What is the signature play in the history of each NBA franchise?
Brooklyn Nets: Devin Harris improbable game-winner
The 2008-09 season stands out among the 15 years Devin Harris spent in the NBA. This was set to be his inaugural full run with the New Jersey Nets after they brought him in via a trade that sent Jason Kidd to Dallas.
Harris would go on to have the best season of his career, averaging career-highs with 21.3 points and 1.7 steals along with 6.9 assists per game. It earned him a spot in the All-Star Game for the first and what wound up being only time.
The good moments didn’t stop there. In a late-February game against the Philadelphia 76ers, a Harris foul sent Andre Iguodala to the line with the score knotted at 95 and just 1.8 seconds remaining.
After missing the first free-throw, Iggy swished the second, giving the Sixers a one-point lead. Out of timeouts, Bobby Simmons quickly imbounded the ball to Harris darting up the left sideline with Iguodala draped on him.
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There was only so much Harris could do with so little time. He tried going into the body of Iguodala and draw the foul. Always the smart defender, Iguodala had shifted back, causing Harris to collide with air and momentarily lose the ball.
As Harris’ momentum carried him to the halfcourt line, he regained enough composure to grab the ball that had floated along with him and fling it to the rim in a desperate attempt to give the Nets any type of shot.
The heave came just as the final buzzer sounded. As it fell through the rim, nobody thought to question a truly remarkable halfcourt miracle, but then the refs went to review. While it still looked good, the doubt increased with every further moment of review.
Upon confirmation, Harris triumphantly raised his arms and the Izod Center exploded. It was as if a playoff series had been clinched and not the Nets’ 25th win of the season
In what wound up a second straight 34-win season, the victory was ultimately meaningless but viewed in a vacuum of time and space and there aren’t many better finishes in NBA history.