Each NBA team’s most clutch player of all-time

Most clutch player in Indiana Pacers history: Reggie Miller

Reggie Miller is the poster boy for a Hall of Fame player who is underrated by history because he could not win the big game. First Michael Jordan and then Shaquille O’Neal stood in his way, and the Indiana Pacers could never put together a team good enough to win it all. That blurs the fact that Miller was one of the greatest shooters in the history of the league, and a clutch maestro.

The proof is substantial. In 1998 the Pacers were trying to knock off the Bulls a year early, and Miller nailed a game winner to extend the series. In 2002 a veteran Miller nailed a 40-foot game-tying shot against the Nets. His most famous sequence, however, spawned a nickname any casual basketball fan would recognize.

Key Moment: The Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks were bitter rivals in the 1990s, and in the 1994 playoffs Miller was the brightest star — he dropped 25 points in the 4th quarter of a Game 5 Pacers win — but the Knicks prevailed in seven games to reach the NBA Finals. In 1995 the two teams would meet again, this time in the semifinals.

Game 1 was in Madison Square Garden, and with 18 seconds remaining the Knicks held a 105-99 lead. The sellout crowd had declared the game over, with many pouring out of the exits to get a head start on the way home. Reggie Miller had other plans.

Miller caught an inbound pass and drilled a 3-pointer with 16.4 seconds remaining. Then he picked off Anthony Mason’s inbounds pass, racing out to the 3-point line to launch another triple. Suddenly a 6-point deficit was a tied game. New York missed their subsequent free throws and a putback attempt, and Miller found himself with the rebound.

He was fouled hard by Mason, perhaps still stinging from Miller’s steal. Stepping up to the line with 7.5 seconds left, he coolly knocked in two free throws. Eight points, nine seconds. Indiana won the game 107-105 and would go on to win the series.