5 greatest clutch moments in Derek Fisher's career

Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers - Game One
Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers - Game One

Everybody remembers that Kobe Bryant was traded for by the Los Angeles Lakers, who gave up Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets to get him. And the fact that Bryant slid all the way down to #13 in the 1996 NBA draft.

Very few of them, however, remember that the Lakers used their own pick in that draft to select their most important role player, bar none, in the championship runs they put together during Kobe's prime - Derek Fisher was the guy they selected with the 24th pick.

Fisher is one of those Lakers legends whose contributions to the franchise's success have often gone unnoticed. Individually speaking, Fisher was not an All-Star caliber player. He was, however, a great complementary piece as an off-ball guard for Kobe, and the Lakers' most reliable perimeter shooter in all of their championship runs.

Fisher is among the greatest role players in the history of the league. On his 44th birthday, let's take a look back at 5 of his greatest clutch moments with the Lakers:


#5 Gamewinner against the Los Angeles Clippers, 2010-11 regular season

Los Angeles Clippers v Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Clippers v Los Angeles Lakers

In this game, a clutch layup by Fisher helped the Lakers get past a lackluster performance against the Los Angeles Clippers with a W. This was back when they didn't have Chris Paul, although they did have the roll men from Lob City in DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin. the Purple and Gold found themselves down by one with 3.1 seconds left in the game.

Rather than going with Kobe Bryant, they went with Old Faithful. Derek Fisher took the ball and drove through the lane—highly uncharacteristic of him at that stage of his career. He let go of the ball with one-tenth of a second left on the clock and drained it for a Lakers' victory.

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#4 Clutch 3-pointer against Utah Jazz, 2010 NBA playoffs

Los Angeles Lakers v Phoenix Suns, Game 4
Fisher in action during the 2010 playoffs

The Lakers faced the Jazz for the third consecutive year in the playoffs in 2010. They had emerged victorious in both 2008 and 2009, and held the advantage in the 2010 series with a 2-0 lead in their 2 home games played up until that point of the season.

But they were down 106-108 with under a minute to go in Game 3. Phil Jackson drew up a play for Fisher to stroke a 3, getting Kobe to inbound the ball to him. Fisher swished it, as he'd swished numerous clutch shots earlier in his career and would continue to do so later on. The Lakers eventually won the game, swept the series and went on to win the title.

#3 Clutch 3-pointers against the Orlando Magic, Game 4, 2009 NBA Finals

NBA Finals Game 4:  Los Angeles Lakers v Orlando Magic
NBA Finals Game 4: Los Angeles Lakers v Orlando Magic

The Lakers led the NBA Finals series against the Orlando Magic 2-1. Down 84-87, they resorted to Hack-a-Dwight tactics, which paid off as Howard contrived to miss both shots from the charity stripe.

This allowed the Lakers to take control with the clock winding down. Derek Fisher came up and took a potential game-tying three-pointer and made it to tie the game.

In overtime, Fisher knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 94-91 lead with 31.3 seconds left in the period. The Magic were unable to score a single point in the time that remained, and the final score of 99-91 does not betray how close the game was right until the end.

They took a 3-1 series lead and closed out the series in the following game.

#2 11 points in the final quarter of Game 3, 2010 NBA Finals

NBA Finals Game 3: Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics
NBA Finals Game 3: Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics

When the Los Angeles Lakers dropped Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals at the Staples Center to the Celtics, they knew they were going to have to win in enemy territory. It wasn't going to be an easy task, given how much of a home advantage the Boston crowd provides at the TD Garden - especially during playoff basketball.

Without Fisher's heroics in the 4th quarter of Game 3, when he scored 11 of his 16 points, the Celtics would probably have lost the series in 6 games given how dominant the Celtics were in the 2 Boston games that remained. He played 41 minutes and contributed with his defense in a manner that box scores will never be able to show.

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#1 Gamewinner against the San Antonio Spurs, 2004 Playoffs

Lakers v Spurs
Fisher shoots over Ginobili for the game-winner with 0.4 seconds left to play

There were three straight clutch shots made by three different legends in one night. Kobe made one to take a 72-71 lead with just over 10 seconds left. Tim Duncan gave the Spurs the lead back with 0.4 seconds remaining, shooting a ridiculously tough shot over 2 defenders draped all over him 21 feet away from the basket.

It seemed like the Spurs had won. However, Derek Fisher made the even more unlikely shot over the taller Manu Ginobili as the Lakers won to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Fisher only had eight points that night, but two of those eight were easily the most dramatic in Lakers history.

I can still hear the commentary ringing in my ears, so here's a look for you.

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Edited by Raunak J