Rik Smits

In a phrase typically saved for only the NBA’s most back-and-forth encounters, it’s sometimes said that a game’s winner will come down to the team who receives the ball last. Tangled into a duel that featured four lead changes in the final 13 seconds, Rik Smits and the Indiana Pacers proved that adage to perhaps never be truer than in Game Four of 1995’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. Taking the stage with multiple prospective late-game heroes, Smits offers May 29, 1995’s most unforgettable shot, working towards the perimeter for an inbounds pass before offering a pump fake, pivot, and pull-up in just 1.3 seconds time, sealing a series-tying win. Rapidly becoming a "best-of-three" series in more ways than one, the final four possessions saw: (1) a 3-pointer by the Orlando Magic, (2) an anticipated long-range rebuttal from Smits’ cold-blooded, All-Star backcourt teammate, (3) an identical response from Orlando’s superstar floor general, and (4) Smits’ shot, sending the crowd into euphoria. The memorable face in what would later be deemed the “Memorial Day Miracle,” Smits concluded with 21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and two rejections.

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