ever? Haliburton has basically had more game winners/game tying shots at the end of these playoff games as most players have in their entire careers. I just think we should take a minute and process that.
The beauty of Haliburton's collection this year is that we have a nice variety. That game winner against the Bucks isn't "crazy", but it ended their season. Series ending game winners are a different level of death blow. There is no potential comeback. You're dead and off to Cancun. For that to happen against the Bucks who have a recent beef with Haliburton and the Pacers, that was sweet.
The Cavs game winner was your standard "what the fuck did I just watch" type of game winner. Everything about that entire sequence is insane, and to do it on the road against the #1 seed in the East? Insane. Little did we know we would see a pretty similar ending a few weeks later.
Last night's game winner isn't anything crazy in terms of the type of shot, but the fact that it came IN THE FINALS, while on the road to beat one of the best teams in NBA history and steal homecourt is special. To me, this was the "validation" type of game winner. At this point, I don't think anyone is surprised when Haliburton makes this play/shot. Even though it was a contested double pumped long 2pt FGA. Haliburton has shown he can make low percentage shots like this with ease. To me, this was more about the moment than the actual shot itself, and he picked a pretty great time to add another notch to his belt.
Damian Lillard
There's no way I could write a playoff game winner blog and not include the Dame 37fter
Not only is this shot ridiculous, but it's another series ender game winner, which again, takes this to a higher level for me. For 95% of the NBA, this is a shot you never have to worry about a player taking. But for Dame? This is a layup. This is Dame Time at its best. This shot didn't just bury the Thunder, it led to Paul George crying about it in the postgame calling it a "bad shot". Sorry, not for Dame it's not!
I've watched a lot of playoff games, and I'm not sure we've heard a louder crowd pop than that. Funny enough, another challenger could very well be this series ending game winner from Dame against the Rockets back in 2014
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What a call from Mike Tirico. Very excited to have that back in our lives again now that the NBA is back on NBC.
Derrick White and Jayson Tatum
What, you thought I'd write this entire blog and not put in something that fits my agenda? Something that wouldn't help me cope and distract myself from what happened with my favorite team in 2025? What are you new here?
If you're wondering if I care that the Celts eventually lost Game 7 to blow their chance to get back to the NBA Finals, my answer is yes, but also no. While that part sucked, White's game winner in Game 6 was one of the most improbable plays I can remember. The range of emotion going from Marcus Smart's potential game winner rimming out to Derrick White's basketball brilliance to crash from the corner to somehow get there in time and then just beat the buzzer made my brain explode in real time. Had that ball rolled out of the rim any differently, this moment never happens.
If you remember, heading into the playoffs in 2022, every team was doing their best to avoid the Brooklyn Nets and their superteam. You know who didn't? The Boston Celtics. They welcomed the challenge. I'll remind you, they swept that series, in large part because of that play from Jayson Tatum. I think every single Celtics fan watching that moment was convinced Jaylen may try and force something on that drive, and then we were all CERTAIN that Smart was going to take that shot, so the fact that he didn't was the upset of the century. The Tatum shot itself wasn't all that crazy, just a nice easy spin into a right handed layup, but it was the perfect way to start what would be an eventual deep run to the NBA Finals (sigh).
Aaron Gordon
In the same way Derrick White's Game 6 game winner could have only happened with how the ball came off the rim in that moment, the exact same thing is true for an equally insane game winner from Aaron Gordon that we got earlier in these playoffs
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I said it at the time, but that may have been one of the most insane playoff game winners in NBA history. If Jokic's prayer hits the rim in any capacity, that play never happens. The fact that it appears Gordon released the ball with what, 0.1 seconds on the clock has to be the closest game winner of all time. A fraction of a second later, no basket. So many things had to go right on that play, from the Jokic shot, to the timing of Gordon's jump, to the finish, it was all incredible.
Was Aaron Gordon done? Nope!
To me, the surprising part of this play wasn't that Gordon made the transition 3PA, his outside shooting was great all year long (including the playoffs). I actually think the fact that Westbrook passed him the ball in the first place is the surprising part of that play, but similar to Haliburton's game winner vs OKC, there's something awesome about shutting up a crowd on the road like that.
Kawhi Leonard
If there are levels to game winners, I'm not sure anything beats a Game 7 game winner.
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That ball may as well have been on the rim for 10 years. There's having a shooter's touch, and then there's that. The shot being over Embiid, the way everyone held their breath, the collective eruption from the crowd, it was all perfect. When you think of awesome playoff game winners, this is the exact moment you're talking about.
Given the Raptors went on to win the title, you could make the case that was a pretty important shot!
OG Anunoby
Staying on the Raptors, I couldn't not include one of the most painful game winners I've ever experienced. It's been like 5 years and I'm still not over it, even though the Celts won the series. This inbounds pass by Lowry and shot by OG is utterly ridiculous
I mean, Tacko Fall is like 9 feet tall! How does someone pull off such a perfect pass over that giant? If that ball is anywhere other than directly in OG's shooting pocket, that game winner never happens. Granted it also took Jaylen falling asleep off ball a little bit, but man, that was tough to stomach in real time.
This series also gave us an incredible Game 7, and that definitely doesn't happen if the Celts go up 3-0.
Jamal Murray
A big part of the game winner formula is the announcer's call. A Mike Breen "Bang" or the very rare "Double Bang" goes a long way in making that moment special.
But for my money, I'm not sure anything (outside of Mike Gorman) touches Kevin Harlan. Just listen to his call on this Jamal Murray game winner from last year
Sure, I'll always enjoy seeing the Lakers lose in heartbreaking fashion, but that Harlan call makes the play 100000000000x better. You could feel that "GOOOOOOOOOODDDDD" came directly from his soul, and in my opinion, it's one of the best game winning calls we have. When you hear Harlan unleash that call and it happens against your favorite team? It's like a shotgun blast to the chest.
The thing is, Murray wasn't done! He also checked off the box of a series game winner with this play at the end of Game 5
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Two game winners in the same series, both at home, both against a rival? Yeah, that's pretty sweet.
Boy, was that fun. My blood is flowing after reliving all those great playoff moments, so thank you Tyrese Haliburton, for both your heroics and the inspiration. Obviously this blog could have gone on forever with how many incredible shots we've had over the years, so go ahead and toss out your favorite in the comments.