Down by five points with 17 seconds left in a playoff game is a bad place to be — unless Steph Curry is on your side. In his first MVP and championship season, the Golden State Warriors icon flashed some of his patented brilliance in crunch time in Game 3 of a first-round postseason series against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Warriors trailed by 20 heading into the final period before mounting a furious rally, capped off by a pair of Curry 3-pointers in the final 11 seconds, with the first coming on the preceding Golden State possession. Now down three with nine seconds on the clock, Curry grabbed an inbound pass from Draymond Green in the corner before misfiring on a triple that would have tied the game on the spot. Luckily for fans of the nascent dynasty, Marreese Speights snared the offensive board and handed the ball back to Curry for another corner triple that broke the raucous home crowd’s heart. It marked the first time in 359 tries during the shot clock era that the Warriors won a game in which they trailed by 20 points entering the fourth, and they had Curry’s 40 points to thank for it. Curry also finished with five rebounds and nine assists in the thrilling 123-119 overtime victory on April 23, 2015 and his club finished off the sweep two nights later.

Steph Curry

Steph Curry forces OT vs. Pels with impossible three in 2015 Playoffs

After waiting five long years to get back to the NBA Finals, Kevin Durant wasn’t about to hesitate when the stakes were at their highest. Back in the championship round in 2017 – his first season with the Golden State Warriors –  Durant left little room for a second consecutive Cleveland Cavaliers Finals comeback, boldly drilling a monumental bucket to take a stranglehold on Game 3 and the series. After corralling a defensive rebound in the midst of a pivotal late-game run, Durant took the ball himself and made history over LeBron James with 45 seconds remaining. The clutch shot turned a two-point deficit into a one-point lead that the Warriors would not relinquish, and Durant’s 31 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four treys secured the unforgettable June 7, 2017 victory. The Warriors would go on to win the series in five games, the first of two straight titles and Finals MVP awards for Durant.

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant buries monumental three to secure comeback in 2017 Finals

When the Toronto Raptors suggested overtime, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers laughed all the way to the bank. Following a game-tying triple from rookie O.G. Anunoby with eight seconds remaining in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the King had final say on the outcome. James calmly took the inbound pass from Kevin Love, dribbled the length of the court and whisked past Anunoby on a drive to his left before flicking a one-handed runner off the glass right in front of the Raptors’ bench that sent all of Cleveland into pandemonium. James leapt into Love’s arms to celebrate the improbable as the Cavaliers took a commanding 3-0 series lead after stealing the first two games of the series in Toronto. Cleveland thwarted a furious fourth-quarter Toronto rally behind 38 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals from James in the exhilarating 105-103 victory on May 5, 2018. The Cavs won the series two nights later in a Game 4 sweep, giving James a 12-2 record against Toronto the past three postseasons. 

LeBron James

LeBron James stuns Raptors with game-winning floater in 2018 Playoffs

Kevin Durant’s start was so hot that it all but finished the LA Clippers’ season before the halftime buzzer. The Golden State Warriors failed to eliminate the Clips despite Durant's 45 points two nights earlier in Game 5, so the star sniper decided to one-up himself with a legendary Game 6 closeout performance in the first-round playoff series. Durant kicked things off with an authoritative one-handed transition dunk, and his scorching first half also included four 3-pointers among his 12 made field goals. Whether he was converting triples from atop the key, difficult and-1 turnaround jumpers or runners in the lane, Durant’s vintage heat check game represented his most explosive postseason performance in an iconic career full of them. Once the dust settled, Durant had posted a playoff career-high 50 points on 15 of 26 from the field, 6 of 14 from downtown and 14 of 15 from the free throw line. He shot 12 of 17 before halftime alone as Golden State built an insurmountable 19-point lead, with his 38-point first-half eruption matching the second-most points ever scored in one half in postseason history. Durant added six rebounds and five assists in the 129-110 victory on April 26, 2019 as the Warriors won the series 4-2, with the two-time champion averaging 35 points across the six games. 

Kevin Durant erupts for 50, including 38-point half, in 2019 Playoffs

No matter the situation, Steph Curry has the ability to leave jaws dropped every time he touches a basketball. The Golden State Warriors left everybody in the arena speechless when he snared a pass from Andrew Bogut on the perimeter and instantly ran into a wall of defensive traffic. Undeterred by the heavy pressure, Curry dribbled around his back through a trio of Clippers before stepping behind the arc and abruptly unleashing an off-balance 3-pointer from the top of the key that somehow swished. In the first of his two straight MVP seasons, Curry scored just 12 points on nine shots yet still left the arena as the most talked about player on the floor. The circus shot even left head coach Steve Kerr — who made 726 3-pointers and shot better than 45 percent from downtown during a 15-year NBA run — in total disbelief. Curry added four assists and three steals in Golden State’s 106-98 victory on March 8, 2015 and would later go on to win his first championship later that year. 

Steph Curry weaves around defense, leaps back for iconic tough shot

The King stands alone. For the first time in 38 years, the NBA crowned a new scoring leader, the man who had met and exceeded otherworldly expectations since the moment he set foot on a basketball court. With time running down in the third quarter of what fast became a celebration of a legacy, LeBron James buried the 38,387th and 38,388th points of his career on an unguardable fadeaway from the elbow. With those points, an emotional James eclipsed a record that had stood since April 1984 — eight months before he was born — doing so on the strength of a 20-point first half followed by a 16-point third frame that showcased the offensive firepower that burns as bright as ever 20 seasons into an iconic career. The four-time MVP, NBA champion and Finals MVP scored 38 points on 13 for 20 shooting for the Los Angeles Lakers in his record-breaking performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2023. 

LeBron James moves into No. 1 spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list

LeBron James has an innumerable amount of iconic plays across his legendary 20-year career, yet few resonate quite like “The Block.” The Golden State Warriors won a record 73 games during the regular season and held a 3-1 series lead over James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, but the league’s all-time leading scorer brought his hometown squad back from the brink. With the deciding Game 7 tied at 89 with under two minutes to play, the King kept it deadlocked as he thwarted a Warriors transition attack by chasing down Andre Iguodala and swatting his driving layup attempt with flawless anticipation. Kyrie Irving’s 3-pointer less than a minute later gave the Cavs the lead for good and James iced the game at the foul line with 10 seconds left to deliver the city its first basketball title in franchise history. Cleveland became the first NBA team to rally from a 3-1 series deficit in the Finals, and James’ third championship ended a 52-year pro sports title drought for the city. The 19-time All-Star posted 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and three blocks in the dramatic 93-89 victory on June 19, 2016 to win his third of four Finals MVP awards. 

LeBron James chases down Andre Iguodala for iconic block in 2016 Finals

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