Ex-Miami Heat Star Comes Up Short For Helping Save LeBron James' Legacy

Jun 16, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) reacts during the fourth quarter of game five in the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images | Soobum Im-Imagn Images

It's called The Shot.

The Miami Heat seemed doomed in the 2013 NBA Finals against San Antonio. Down 3-2 in the series. Down in the closing minute of Game 6. Then you remember what happened. LeBron James miss. Chris Bosh rebound. Out to Ray Allen, the shooter the Heat had stolen from the rival Boston Celtics. Slipping both feet behind the arc in the right corner, he put his entire career of practice and repetition into action in that one second.

Swish. Tie game. The Heat won in overtime, then won Game 7, and a second straight championship.

But a recent ranking doesn't have that shot as the most iconic in NBA history.

It placed second to one that occurred three years later.

First, here's how CBSSports.com recaps the Allen play:

2. Ray Allen rescues the Heat (2013)
This was a legacy-altering shot, but it wasn't Allen's legacy in the balance; it was LeBron James' after he changed the NBA as we know it, or knew it, by forming the Big 3 in Miami. If Allen doesn't hit this shot in the closing seconds of Game 6, LeBron loses his second Finals in three years in Miami and is 3-7 in the Finals for his career, which somehow sounds a lot worse than 4-6.

But Allen changed history by first knowing exactly how far to backpedal to the corner off a Chris Bosh offensive rebound, and second by actually drilling the shot to tie the game. The Heat went on to win in overtime, and two days later closed out the series in Game 7.
Brad Botkin, CBSSports.com

So what could top that?

This is what placed ahead:

1. Kyrie Irving puts the Cavs ahead in Game 7 (2016)
This is a painful memory for the Northern California kid and longtime Warriors fan in me, but I have to admit, my nostalgic allegiances notwithstanding, I kind of smiled when this shot went in. It was all I could muster, but I had to tip my hat to Kyrie and the Cavs. To be down 3-1 against a 73-win team and come back to win the championship on a shot like this? Wow.
Botkin

Absolutely, it was amazing. And it's interesting that both shots came from players on James' teams, rather than James making the shot himself.

But while Botkin can't be countered when he says Irving's shot was one "every kid dreams up in the driveway," it didn't have the pressure (the game was already tied) or difficulty of Allen's.

So we're sticking with Allen's masterpiece -- though we wonder what James would say.

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