Where Amazing Happens: The 50 Greatest Plays In NBA History

The NBA has the slogan 'Where Amazing Happens' for a reason. It perfectly describes what you have seen in the past, are seeing now in the present, and what you will see in the future from the world's most gifted and talented athletes. For over half a century, the athletes in the NBA have entertained us to our hearts content and made feats that we can only dream about.

Since James Naismith created the concept of organizing a league of teams that won games by putting a ball through a hoop more times than the other, players from all around the world have given their shot at trying to outdo one another on the hardwood on a winning and entertainment standpoint. Needless to say, the NBA has had no problem developing players that wow us on a nightly basis.

When you begin to think of the plays that captivated you and thought could never be done again, you would only be proven wrong moments, months, or years later by a player who is just as talented as the player that did it before. The league has put out some of the greatest athletes in sporting history and have put out some of the greatest teams joined together as well.

What we're looking for here however is individuality. There is no doubt that the NBA is a team game where you need a stable balance to win games and exceed to your desired destination. The team gets you to where you want to be, but the individual keeps you watching and waiting for more. Many individuals in the past have come and gone over the past 50 years and many of these athletes have made plays that still awe and inspire us to this day.

Over 50 years of regulation basketball have gone by and we have a list of the 50 greatest plays to join alongside of it. From the 1960s to just last year, the NBA still continues to entertain us, as it will 50 years from now.

50. Allen Iverson Puts It Through The Wickets.

By the time Allen Iverson was a member of the Detroit Pistons, he was a shell of his former self. His former self being the one that won the 2001 MVP award and once won four scoring crowns earning the title as one of the most prolific scorers to play the game all while being 6'0" and 165 pounds.

His time with the Pistons was forgettable, but he still managed to leave an imprint at the Palace of Auburn Hills with an amazing 45-foot pass that somehow went right through the legs of Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill and into the hands of Richard Hamilton who finished the pass with an easy lay in.

Considering Iverson is more of a scorer than anything, this pass is only more impressive that it already is.

49. Chris Paul Isn't Going to Allow Jason Terry To Get in His Way.

In only five years in the league, Chris Paul has already established himself as arguably the best point guard in the game today. At 19 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, and two steals per game for his career thus far, Paul can be considered a bit of a well-rounded player as he has come near the coveted quadruple-double in the past.

One of his impressive attributes that doesn't show up in stat sheets is his uncanny dribbling ability. CP3 contains one of the best crossovers in the game, as well as dribbling and concentration and put it on display here in a game against the division rivals Dallas Mavericks. With the Hornets up double-digits, Paul decided to show off some of his skills by making a fool out of Jason Terry by putting it through his legs while continuing the dribble on the other end.

As all quality point guards do, he decided not to be selfish and go for the contested lay in, but instead to give it to the trailing David West who finished off the play with a dunk.

48. Chris Webber Showboats Before The Dunk.

Do you think they ever bring this up during commercials on TNT?

Before they were television personalities, Chris Webber and Charles Barkley were esteemed personalities on the court who were perennial All-Stars. When the two met up in a clash of the titans, Webber decided to get the upper hand of the rivalry with a little bit of NBA trash talk of his own. This time he used his game to do the talking.

With Webber on the fastbreak and Barkley trailing alongside of him, Paul decided to do the smart thing and go strong to the hoop for a thunderous dunk over the top of Barkley. The dunk wasn't even the best part of the drive as Webber brought the ball around his body right before rising up and throwing it down.

The celebratory arm raise pretty much put the dunk in one phrase: Yeah, that just happened.

47. Steve Nash Has Eyes in The Back on His Head.

When it comes down to passing, nobody in the league does it better than Steve Nash. His ability to find teammates in the most tight of spaces and obscure of places has earned him two MVP awards and an easy future Hall of Fame nomination in the process.

You can go through video after video finding Nash's astounding ability to find teammates through ridiculous passes, but none were as good as the gem he gave to Amar'e Stoudemire. Amar'e has had the privilege of receiving Nash's passes for years and will not be seeing them anymore due to his recent signing with the New York Knicks.

On this particular play, Nash drove the lane and garnered the attention of three different San Antonio Spurs. Instead of forcing a bad shot or throwing a wayward pass, Nash already knew what he was doing before the play began and threw a pass around the back of Tim Duncan into the hands of Stoudemire who finished the play with a ferocious and one dunk.

I'd like to see Raymond Felton start feeding passes like that to 'Stat'.

46. Jason Williams Adds Another Dimension to Passing.

If the pass wasn't to an inept Raef Lafrentz, this play would be ranked a lot higher.

Jason Williams isn't known for a terrific pass to turnover ratio, but he is known for his highlight worthy passes that looked like the works of Pete Maravich and Magic Johnson rolled into one when executed perfectly. As a Sacramento King, Williams spent most of his time creating plays for Peja Stojakovic and Chris Webber while making himself look like the reincarnation of Bob Cousy in the process.

It was obvious of what was to come from 'White Chocolate' during the 2000 Rookie Game when he led a fast break with teammates on both sides of him. It appeared that he was going to pass it to his right with a nifty behind the back pass, but instead used his elbow to hit the ball to his left to a streaking Lafrentz who was fouled as he went for the dunk.

Who intentionally fouls someone in the Rookie Game?

45. LeBron James Caps off the Performance Of His Life With a Bang.

LeBron James is a good player, to say the least. In only seven years in the league, James has enough accomplishments to make veterans cringe and make rookies nervous of what they are expected to follow up. With two consecutive MVP awards and an absurd number of accolades to go along with them, LeBron has a bright future ahead of him and a few championships could be along the way now that he has signed with the Miami Heat.

In quite possibly one of the greatest playoff performances of all time, James decided to take the game into his own hands in a 2007 postseason match up with the Detroit Pistons. Not only did he lead his Cleveland Cavaliers to a win by hitting the game winning layup in double overtime, but he had already hit the team's last 25 points.

Let's try and put that into perspective shall we. Most teams don't score 25 points in a quarter, but James somehow managed to consecutively score nearly an entire quarter's worth of points and then some. No point however was more electric than his soaring jam over the 6'11" Rasheed Wallace who made the mistake of trying to contest the athletic monster.

44. Darryl Dawkins Changes The NBA Forever.

The backboard's are not made of glass anymore for a reason and you can thank Darryl Dawkins for that.

At 6'11" and 255 pounds, Dawkins was already a force to be reckoned with in the NBA. He wasn't too much of a scorer, but more recognized as a bruiser. In fact, Darryl recorded the NBA record for most fouls in a season with 386 during the 1983-84 season. Considering he played 81 games that season, it equates to nearly five fouls per contest.

Fouls aren't what Dawkins is known for by the NBA world. What we know of Dawkins is that he was the first NBA player to ever destroy an NBA regulation basket. On November 11, 1979, Darryl sent players running after he broke the glass backboard on a thunderous slam that sent shards to the court. It wasn't over though as Darryl repeated the feat on December 6, 1979 by shattering the board and this time taking the rim down in the process.

The league decided that players will be fined from now on for breaking the board before finally institutionalizing unbreakable backboards.

43. Shaquille O'Neal Does Darryl Dawkins One Better.

The NBA might have replaced the glass backboard with plastic, but it didn't stop Shaquille O'Neal from doing the next best thing to breaking it: tearing it down.

In his time at LSU, O'Neal was a freak of nature. He was larger than any player that had ever stepped onto an NBA court and actually had a game to go with it as he featured a powerful low post presence and a quickness that went unmatched by any other center. Before he was a shining star in Los Angeles however, he was just beginning to develop as a man-child in Orlando.

With the new backboard, nothing had been torn down or broken for over a decade until Shaq decided that the streak had run on long enough. In a game against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal sent down one of his usual power slams, but held onto the rim longer than he should have and tore down the entire backboard, shot clock, and nearly the stadium in the process.

It wouldn't be the only time either as he dunked so hard on a rim another time that it laid down out of fear.

42. Alonzo Mourning Emphatically Returns to the Miami Heat

Before Dwyane Wade was heating it up in Miami, Alonzo Mourning was making a legacy of his own on South Beach.

Zo had been a member of the Miami Heat since the 1995-96 season and immediately impacted the team in a positive light by making the postseason in his first year with the team leading the team with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks per game. The next season he would lead the Heat to 61 wins, still a franchise record, their first division championship, and their first Conference Finals appearance.

While Zo and the Heat would have their setbacks with a number of run-ins with the New York Knicks, there was no moment more disheartening than Mourning's sudden retirement. Before the start of the 2000-'01 season, Mourning was diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening kidney ailment that allowed him to only play 13 games. He did play in 75 games in the 2001-02 season, but did not nearly look like the Zo of old and sat out the 2002-'03 season.

Following a brief comeback with the New Jersey Nets for two seasons, Mourning rejoined the Heat as a backup to Shaquille O'Neal. His return was heralded as he entered a laugher of a game between the Heat and Sacramento Kings in the waning moments. His presence was immediately felt as he blocked the first shot attempt the Kings put up and grabbed the ensuing rebound.

It was one of the most memorable moments in Miami Heat history and the NBA should remember Alonzo for his accomplishments on and off the court.

41. Julius Erving Goes Up and Under The Los Angeles Lakers Defense.

Julius Erving is recognized by NBA fans everywhere as the man who revolutionized the art of dunking. His high-flying spectacles that he would show off a nightly basis made NBA fans interested in an entirely new aspect of the game that was not prominently seen before.

However, one of his most famous moves in his time as a member of the ABA and NBA is only a lay up. It's not just any lay up though as he showed off his hang time and play making abilities with a one handed reverse lay up that stunned the Philadelphia 76ers crowd.

Thirty years later and this play still has NBA fans in awe.

40. Allen Iverson Puts Antonio Daniels on Ice Skates.

As I stated before about Allen Iverson, the man can straight up score like it's no one's business. He's averaged 27 points over his Hall of Fame worthy career and has topped off at 33 points per game in the 2005-'06 season. Scoring just appears to be second nature to Iverson who can score from anywhere and any way he wants to.

On this play, he'll decide to score while embarrassing Antonio Daniels in the process. Iverson is as good as they come when it comes to the art of the crossover and put it on full display when he had the unfortunate Wizards guard attempting to guard him. Allen used one move to make Daniels need to use his arm to stay on his feet and then blew past him to completely put Antonio on the floor.

It's ok Antonio, you're not the first one to succumb to the deadly crossover of Allen Iverson. Well, maybe not one this bad.

39. Dwight Howard Ends The Game Doing What He Does Best.

In one of the most absurd ways to end a game, Dwight Howard held the responsibility of winning the game for the Orlando Magic at the buzzer.

With the game tied at 104 and only 0.7 seconds left, the ball was in Hedo Turkoglu's hands to inbound the ball to a teammate who can somehow find a way to win the game for his team. As any NBA fan knows, Dwight has little to no offensive game outside of being within five feet of the rim. Dunking and put-backs are his specialty and while he has been criticized for it in the past, it would be his limited offensive game that would give the Magic the victory.

Howard took advantage of Tim Duncan sleeping on defense and rolled to the rim where he caught the inbound from Hedo and threw it down with no time left on the clock, giving the Magic an astounding 106-104 victory over the Spurs.

38. Shawn Kemp Dunks on Alton Lister's Grandchildren

I can never see what happened after that dunk even possible in the NBA today.

Shawn Kemp has established his career as a high-flying, powerful forward on the Seattle Supersonics who was primed for an NBA title if not for the heroics of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Nevertheless, Kemp still made a career out of embarrassing opposing defenders with his electrifying dunks and ability to posterize just about anybody in the NBA.

No player got the brunt of it worse than Alton Lister though. Lister isn't a household name, but if his name is ever brought up, it's strictly for the fact of what Kemp did to him in an April 30th game. Kemp was only a few years in the league, but was already well respected for every aspect of his game. Lister thought that a charge would be all he needed to put a stop to 'The Rain Man.'

Instead, Shawn dunked on the top of Lister sending him to the floor before mockingly pointing at him. I can't even begin to fathom the amount of technical fouls that would be issued to Kemp if he did that in today's game. Sadly for Alton, the mocking only makes this dunk more famous than it should have been.

37. Dwyane Wade Starts The Show and Shaquille O'Neal Finishes It.

It's difficult to argue that Dwyane Wade is not the most electrifying player in the league today. His dunks, ball-handling, and his ability to lead a team through adversity are among some of his greatest traits and are the most entertaining moments to watch for in any contest the Miami Heat are a part of.

During O'Neal's short tenure with the team, Wade used him to his advantage with a number of dazzling plays with none better than the gem he pulled off against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the game already decided, Dwyane decided to entertain the crowd a little more by dribbling around the back of Cavs forward Sasha Pavlovic and then throwing a half-court alley-oop to Shaq a few dribbles later.

The tandem of Wade and Shaq would go onto win the franchise's sole championship a few months later with this play capping off a historic period in Heat history.

36. Gilbert Arenas Has Some Serious Confidence.

Before Gilbert Arenas was known for possessing guns in the Wizards locker room, he was known for being one of the league's most lethal and deadly shooters in the closing minutes of a game. Arenas has hit a number of game winners over his illustrious career, but it was his game winner against the Utah Jazz in front of a sell out crowd at the Verizon Center that sums up his career.

With the game tied at 111-111 and the seconds waning down, the ball was put into Agent Zero's hands and as every player and fan expected he took the shot from a little beyond the arc. What no one expected was that Arenas would begin to celebrate the win before the shot it went in. Arenas gave the Wizards a 114-111 victory and looked impressive doing so because if he had missed that shot, he would be ridiculed for the next decade as a cocky player.

I've tried this many times in pick-up basketball games and practice and have failed miserably at every attempt. It is harder than it actually looks.

35. Devin Harris Doesn't Need The Ball In His Hands to Win a Game.

With a victory all but assured for the Philadelphia 76ers after Andre Igodala had given them a 96-95 lead following two foul shots, all the Sixers had to do was keep the ball beyond half court and not give the Nets any chance of hitting a miracle shot to give them the win.

New Jersey only had two seconds left on the clock and had no timeouts remaining meaning that had to inbound it from the other side of the court. A streaking Devin Harris took the inbound a little beyond the Nets own foul line and dribbled it to half court where Iggy stripped the ball and assured a Sixers victory. Well at least that's what should have happened, but instead Harris simply re-gained control of the ball and threw it up at the last millisecond.

The shot went in giving the Nets a 98-96 victory and the Sixers and their fans are still haunted by the thought of Devin Harris at night.

34. Vince Carter's Hangtime Alley-Oop

Vince Carter is notorious for his dunking. Whether it's Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, or the country of France, nearly every one that has played in a game with Vinsanity has had a piece of Carter rising up and dunking on or near them. It's nothing to be embarrassed about as Carter has made a career out of dunking on people.

Carter's absurd leaping ability has attributed to his notoriety of being known as arguably the greatest dunker of all time. Most of his star studded dunks came as a member of the Toronto Raptors before he decided to swear off dunking for good in the city that has now become public enemy No. 1 to Vince. His greatest dunk as a member of the Raptors came in an away game with the Los Angeles Clippers on a fast break that surprisingly did not feature any poster's in the process.

Vince took a pass from half court in mid-air, grabbed it with one hand, and in the same motion threw down the perfect alley-oop after appearing to hover in the air for a few minutes. His prime dunking years might be behind him, but a number of his dunks will never be matched even by the most athletic of players.

33. Kobe Bryant Make Vincent Yarbrough a Household Name.

Vincent Yarbrough is one of those special players in the NBA whose claim to fame is not that of being a spectacular player, but for being dunked on by a spectacular player. Much like the case of Shawn Bradley, Yarbrough would not be regularly known if not for his role in one of the NBA's greatest poster dunks.

Following a terrific full-court pass, Bryant caught the pass near the Denver Nuggets three-point line and with Yarbrough hounding him, went behind his back, took one more step, and threw down a reverse slam over the top of the unsuspecting guard.

In his heyday, Bryant was the king of impossible dunks like this one. He has thrown down slams from impossible angles while using an absurd of hang time in the process and has made people even like Vincent Yarbrough famous.

32. Magic Johnson Is Going to Take This One Real Easy.

You'll need to skip to about 30 seconds into the video to see the play that made the list, but honestly watch the whole video because it's jaw dropping.

In this particular play where it appears both teams are stepping up their offense and defense, Johnson takes a lazy hand off from James Worthy and bullets a bounce pass in between two different opponents legs and gets it to an open teammate for an easy dunk. It was plays like this that made Johnson an elite point guard and why he is recognized as the best passer to play the game.

Magic Johnson is undoubtedly the greatest passer of all time. His height at 6'9" gave him a significant advantage over any other guard as he not only could shoot over them, but he had the mindset of a point guard in a small forward's body and could see places on the court that no other guard could see. Couple that with the fact that he could fit passes into just about any crevice and you have quite possibly the greatest point guard that will ever step onto an NBA court.

31. Kobe Bryant Doesn't Need Too Much Room For Take Off.

Kobe Bryant added another poster to his repertoire, this time adding Latrell Sprewell to the mix with a ferocious baseline slam. As I said before, Bryant contains the ability to dunk at impossible angles while needing little momentum to jump making Kobe a dangerous player to guard under the rim.

In this play, Kobe used his quickness to blow past Sprewell and only needed three steps for lift off as he wrapped around the rim in mid air and threw down the vicious slam on the New York Knicks. It seemingly looks too easy for Bryant as he needs little room for take off to slam it down.

Kevin Harlan couldn't have put it any better claiming that Bryant has no regard for human life.

30. Isaiah Rider Hits The Shot of The Decade.

Remember Isaiah Rider's time in the NBA? Yeah, neither do I. However, we all remember when Isaiah Rider hit possibly the toughest three-point shot in recent memory in a game with the Sacramento Kings in one of his first few years in the league as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Facing a near turnover a little beyond the three-point line, Rider grabbed the ball and threw it behind his back in an act of desperation to not allow the easy turnover. Instead of just saving the ball however, he somehow managed to swish it from behind his back, going out of bounds, and not even close to aiming at the rim. A number of players have trouble even shooting three-pointers, but Rider managed to do it blindfolded.

Rider's career was short lived as he only played nine years in the league before jumping from team to team and eventually retiring. He still has the claim to fame as completing the play of the decade and I don't know of any other person that can say that.

29. Allen Iverson Shoots and Steps Over Tyron Lue's Life.

Allen Iverson might only have one NBA finals appearance and win to his name, but it was easily the most memorable moment of the 2000-'01 finals when the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Los Angeles Lakers. While the Lakers would win the series in five games, it was in Game 1 where Iverson took the NBA world by storm.

In a tightly contested game where the score fluctuated as high as a Lakers 13 point lead and a Sixers 19 point lead, it eventually came down to a decisive overtime with the score knotted at 94. Iverson would lead the Sixers to victory by outscoring the Lakers 13-7 with no point being more important than the shot Allen hit over Tyron Lue.

With the Lakers bench breathing down his neck and Tyron Lue all over him, Iverson went cornrow to cornrow and hit a sweet jump shot right over the top of Lue who then fell underneath A.I. Rather than stepping around him, Iverson decided to go the hurtful route and step over Tyron instead right in front of the Lakers bench. The Lakers would go on to win the next four games, but Iverson's imprint on the NBA had already been made.

Dwyane Wade's step over attempt didn't quite look as good. 

28. Dwyane Wade Doesn't Need to Look at The Basket To Score.

This is why Dwyane Wade has had to sit out games in the past. Hard falls like this can cripple a player's career, but in Wade's case it just looks awesome.

In a game four match up with the Detroit Pistons during the Eastern Conference Finals, Wade had a clear lane to the rim for the easy two until Antonio McDyess decided to step in under him during his drive. Dwyane took notice of this and drew the foul, but in the process managed to flip the shot up behind his back and put in the ridiculous lay in turning it into an and one attempt.

What some might consider lucky is actually more skill than anything. Dwyane has hit a number of these garden variety circus shots over his illustrious career with this one involving the most skill and concentration to finish. It makes it even scarier to guard Wade knowing that he can score from just about anywhere and any how on the court.

Even if he's not looking and in mid-air.

27. Tracy McGrady Dunks On Shawn Bradley.

We learned a few things from this play. Tracy McGrady is usually sleepy eyed, Shawn Bradley is really bad at this blocking shots business, and Kevin Harlan really knows how to make a play even more electrifying than it already is.

I'll give credit to Bradley as a shot blocker because not many people are aware of the fact that he is actually a decent shot blocker at over 2,000 for his career and even averaging as much as three blocks in the 1996-'97 season. The problem with Shawn was that he was so lanky and weak that he wasn't too good at blocking dunks from just about anybody. From Derek Fisher to Donyell Marshall, just about everyone in the league could say they dunked on Bradley at a time in their careers.

However, no one threw down a fiercer dunk on Bradley than the one Tracy McGrady did in the 2005 postseason. T-Mac went baseline around Dirk Nowitzki and left a wide open lane with only Shawn Bradley in the way. With little time to react, Shawn gave a weak attempt to block the shot and instead got a very large amount of groin sweat on his back as McGrady nearly went uncontested.

Shawn is another one of the players on this list who has made a career and has become famous for being on the opposite end of a number of poster dunks.

26. Kobe Bryant Stuns The Miami Heat.

The luckiest shot of his career? Possibly considering he said it himself. Does it take anything anyway from the fact that he hit possibly the greatest game winner of his career? Not one bit.

Kobe is known as the 'Black Mamba' for a reason. He's as deadly as they come in the late moments of games and has made a name for himself as one of the most lethal players to ever play against when the game is in his hands. No team now knows this better than the Miami Heat who got a full dose of Kobe at his best when Bryant stunned them and stole an assured win.

With the Heat up 107-105 and the Lakers inbounding with three seconds left, any one could have told you that Kobe was going to take the final shot. With Dwyane Wade playing the best defense any one could have thrown at Bryant, Kobe threw up a shot that was sideways with the rim and falling away and would have been impossible for anyone else to make that wasn't named Kobe Bryant.

The problem for the Heat is that the guy who took the shot was named Kobe Bryant and as expected he banked in the game winner giving the Lakers a stunning 108-107 victory over a shocked Heat team. For those who honestly want to dispute that Bryant is the best player in the league, just replay the video a few times.

25. Allen Iverson Makes Sure The NBA World Knows He Is the Crossover King.

Even early in his career, Allen Iverson was making his impression felt. No one felt it more than Michael Jordan on this particular play.

The 76ers knew they had something special on their hands when Iverson decided to break the crossover out of his repertoire against an already established Michael Jordan. Possibly one of the most bold moves to ever be made by a player against Jordan, Iverson gave an attempt to cross over one of the greatest players to ever step onto an NBA court.

He did it once. Then he did it again. Finally he made the shot right on Jordan for good measure. A bold and risky move, but Iverson made sure the NBA remembered his name as he had just crossed over and shot on the same player who won six NBA championships and five NBA MVPs.

Do you think Brandon Jennings wants to give a shot at trying and finishing a move like this on Kobe Bryant? Didn't think so.

24. Dwyane Wade Turns a Good Play into a Great Play.

Dwyane Wade can do a little of it all on the court. He can score at will, he can rebound when needed, make excellent passes when he finds an open teammate, use his anticipation to steal passes, and is recognized as arguably the best shot-blocking guard to play the game after setting the record for blocks in a season by a player 6'4" or under.

In this play, he needed to use that supreme blocking ability along with his ability to hit shots from the opponent's foul line to finish off for good measure. With Amare Stoudemire appearing to get an easy shot off before the third quarter buzzer, Wade decided to do him one better by blocking the shot attempt out of Stoudemire's hands, take a few dribbles, and get the shot off from 70 feet away to give the Heat three more points to their advantage.

It's just plays like this by Dwyane Wade that prove you once and again that he is the most electrifying player in the game today and is one of the few players in league history that can start and finish off a play like this.

23. Dominique Wilkins Ends The Game With Emphasis.

You'll need to skip to about 1:45 in to see the dunk that made this list, but just about any of Dominique Wilkins dunks can crack this list.

When you're called the 'Human Highlight Film', you have a reputation to uphold. A reputation that requires you making a number of highlight reel worthy plays game after game while winning games for your team as well. 'Nique had no trouble doing both as he led the Atlanta Hawks for a decade and made outstanding play after outstanding play while doing so.

Wilkins made a career out of power dunks and his late game dunk against the Milwaukee Bucks was no different from any other besides it being one of his most impressive that wasn't in a dunk contest. With a little under a minute remaining in the contest, 'Nique decided that he had to take on three different Bucks at the same time with Bob Lanier getting the worst of it.

On only two dribbles and off vertical, Wilkins double-pumped and slammed one right over Lanier who had no chance from the beginning as he got a face full of Dominique.

22. Ralph Sampson's 15 Foot Game Winning Tip In.

With only one second remaining in a decisive game seven with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets needed a miracle to end the game in regulation and an eventual date in the NBA finals with the Boston Celtics.

Or they could just use Ralph Sampson.

In one of the most miraculous and underrated game winners of all time, the Rockets inbounded to Sampson who completely had his back to the basket when he caught the ball in mid-air near the foul line. The Lakers would be stunned as they saw Sampson throw up their prayer, bounce one time on the front of the rim, and eventually fall in giving the Rockets the series win and the championship berth.

The miracle shot was easily the pinnacle of Sampson's career as it would be for just about 95 percent of the players in the NBA.

21. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Puts His Signature Move To Work.

Each superstar has their signature move. Their was no signature move more effective and sweet to watch than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's sky hook which is why he is currently the historical leader in scoring at over 38,000 points for his career.

The sky hook was just one of many moves to his repertoire, but it was the little hook shot that allowed Abdul-Jabbar to reign as dominant for nearly 20 years in the league. The shot was impossible to block due to it being thrown from the other side of Kareem's body and was also too high of a shot to block when effectively shot. Not to mention, Abdul-Jabbar can score with it from just about anywhere from inside the three-point arc.

In a matchup with the Clippers, Kareem decided to break out the sky hook to win the game. Despite the shot being nearly beyond the foul line and Bill Walton being right in his face, Kareem still took the shot and executed it perfectly winning the game for the Lakers.

The sky hook is one of the hardest shots to perfect, but when done perfectly as Abdul-Jabbar has exhibited, it could truly be a work of art.

20. Rasheed Wallace Isn't Going to Let The Pistons Lose That Easily.

It is one of the most impossible events to ever happen in a regulation basketball game, but as Kevin Garnett said, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!"

With the Detroit Pistons down 98-95 to the Denver Nuggets and the Nuggets inbounding from their side of the court, all appeared to be lost for Detroit as all Denver needed to do was inbound and watch the rest of the clock tick away. With only two seconds left, not much could have been done unless the Nuggets somehow managed to turn the ball over into the waiting hands of Rasheed Wallace who would have to quickly launch the ball from 3/4s of the court away, and somehow make it in the allotted time.

Oh wait it did happen. As expected, the Pistons would go on to win the game in overtime 113-109.

19. Laphonso Ellis Eats Shots For Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

I bet the last person you'd expect on this list would be Laphonso Ellis. Well it's for a good reason because Ellis made his impression felt on an unsuspecting Minnesota Timberwolves player who thought he could go over the top of Ellis and throw down a dunk.

Ellis had other ideas as he not only blocked the shot of the player, but completely ripped it from his hands and ended up coming down with the ball by the end of the play. Laphonso didn't have the greatest of careers averaging 12 points and seven rebounds over his eleven seasons in the league, but this play could make any players career look amazing.

Not even Hakeem Olajuwon can boast blocking a players shot and coming down with it by the end of the play. Not many people however are Laphonso Ellis.

18. Horace Grant Ends The NBA Finals With a Block.

For a brief moment, the Chicago Bulls appeared ready for a possible NBA Finals loss. They can thank Horace Grant for ending any thoughts of that happening.

Following a John Paxson three-pointer to give the Bulls a 99-98 lead in Game 6 the 1993 NBA finals with the Phoenix Suns, the Suns were given the final shot with four seconds remaining. If the Suns made the shot, they'd have the victory and would have Game 7 back in their house to end any hope of the Bulls winning their third consecutive championship.

Suns guard Kevin Johnson inbounded the ball and was met by the Bulls big man in Horace Grant. An ideal matchup for a guard, Johnson blew past Grant and shot the game winning attempt. It's too bad for the Suns that Johnson never got off the shot because Horace had kept up with Johnson and blocked him from behind giving the Bulls the victory and the championship.

The fourth quarter was an interesting one as Michael Jordan and John Paxson were the only players to hit a shot for the Bulls. Horace Grant made his impact felt with the block to give the team their third consecutive championship.

17. Magic Johnson Doesn't Need Legs To Pass.

You'll need to skip to about two minutes into the video to see the play.

Magic's 6'9" frame gave him the ability to see the court better than any other point guard, but was brought down to size as he struggled to control the ball. Magic managed to steal the ball away from one member of the Houston Rockets and with another defender in his way as he was still seated, he decided not to pass it to a more capable player who was standing, but instead to just put it through the legs of the defender and find a wide open Kurt Rambis for the dunk.

You don't earn the name Magic just because you can pass while standing.

16. Julius Erving Revolutionizes The Art Of Dunking.

Dr. J is an impressive dunker to say the least. He has a number of famous dunks to his repertoire and put them on full display in the two league's he played in over his illustrious career. There is no dunk more famed however than the rock the cradle dunk he broke out in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers and on the head of Michael Cooper.

Erving out-hustled Cooper to a loose ball and took it the length of the court. He'd begin his lift off a little inside the foul line with Cooper still trailing. Erving responded to the unwarranted defense by slamming the tomahawk right over the unsuspecting Lakers forward. The dunk electrified the crowd as it got the entire crowd on it's feet.

While the dunk might not be that amazing to some as far as today's standards go, the dunk back then was not as prominent as it is seen now. Erving was one of the first players to begin using the dunk to his advantage, while making it an art that would be used by every NBA player to electrify a crowd and give a team some needed inspiration.

15. John Starks Completes 'The Dunk'.

I'm not exactly sure why people say John Starks dunks on Michael Jordan when he isn't really in the picture, but Horace Grant is the one that does end up getting a face full of poster following the end of the dunk.

The Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks was storied rivalry of the 1990s as the two teams would duke it out in a number of postseason's and regular season games that would feature some of the most memorable moments in NBA history. One of them being Knicks guard John Starks famous baseline dunk over the top of Grant near the end of the game in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd.

The 6'5" guard certainly made a name for himself in recurring match up's with the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, and Miami Heat during the a number of postseasons, but he truly showed up for the occassion with 'The Dunk.'

14. Michael Jordan's Six Three-Pointers.

I think we've already established the point that Michael Jordan is a special player. No sequence of events was more special than the shooting display he put on in the 1991-92 NBA finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jordan made his impression felt immediately in game one with possibly the greatest NBA finals performance of all time when he hit an NBA record six three-point field goals while also setting a record for points in a half with an astounding 35. The three-pointers are most remembered by Jordan's reaction to the sixth one by looking over to the scorers table and simply shrugging his shoulders as if to say, I don't know how it's happening either.

The Bulls would go on to win the game 122-89 and the series in six games for their second consecutive championship.

13. Isiah Thomas Uses The Floor To His Advantage.

Prior to being an awful NBA executive, Isiah Thomas was a terrific passer. In fact, he was probably one of the best at it. In his heyday, Thomas could find just about anyone on his Detroit Pistons team and has two NBA championships to go along with his illustrious career.

There was no pass more impressive than the one he completed in a regular season game against the New York Knicks. Other than just simply throwing the alley-oop to his streaking teammate, Isiah decided to do himself one better by slamming the ball against the hardwood in the perfect angle to send the ball to the teammate at the perfect height and time to finish off the alley-oop.

Never again have any of us seen the pass that Thomas had completed nearly 20 years ago.

12. Larry Bird Makes Up For Past Mistakes.

It appeared all but lost for the Boston Celtics in game five of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. Larry Bird had just seen his lay up attempt rejected at the rim and now in the Pistons possession with Detroit up by one and five seconds left. All the Pistons had to do was inbound the ball, make some free throws, and win the game.

That is only if Isiah Thomas had gotten the pass into one of his teammates, rather than Bird who snuck up in front of the intended receiver and stole the ball. Bird then wisely calmed down with the ball and found a streaking Dennis Johnson who made the eventual game winning lay in with one second remaining.

I'd say Larry definitely made up for that blocked game winning attempt four seconds prior.

11. Jerry West Shows The World Why He Is The Logo.

It wasn't looking too good for the Los Angeles Lakers after the New York Knicks Dave Debusschere made an apparent game winner with only five seconds remaining in game three of the 1970 NBA finals.

With the Lakers down by two and needing to go the length of the court due to having no timeouts, a miracle was needed. It just so happened that Jerry West was on the court at the time and received the pass near his own foul line before dribbling a little behind half court and throwing up the prayer. Had the three-point line been instituted, the Lakers would have won right then and there after West made the unbelievable shot. Alas, it was only worth two points and the Lakers would go onto win in overtime.

Anybody want to dispute who should be the logo now?

10. John Havlicek Steals The Ball!

In one of the most famous play calls in NBA history, the NBA finals matchup between the Boston Celtics and Phialdelphia 76ers was one to remember. Not to mention it was game seven of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals which would just about put everyone on the edge of their seat.

With the Celtics only up by one and the 76ers inbounding, a meltdown was about to come to a dismal ending for the Celtics who had blown a big lead. With Wilt Chamberlain under the net, it appeared that the 76ers were set for victory as Hal Greer was inbounding the ball from under his own basket. The Celtics however had prevented Chamberlain from getting a good look by utilizing Bill Russell.

Greer instead looked near the three-point line where he found Chet Walker, who appeared to be open. What Greer didn't know was that John 'Hondo' Havlicek was already anticipating the pass to Walker and deflected it to Sam Jones who dribbled down court and gave the Celtics the Conference Finals victory.

Johnny Most's call will forever go down in the annuls of NBA history as the most memorable call to date.

9. Michael Jordan Makes Sure The City Of Cleveland Knows His Name.

It was on May 7th, 1989 that Michael Jordan truly made a name for himself as the most lethal player to ever step onto an NBA court. His theatrics and clutch performances have give NBA fans a reason to name him as the greatest player to ever have a basketball in his hands and there aren't many other better game winner's from the man himself than the fabled shot over Craig Ehlo.

With only three seconds remaining and the series on the line, the ball was inbounded to Jordan near the three-point line. MJ immediately dribbled to the free throw line, all while Ehlo pressured him the whole way and even put a hand in his face during the shot. With the score 101-100, it was make or break for Michael as he took the shot and saw it rattle in for the 102-101 victory.

Michael would hit many more game winners over his amazing career with not many bigger than the one that gave him the title of perennial superstar.

8. Tracy McGrady Finishes Off 13 Points In 35 Seconds.

For a brief 35-second stretch, Tracy McGrady was a basketball god.

With the San Antonio Spurs up by double-digits with a little over 30 seconds to play, the Houston Rockets should have been ready to go into the locker room and think this game over before moving on to the next one. Tracy McGrady however had different plans in store for his Rockets.

McGrady hit one three-pointer. Then he hit another. And another, this time with a foul. With the game 82-80 and a few seconds remaining, it would only be appropriate that the Spurs would turn the ball over into the hands of T-Mac. McGrady took it the length of the court, pulled up from the three-point stripe, and drained the eventual game winner with two seconds remaining.

The Spurs would not answer back and the Rockets would win 83-82 giving every NBA fan a reason to fully watch an NBA game from start to finish. Tracy McGrady is now considered an inspiration to NBA teams everywhere to never give up because impossible is nothing.

7. Michael Jordan Owns The City Of New York.

When it comes to taking on a team, nobody did it better than Michael Jordan did at one particular moment in game three in the first round of the 1991 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.

With the Bulls down 54-50 at the Garden, Jordan received the pass at three-point line where he would attempt to dribble baseline before being met by John Starks and Charles Oakley. Jordan slowly retreated back to the three-point line before quickly turning around and fooling Starks and Oakley before eventually dunking over the top of Knicks center Patrick Ewing for the two points and the foul.

It is possibly Michael Jordan's greatest dunk as he not only beat Ewing under the rim, but took on nearly the entire Knicks team in the process by completely faking out a famed defender in Oakley and Starks at the same time. Jordan would eventually lead the Bulls to their first NBA championship a few series later.

6. Reggie Miller Also Does Not Care For The City Of New York.

With 19 seconds remaining and the game one seemingly over considering that the New York Knicks were up by six, the ball was given to Indiana Pacers forward Reggie Miller who would quickly turn around and make the three-pointer cutting the lead to three.

It would still be impressive for the Pacers to come back now that they were down by three and still had to either steal the inbound or foul the Knick who received the pass. Miller decided on the latter as he took advantage of a wayward inbound pass by stealing it and having the presence of mind to run behind the three-point line and tying the game.

All of this happening within five seconds. The Pacers would go on to win the game in front of a stunned MSG crowd.

5. Michael Jordan's 'Final' Shot.

It's quite possibly the greatest moment in NBA history, for fans outside of Utah at least.

With the Jazz up 86-85 in game six of the NBA finals, Jordan stole the ball from Karl Malone to give the Bulls one last shot of winning the game and the championship. Not using any time outs, Jordan quickly drove the length of the court where he was met by Byron Russell at the three-point line. Jordan drove to outside of the foul line where Russell slid giving Jordan the wide open shot for the game winner.

Because it was Michael Jordan, he made it with ease giving the Bulls an 87-86 lead and their eventual second threepeat of the decade. Prior to making an infamous return with the Washington Wizards, this was considered to be his final shot of a historic career. During any shoot-around, it's customary to end the practice on a made shot.

This would have been the perfect way to end a career had he not came back to lower his stats.

4. Derek Fisher Only Needs 0.4 Seconds to Upset The San Antonio Spurs.

Following a stunning fadeaway jumper by Tim Duncan to give the San Antonio Spurs the lead, the Los Angeles Lakers didn't have much to work with considering there were only 0.4 seconds left on the clock. There was no doubt that Kobe Bryant would be under too much pressure to get off a quality shot, so it seemed there would be no hope for the Lakers barring a miracle shot.

The Lakers got their miracle, but not from Kobe Bryant.

With Gary Payton inbounding the ball, a player was sure to be found. It turned out that player was Derek Fisher who was being defended by a much larger Manu Ginobili. With no time to get off anything near a good look, Fisher threw up the shot over the outstretched hands of Manu while also fading away. By some divine act of the basketball gods above, Fisher's shot hit nothing but net giving the Lakers an unbelievable Game 5 victory.

The Spurs might have four NBA championships, but when they lose, it looks like it hurts.

3. Larry Bird Once Again Makes Up For Past Mistakes.

Larry Bird is a shooting legend in every right. He has one of the smoothest jump shot's in league history and is one of only two players in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP awards. He has hit so many clutch shots and has created so many plays for his teammates that you could fill an entire top 50 best plays with just Larry Legend.

But this is the NBA and Larry Bird can't be that selfish by getting a complete top 50 devoted to him.

Instead we'll go with his most memorable and skilled play. Following a rare missed jump shot, Bird had the presence of mind to go after his miss before it even hit the rim. The carom would go right where Bird was waiting as he grabbed the rebound with his right hand, quickly switched to his left while falling out of bounds, and laid it in.

Larry seems to spend a lot of time behind the backboard doesn't he?

2. Magic Johnson's Junior Sky Hook.

If you weren't looking at the numbers or the face, you'd swear it was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar himself.

With game four hanging in the balance and the Lakers up 2-1 in the 1987 NBA finals, the ball was put into the hands of Magic Johnson to give Los Angeles a dominating 3-1 series lead in Boston. With only five seconds remaining, there was no room for error from the famed point guard who had the option of either using his astounding court vision to find somebody or to take the shot.

Johnson decided to go for the shot. Rather than take the usual jump shot, Johnson broke out something new out of his repertoire by shooting a sky hook over the outstretched hands of Kevin McHale and Robert Parish a little in front of the foul line.

As everybody now knows, the shot went in giving the Lakers a 107-106 lead and an eventual victory. Los Angeles would also go on to win the series in six games with the game four win the driving force behind another Lakers championship. 

1. Michael Jordan Makes The Impossible Possible.

I attempted not to put too much Michael Jordan in this list that I have compiled. I had to omit a number of spectacular plays by a number of players, but none more than the number of highlight's I had from Jordan. Needless to say, this was one that was not hitting the cutting room floor.

In what seemed like minutes during the 1991 NBA Finals match up between the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan was ready to go up for another spectacular dunk from inside the foul line. Instead of dunking it with his right hand, he switched the ball from his right to his left hand, in mid-air mind you, and finished the amazing lay up.

There is only so much that can be said about Jordan that hasn't been said already. The way he performs had never been seen before and will possibly never be seen again. His theatrics and uncanny ability to play the game of basketball is nothing short of amazing and he deserves this No. 1 spot as this play was by and far the No. 1 choice from the start.