Late-game heroics Throughout much of his career, Kobe Bryant has been heralded as arguably the premier "clutch" scorer in the NBA today. In a sense, this term refers to a player's ability to take over and lead his team to victory under pressure during tight games, notably at the end of regulation or in overtime periods. Bryant's exceptional ability to will his team to victory in the last seconds of the game has been compared to the legendary Michael Jordan's capacity to do the same thing. According to an NBA poll directed at general managers throughout the league before the 2005?06 season, Bryant was overwhelmingly voted as the player they would choose to take the last shot during the crucial moments of basketball games. 01/19/98: Lakers 92, Magic 89 02/13/00: Lakers 113, Nets 110 (OT) 05/10/00: Lakers 97, Suns 96 (Western Conference Semifinals) 06/14/00: Lakers 120, Pacers 118 (NBA Finals) 11/16/00: Lakers 112, Kings 110 02/07/01: Lakers 85, Suns 83 01/02/02: Lakers 87, Nuggets 86 02/22/02: Lakers 96, Hornets 94 05/12/02: Lakers 87, Spurs 85 (Western Conference Semifinals) 12/06/02: Lakers 105, Mavericks 103 04/04/03: Lakers 102, Grizzlies 101 04/06/03: Lakers 115, Suns 113 (OT) 02/17/04: Lakers 89, Blazers 86 02/19/04: Lakers 101, Nuggets 99 03/03/04: Lakers 96, Rockets 93 03/21/04: Lakers 104, Bucks 103 (OT) 04/14/04: Lakers 105, Blazers 104 (2OT) 03/13/05: Lakers 117, Bobcats 116 11/02/05: Lakers 99, Nuggets 97 (OT) 01/07/06: Lakers 112, Clippers 109 01/12/06: Lakers 99, Cavaliers 98 Note: Bryant has made 21 game-winning shots so far in his career. In comparison, Jordan made 28 throughout his career. Answers: Kobe Bryant
