Ranking the NBA's Best Clutch Shooters Heading into 2012-13

When the pressure cooker is on with the score close and time winding down, there are certain players who you want to have control of the ball. These players, though, aren't necessarily the best "clutch shooters" in the NBA, but rather the best players. 

While I'm not entirely convinced that the concept of "clutch" even exists at the professional level of basketball, let's operate under the assumption that players can perform better when the stakes are the highest. 

These are the shooters who are most able to elevate their performances in these dire situations. 

How Were the Rankings Determined?

It's impossible to rank clutch shooters subjectively, because our eyes and memories often lie to us. 

If a player takes 10 game-winning attempts over the course of a season but only makes one, we're still going to remember the one successful try. Moreover, the recency effect is going to ensure that the most recent plays are the ones that stick out in our minds the most. 

As a result, I wanted to make sure that my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. That's where the objective analysis comes in. 

I'm not trying to determine the best clutch players here, nor am I trying to figure out who the best shooters are. Instead, I'm combing the two concepts to identify the best clutch shooters. 

That means that we're looking at the players who were able to raise their shooting effectiveness when the situation most called for it. 

Using 82games.com as a reference—that website was the source of all stats in this article—and defining "clutch" as a situation in which there were less than five minutes left in the game and five points separating the two teams, I looked at effective field goal percentages. That metric incorporates three-point shooting to form a more telling version of field goal percentage. 

A player's clutch shooting score—the number you'll see next to their name in the slide titles—is simply the percent change between a player's effective field goal percentage in "clutch" situations and that same metric throughout the course of a game. 

The more a player can improve his efficiency, the better he is at clutch shooting. 

Trust me when I say that you're going to be in for a few surprises. The media tends to pump up superstars as clutch players, but in reality, they don't really elevate their shooting when the situation calls for it. They just get more opportunities than lesser players. 

Take Kevin Durant for example. If I had to pick a player to take a final shot right now, I'd hand him the ball without hesitation, and I'm making that decision while fully aware that he finished 62nd out of the 88 players who scored at least 10 points per game and took at least 30 shots in the "clutch" situations to qualify for these rankings.

10. Rudy Gay: 15.21

Team: Memphis Grizzlies

Position: SF

Age: 26

This set of rankings isn't going to be completely filled with stars, but we are going to start out with one. Rudy Gay was a solid enough offensive player during the 2011-12 season with the Memphis Grizzlies, but he brought his game up a notch in clutch situations. 

Gay's effective field goal percentage was .480 throughout the season, and during the time in question he elevated that percentage to a sensational .553. He was able to knock down a number of three-pointers and still shot 50.9 percent from the field, averaging 31.7 points per 48 minutes. 

9. Rodney Stuckey: 16.01

Team: Detroit Pistons

Position: PG/SG

Age: 26

Over the course of his fifth season in the NBA, Rodney Stuckey struggled with his shot during the first three quarters of action. However, the combo-guard lit it up during the last five minutes of games separated by less than five points. 

In those situations, Stuckey had an effective field goal percentage of .529 and averaged a ridiculous 36.3 points per 48 minutes. While his passing was just putrid at the same time, his shooting was terrific, both from downtown and inside the three-point arc. 

8. Chris Bosh: 16.63

Team: Miami Heat

Position: PF

Age: 28

One member of the Miami Heat's Big Three makes it into the top 10, but it probably isn't the player you expected.

While Dwyane Wade's minus-14.43 placed him at No. 54 and LeBron James' minus-11.19 put him at No. 45, Chris Bosh earned a spot far higher than any of his teammates. 

Using his mid-range jumper to great success, Bosh is always an efficient player, but he was even better in crunch time. Perhaps it was because of the extra defensive attention paid to James and Wade. 

Seeing as 82 percent of his field goals in these situations resulted from assists, I tend to believe that this was indeed the result of both Bosh's jumper and some passes out of double teams. 

7. Paul Pierce: 16.63

Team: Boston Celtics

Position: SF

Age: 35

Paul Pierce is one of the few players who has actually earned his "clutch" reputation. Throughout the years, The Truth has come to be seen as a cold-blooded killer for the Boston Celtics, and for good reason, at least according to the 2011-12 numbers. 

During each of the three prior seasons, Pierce's effective field goal percentage was actually lower in clutch situations than it was throughout the game.

However, Pierce did excel in close games down the stretch throughout his most recent season in green.  

6. Wesley Matthews: 17.14

Team: Portland Trail Blazers

Position: SG/SF

Age: 26

Wesley Matthews loved taking jumpers early in the shot clock when the game was winding down and the opposition was within five points—either ahead or behind—of the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Eighty-four percent of his field-goal attempts in clutch situations were jump shots, and 48 percent of his shots came before 10 seconds had ticked off the shot clock. 

Matthews excelled from behind the three-point line when the stakes were highest, particularly in catch-and-shoot situations. 

5. Jason Terry: 17.32

Team: Boston Celtics

Position: SG

Age: 35

Jason Terry has always had irrational confidence and plenty of swagger at his disposal. It takes guts to tattoo the Larry O'Brien Trophy onto your right bicep and then back up the message by contributing to a title-winning squad. 

Perhaps Terry's confidence in crunch time isn't so irrational. 

During his last season with the Dallas Mavericks, Terry's effective field goal percentage of .603 far exceeded his overall mark of .514. That's what happens when you hit a bunch of threes as the clock nears its expiration. 

4. Tim Duncan, 21.95

Team: San Antonio Spurs

Position: PF/C

Age: 36

Tim Duncan earned his way back into the positives for the first time in a while thanks to his play in clutch situations for the San Antonio Spurs during the 2011-12 season. 

With his unstoppable bank shot and prowess in pick-and-roll situations, Duncan can score at will once the defense tires down. Gregg Popovich's decision to limit Duncan's minutes throughout the first three quarters and play him down the stretch in close games seems to be paying off. 

If you prorate Duncan's performance in the final five minutes of close games to 48 minutes, he would average a sensational 31.2 points. 

3. Goran Dragic: 29.54

Team: Phoenix Suns

Position: PG

Age: 26

The Phoenix Suns should be a little bit excited that their new acquisition at point guard finished significantly higher in these rankings than the man they let go. While Goran Dragic came in at No. 3, Steve Nash would have finished in 23rd place if he'd taken enough shots to qualify. 

Dragic didn't shoot too often when the situation was particularly dire, but he rarely missed when he pulled the trigger, especially when he did so from outside the paint. 

On jumpers, Dragic posted an absolutely ridiculous effective field goal percentage of .729. 

2. Andrew Bynum: 36.78

Team: Philadelphia 76ers

Position: C

Age: 24

It wasn't Kobe Bryant that emerged as the top clutch shooter during the 2011-12 season, but rather his talented—and now former—teammate. While Andrew Bynum trailed only one player in the rankings, Kobe finished way back at No. 49. 

Now, does that mean that the Los Angeles Lakers should have handed Bynum the ball instead of Kobe with the game on the line? 

Absolutely not. 

Kobe scored more points in these dire situations and also drew a lot more defensive attention. Many of Bynum's buckets were the result of passes that Bryant made out of double teams. 

Bynum couldn't miss in the final five minutes of close games, but he also didn't draw the same level of intensity from the defense, nor did the offensive burden rest upon his shoulders. 

1. Jrue Holiday: 38.00

Team: Philadelphia 76ers

Position: PG

Age: 22

Something tells me that you weren't expecting to see Jrue Holiday's name atop this particular set of rankings. 

The young point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers earned his spot though, dramatically increasing his shooting efficiency when the situation most called for it. Throughout the 2011-12 season, Holiday's effective field goal percentage was just .471. 

However, when the score was within five points and only five minutes were left on the game clock, Holiday started hitting shots. In that situation, his effective field goal percentage was .650. 

The floor general didn't try to take over the game, as evidenced by his tendency to take shots late in the shot clock, but he did make his attempts from everywhere on the court.