What is Clutch?

If you have been watching basketball for an extended period of time, you should have a good idea of what clutch is.  When I think of clutch, I think of Magic using Kareem's "sky hook" to beat the Celtics.  I think of Rober Horry hitting that shot after the Divac tip out to beat the Sacramento Kings.  .  Even though I have many to pick from, I think of Kobe beating the Heat with a 3 and Jordan hitting "the shot" against Cleveland, twice.  Shots like these go back many years and there are many of them.  The part we forget is that fact that the great players that we remember hitting these clutch shots have also missed many of these shots but we still call them clutch.  I'm not gonna start defending LeBron James with the exception that he has made some clutch shots and he has missed as well.  There are analysts and journalist who claim LeBron isn't clutch like Kobe and that's why he still hasn't won a ring.  This is incorrect and basketball fans should know that.

LeBron hasn't hit game-winning shots like Kobe but he hasn't played as long as Kobe either.  Its the same ignorance when it comes to comparing Kobe to Jordan.  No one has done what Jordan has done and no one will.  Sure Kobe is close but still not yet on Jordan's level.  When you take away the MVPs and the rings and even the scoring totals, you are left with one question: Who do you want taking the last shot?  Fans will go to the star of their team but everyone will think of Jordan.  A clutch player is a player that is playing on a level that no one else it.  Jordan set the bar of greatness at a level that no one has reached yet.  I'm not saying this level is unattainable but so far, it hasn't been.  Kobe is close and even MJ himself is reported as saying so.  LeBron is the most "complete" player in the league today but that doesn't make him the best.  For the first time since Jordan left the game, there isn't a player that is "the best" in the NBA.  The arguments that can be made for Kobe or LeBron, I can counter with a Howard, Rose, DWade or Dirk.

When Dallas won last year, all the talk was about how the Heat failed.  No one, outside of Dallas ever said that the Mavericks were the better team.  The Mavs, as a team, played great team basketball.  Players such as Tyson Chandler and JJ Berera played up to potential on the NBAs biggest stage.  That is what wins championships.  Championships are a part of the equation of what's clutch but not the answer.  If that was the case, the Bill Russell would be considered the Greatest Of All Time and not Jordan.