A parameter that separates a good sportsperson from a great sportsperson is his ability to perform under pressure. In the basketball world, it’s usually referred to as the ‘Clutch’ moment. If you are an NBA fan, this word is often thrown around, and people tend to have their own interpretations.
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The official definition of ‘Clutch’ by the NBA is the final five minutes of the fourth quarter of the game. It has become such an important part of the NBA that, for the first time, the league announced the ‘Clutch Player of the Year’ award. De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings received the award in its inaugural edition.
With the playoffs underway, we can expect high-intensity matches going down to the wire. The teams who excel in the clutch will take home the spoils. Stephen Curry had the opportunity to hit a clutch shot against the Kings, and he fell short. What followed was a debate on the greatest clutch players to play the game.
Nick Wright believes LeBron James is the most clutch player in the game
NBA analyst and co-host of the FS1 show – ‘First Things First’, Nick Wright, believes LeBron James is better in the clutch than past greats like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. This is what he said in his podcast ‘What’s Wright? With Nick Wright’ after Stephen Curry’s missed shot:
“LeBron is the most clutch player of his generation and that he is one of the most clutch players ever while Kobe was inefficient and not effective. People just don’t wanna hear it.”
Nick spent ten minutes on his podcast showcasing statistics to prove his point. According to him, nobody wants to acknowledge LeBron as a clutch player. They refuse to believe he is better than Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, or Stephen Curry. When asked by the co-host about his passion for LeBron, he said:
” I do a sports talk show and he is the greatest athelete of all time, so it does generate some passion but I am also passionate in debunking myths.”
How do the statistics favor James?
To prove his point, Nick Wright came loaded with a barrage of statistics to throw at us. He categorized these statistics based on the time remaining in the game and filtered the results on five seconds, one minute, and six minutes.
Of all shots taken to tie or take the lead in the last minute, James ranked second in field goal percentage while Michael and Kobe ranked 6th and 15th respectively. If the time was extended to six minutes, for a minimum of 60 shots taken, LeBron ranked higher than Kobe and Curry.
Another statistic presented was for the last five seconds of playoff games, and Lebron again ranked higher than his counterparts. He also brought up the playoff statistics to prove his point even further. These statistics may be skewed in terms of parameters and filters taken. However, it still makes you wonder about James not getting enough recognition for being a clutch performer.
