Unsung heroes in NBA playoff history

It still doesn’t seem real. In the Game 4 of first round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, Phoenix Suns guard Rex Chapman made an impossible-looking one-footed three-pointer against the Seattle SuperSonics that sent the game to overtime. Chapman finished the game with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis proved to be an unlikely hero multiple times for Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics in the 2008 and 2009 playoffs. His most heroic moment came in Game 4 of the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Orlando Magic. With star power forward Kevin Garnett out of the lineup, it was Davis who stepped up and made the game-winning shot as time expired.

Mario Elie was a key role player of the 1994 and 1995 championship Houston Rockets. Elie had a tendency to make clutch shots during his playing career, earning him the nickname “Super Mario.” His most heroic shot came in Game 7 of the 1995 Western Conference semifinals, in which he made a three-pointer with only seven seconds left in regulation to give Houston the win. The shot would later become known as the “Kiss of Death,” as after burying the shot, Elie made a kissing gesture toward Suns fans.

Sure, by the end his career we all knew Derek Fisher for the playoff hero that he was. Still, whenever he stepped up and hit a shot when his Lakers’ championship teams needed it most, he always seemed like the most unlikely player to do it. A career 8.3 point per game scorer, Fisher's most fondly remembered postseason moment is the “0.4” shot he hit against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2004 Western Conference semifinals.

In Game 4 of the 1987 Western Conference semifinals, Golden State Warriors guard Sleepy Floyd played the game of his life. Although Floyd’s Warriors lost to the Lakers, he nearly toppled L.A. singlehandedly, scoring 51 points (including a record 29 in the fourth) while also dishing out 10 assists and nabbing four steals.

As the only player other than Dwyane Wade to be a part of all three Miami Heat championship runs, forward Udonis Haslem has quietly carved out a remarkable career. Although he played a smaller role once LeBron James arrived, in the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Haslem played tough D and grabbed several vital rebounds that helped propel the Heat to the title.

At the time, it was perhaps most stunning shot in NBA Finals history. With one second remaining in double-overtime of Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals and the Boston Celtics ready to celebrate another championship, Phoenix Suns forward Gar Heard hit an improbable turn-around jumper at the buzzer to the send the game to triple-overtime. Although the Celtics would go on to win, Heard’s jumper makes him one of the NBA's unlikeliest postseason heroes.

“To be honest, if it wasn't for that steal, we probably would have been swept.” This is what Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird said upon reflecting on the 1984 NBA Finals. The incident Bird is referring to is when teammate Gerald Henderson, with the Celtics down by two points and only seconds remaining, stole a pass for Lakers great Magic Johnson and made a layup to send the game to overtime. The Celtics would win in overtime and win the Finals in seven games.

Never an All-Star and only averaging seven points per game for his career, it's amazing how clutch Robert Horry was during his career. Whether it was for the Rockets as a youngster, the Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, or with Tim Duncan's Spurs, Horry nailed so many vital playoff shots that he earned the nicknamed "Big Shot Bob." It's no wonder, given his heroics leading to seven NBA titles to his name.

The “Bay Boy” Detroit Pistons are remembered most for the play of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer. The player who would play hero on the Pistons' 1990 championship team was guard Vinnie Johnson, however. Nicknamed “The Microwave,” Johnson scored 16 points in the fourth quarter of Game 5 in that year's Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers, earning the Pistons their second straight title.

Current Golden State Warriors head coach had a habit of hitting big-time shots as a player. Far from an elite athlete by NBA standards, Kerr still found ways to help his teams win titles. His most memorable shot came in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals, when he made the Finals-clinching shot with five seconds left off of a Michael Jordan assist.

Although he was a great player in his own right, with Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Nate Archibald on the 1981 Boston Celtics, you might be surprised to find out that it was Maxwell who won the 1981 NBA Finals MVP. Maxwell led the Celtics in scoring that postseason and helped bring Boston its first title of the Larry Bird era.

In Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals, with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the verge of winning their first NBA title with the Miami Heat, an unexpected hero would emerge. Despite being past his prime, Mike Miller provided the knockout punch in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, hitting an amazing seven three-pointers to give the Heat the title.

Would you rather have Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen take the  shot to win an NBA Finals? In the 1993 NBA Finals, it was Chicago Bulls guard John Paxson who was that man. Up 3-2 in the series against the Phoenix Suns, it was the often overlooked role player Paxson who made the game-winning three-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining to give Jordan and the Bulls their third straight NBA title.

Although he was often the butt of jokes, for the 2008 Boston Celtics, Kendrick Perkins was an unsung hero. His stout low-post defense against Pau Gasol in the NBA Finals that year was a major factor in bringing Boston its first title since 1986.

In just his second year in the NBA, Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince helped lead the Pistons to a shocking NBA Finals victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004. Along with hitting timely three-pointers, Prince was instrumental in slowing down Kobe Bryant on the perimeter, as the Pistons defeated the heavily favored Lakers in five games.

In Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers looked dead in the water. Then, down by 18 points to the Portland Trail Blazers nearing the end of the third quarter, Lakers guard Brian Shaw began hitting shots. Shaw hit several key three-pointers that would ignite one of the greatest comebacks in NBA playoff history. The Lakers won that Game 7 and went on to win the first of three titles with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

Doing the dirty work for head coach Gregg Popovich, Malik Rose was an integral part of the San Antonio Spurs teams that won titles in 1999 and 2003. Despite being only 6’6’’ tall, Rose was able to spell Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the paint, playing quality defense and grabbing critical rebounds when the Spurs needed them. Rose was always a player the Spurs could count on.

With the best years of his career behind him, Houston Rockets point guard Kenny Smith all of a sudden caught fire in Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals. Smith hit a then Finals record seven three-pointers, including the game-tying three that would send the game to overtime, where the Rockets eventually defeated the Orlando Magic. Smith finished the game with 23 points and nine assists.

A career journeyman, guard DeShawn Stevenson turned out to be an unlikely playoff hero for the 2011 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. Stevenson started for the Mavs, and his 54.2 percent shooting from field helped the Mavs earn their first and only championship in franchise history. Stevenson, however, would be out of the NBA by 2013.

Overshadowed by the likes of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, it's often forgotten how important a role Mychal Thompson played in helping the Los Angeles Lakers win several titles in the 1980s. With Abdul-Jabbar nearing the end of his career, it was Thompson who was asked by head coach Pat Riley to guard opposing teams' top big men in the low post. Without Thompson doing the dirty work, Magic Johnson would likely have a few less rings.

He was a good player, but for whatever reason, whenever Philadelphia 76ers guard Andrew Toney faced the Boston Celtics in the playoffs, he became a great player. Nicknamed “The Boston Strangler,” Toney killed the Celtics on the court in the early 1980s, most infamously when he scored 34 points in a Game 7 win of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals.

Although he was often maligned and criticized during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, guard Sasha Vujacic turned out to be an unlikely hero for the team in the 2010 Finals against the Boston Celtics. With just seconds remaining in Game 7 and the pressure on, Vujacic stepped up to the line and drained the two free throws that would guarantee the Lakers the title.

Somewhat forgotten, forward Jamaal Wilkes was a key player on the Los Angeles Lakers' first two title runs of the 1980s. In fact, Wilkes scored 37 points in Game 6 of the 1980 Finals, a stat line that was overshadowed by Magic Johnson’s 42-15-7 performance from the center position. Still, without Wilkes, the Lakers don’t win the 1980 NBA title, and for that, he is one of the NBA’s unsung playoff heroes.

Down 95-71 with eight minutes remaining in Game 1 of the first round against the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers small forward Nick Young went off. “Swaggy P” hit three three-pointers in less than a minute, sparking a 28-3 run for the Clippers in a game they went on to win 99-98.