Kevin Durant

One season removed from a Western Conference Finals in which the Dallas Mavericks’ experience and late-game execution served as the deciding factor, Kevin Durant spent much of the 2011-12 campaign showing the defending champions just how much the tables were about to turn. Having already beaten Dallas at the buzzer with a game-winning triple during the season’s opening week, the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar prepares for a postseason-style encore in Round 1. Evaluating his options from the top of the key, Durant attempts a right-sided drive, only to be stonewalled by Shawn Marion’s tight defense. Pivoting into a Plan B, the Most Valuable Player runner-up merely keeps his dribble alive, working a spin move back to the middle before elevating into a tightly-contested, fallaway jumper, getting just enough of a friendly bounce to steal a Game One victory. Durant proved brilliant all throughout crunchtime, helping Oklahoma City turn a seven-point deficit with two-and-a-half minutes to go into a confidence-building, comeback victory on April 28, 2012. Kickstarting a postseason journey that would ultimately end with an NBA Finals appearance, the future Hall of Famer turned in 25 points, six rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and one 3-point make.