National Basketball Association

Was LeBron James' game-winning 3 against the Warriors clutch or pure luck?

Published May. 20, 2021 12:56 p.m. ET

The NBA has its first signature moment of the newly minted Play-In Tournament, courtesy of "The King."

LeBron James' game-sealing 3-pointer over Stephen Curry to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 103-100 win against Golden State Warriors will certainly go down in annals of NBA history.

Why else would Shannon Sharpe show up to Thursday's episode of "Undisputed" decked out in full royal regalia?

But back to Wednesday night's showdown.

LeBron's shot was pressure-packed, with the game deadlocked at 100 apiece in the final minute of regulation.

It looked as though the Warriors had Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hemmed up under the rim late in the possession, but KCP found James well beyond the arc as the shot clock wound down to its final seconds.

"The King" had precious little time to collect the pass, rise up and fire from the eponymous logo on the floor of the STAPLES Center.

Adding another layer to the drama of the moment was a collision between James and Draymond Green a few possessions prior, where the Warriors forward apparently caught James in the eye on a foul under the rim.

As a result of the poke in the eye, James said he was seeing "three rims" as he took aim for his eventual game-winner.

"I just aimed for the middle one," LeBron said in his postgame news conference.

And his teammate, Anthony Davis, joked that maybe additional eye-pokings could benefit LeBron and the Lakers.

Needless to say: The shot won't soon be forgotten. But how will it be remembered?

Two sides have formed in the hours since the Lakers locked down the 7-seed ⁠– those who think LeBron came up clutch, and those who think he got lucky.

Nick Wright of "First Things First" is staunchly in the former camp.

"In no universe, except for the one involving this specific player, would that shot ever be considered a lucky shot," Wright said. "… This is the definition of a clutch shot … by the most clutch playoff performer in NBA history."

Nick Wright decides if LeBron's game-winning 3-pointer luck or clutch | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Nick Wright decides if LeBron's game-winning shot was a stroke of luck, of a clutch shot from the most clutch player in the history of the NBA.

And, if you remember his getup, it's not too tricky to guess which camp Sharpe fell into.

For Sharpe, LeBron's shot was not only as clutch as can be, but also went a long way to shielding his legacy.

But Sharpe's "Undisputed" counterpart, Skip Bayless, couldn't have disagreed more.

Bayless is fine saying it was a "big shot," given the situation. But a clutch shot? More like "lucky" and "desperate," for Bayless.

That line of thinking jibes with what Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN, too.

When asked his thoughts on the clutch vs. luck debate, Smith positioned himself firmly in the latter camp.

"It was luck," Smith said. "That wasn't Steph Curry shooting. That wasn't Damian Lillard shooting. That was LeBron James shooting, and even though he's improved his 3-point shooting, that was luck. That was a Hail Mary. But when you're that great, you're entitled to luck here and there."

What about having it both ways?

That's where Brandon Marshall situated himself, calling the shot both clutch and lucky.

Furthermore, Marshall added that the shot is another piece of evidence for those to use in the LeBron vs. Jordan GOAT debate ⁠– though let's save that for another day.

For now, the debate as to whether it was clutch or lucky will rage on across TV networks, social media and everywhere in between.

What's not up for debate is that it'll be remembered for years to come.

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