Kobe Bryant: Ranking the Lakers Superstar's 5 Greatest Buzzer-Beaters

There are few players in sports who rise to the occasion when it matters most. In the NBA, fans consider players clutch when they have a flair for the dramatic in the last few seconds of the game. The one man who has done that consistently in recent history is Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2009-10 alone, he hit six buzzer-beaters.

Obviously, he's had more throughout his illustrious career, making picking the top five Kobe Bryant buzzer-beaters a tough task.

That being said, here they are, with video and all, based on the shock value and importance of the shots.

5. Bucks Announcer Can't Make Kobe Miss!

The Bucks had a six-point lead in overtime, but Kobe generally doesn't stop playing until the buzzer. Down by one point with five seconds left, the Lakers carried the ball down the court and then gave it to Kobe.

Kobe backed down on his defender from a little bit outside of the paint, and then he drained an unbelievable turnaround jumper to clinch the victory for LA.

What makes this shot special is that the Bucks color analyst yelled, "Miss it!" during the Bucks telecast. It's almost as if he knew there was no way Kobe was going to be stopped, and he had a notion that maybe if he pitched in and shouted out something crazy like that on the air, it would aid in Kobe missing the shot.

Better luck next time!

4. Kobe Rings in the New Year with a Bang

On New Year's Day 2010, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers played a home game against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers were trailing by 15 points at halftime, but they inched closer in the second half thanks to great efforts by Lamar Odom and Bryant.

The Lakers were down by two in the dying seconds of the game before the "Black Mamba" struck again with an off-balance three-pointer from the corner to give the Lakers their first win in 2010.

Notice that before he even takes the shot, he saves Pau Gasol's pass from going out of bounds, and then he makes sure he's inbounds before nailing the dagger.

3. Kobe Cools off the Heat

Before LeBron James was in South Beach, the Heat were still a pretty formidable team led by Dwyane Wade. The Lakers and Heat met on a Friday night at Staples Center in the early days of December 2009. 

Down by two, the Lakers went to Kobe to bail them out. He was guarded well and didn't have room to shoot, so he maneuvered his way to the three-point line and took a running shot, banking it in and giving the Lakers the dramatic victory.

This was, of course, the season when Kobe bailed out the Lakers on more occasions than Barack Obama bailed out banks. He hit six buzzer-beaters that year as the Lakers went on to win the title.

2. How Does He Do It?

With the division title on the line back in 2004, the Lakers needed a win against their heated rival, the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Down by three in the first overtime, Kobe Bryant was heavily guarded by one of the "Kobe stoppers" of his career, Ruben Patterson. What did he do? He launched the ball up, and it went in to force a second overtime.

Then with the Lakers needing a three to win the game, they gave the ball to Kobe again, who swished a fadeaway three-pointer. What's most amazing is that the ball was barely in Kobe's hands. It was there for an instant, and then in the next second it was coming down through the net.

It's almost unbelievable and certainly godlike.

1. The Greatest of 'Em All

This is possibly the most clutch shot in Kobe Bryant's career.

The setting was the playoffs. The opponent was the powerful Phoenix Suns. And the man of the night was none other than No. 8.

Down by one with under 10 seconds, the Suns had the ball, and the Lakers were just trying to foul Steve Nash and hope he missed a free throw. 

Instead, they earned a jump-ball call. 

After saving the ball from going out of bounds after the jump ball, Kobe carried the ball down the court and sank a jumper, which gave the Lakers a 3-1 series lead. They would eventually go on to lose the series 4-3, but this shot will go down as one of the greatest moments in Lakers history.

It was one of the few times in Lakers history when they were the underdogs, and it wasn't too fun cheering for them. However, Kobe's heroics always gave Laker fans all over the country reason to smile.