Something wild happened on Sunday, when Dearica Hamby made a miracle steal and heave from half-court to send the Las Vegas Aces to the WNBA playoffs semifinal.
The audacity! Hamby didn’t even have to take that shot — she thought there was less time on the clock than there actually was — but to make it, while trailing by two, in the single-elimination stage of the playoffs definitely sends this shot to the pantheon. (It’s a good thing she made it!)
But is it the best game-winner we’ve ever seen in the playoffs? If we look back through the annals of WNBA history, there are definitely some other shots that come to mind. Here are five that we’d place in the same conversation as Hamby’s winner.
“The Shot” - Teresa Weatherspoon, New York Liberty, 2009
Yes, this shot is actually called “The Shot.” Needing to force a Game 3 to stay alive in the then best-of-three WNBA Finals, the Liberty were trailing by two with just 2.4 seconds left and inbounding from their own end. It’s a bleak situation, but Weatherspoon’s half-court heave (from farther out than Hamby’s) stunned the basketball world.
Unfortunately for Weatherspoon, her Liberty would lose the deciding Game 3 and the WNBA championship to the Houston Comets, and she would never get another chance to play in the Finals again. Does that change how we remember this shot? Maybe, maybe not — although Weatherspoon is still considered one of the best to ever come through the W.
Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks, 2016
If Weatherspoon’s winner isn’t your cup of tea, then why not a shot that wins the WNBA Finals in the do-or-die Game 5? What this one lacks in, um, aesthetic value, it sure makes up with in dramatics. After back-to-back go-ahead makes by Candace Parker and Maya Moore in the final 30 seconds, the Sparks were trailing with no timeout left, and it showed with the shot they got: A frenzied fadeaway in traffic by Chelsea Gray.
Nneka Ogwumike’s first putback attempt was blocked, but she got it back and made it on the second attempt. It ain’t pretty, but basketball isn’t always. The ring, though, is pretty dang neat. This game may just be the best WNBA Finals game ever, too.
Ogwumike’s Sparks teammate Alana Beard also hit a buzzer-beating game-winner of her own in Game 1 of that series. Pretty wild way to win a championship, all things considered.
Nikki Teasley, Los Angeles Sparks, 2002
Imagine being a rookie and hitting a three-pointer in the final seconds to win the WNBA championship. Not a bad way for Nikki Teasley to kick off her All-Star career. As you can tell, the Sparks, like every other Los Angeles sports team, tend to do pretty well for themselves.
Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx, 2015
Just 1.7 seconds left on the clock during the inbound, and only a few milliseconds by the time that Maya Moore gets this shot off. Her jumper is as pure as it gets, though, and this Game 3 buzzer-beater breaks a 1-1 split in the Finals. Moore’s Lynx would eventually win it all in five games.
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury, 2014
Of course we had to show some love to the W’s all-time scoring leader. Taurasi may just be the best player to ever come through the WNBA, and she’s been involved in some wild playoff battles over the years.
With the game tied and the shot clock winding down, Taurasi came through with a huge and-one leaner, good to sweep the Chicago Sky out of the WNBA Finals. That’s why they call her the White Mamba.​
