Five longest buzzer beaters in NBA history

Max Strus of Hickory Hills, Illinois made NBA headlines with his dramatic buzzer-beater from half court to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a dramatic 121-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. Where does Strus’s 58-foot buzzer beater rank among the longest buzzer-beaters of all-time? Let’s take a look.

5) Belus Smawley

On November 25, 1948, St. Louis Bombers shooting guard Belus Smawley of Golden Valley, North Carolina made a 50-foot shot in a 84-82 overtime win over the Providence Steam Rollers. At the time there was no three-point shot, so Smawley’s field goal was only worth two points.

5) Tyreke Evans

On December 29, 2010, Sacramento Kings shooting guard Tyreke Evans of Chester, Pennsylvania also made a 50-foot shot in a 100-98 Sacramento Kings win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The buzzer-beater came after O.J. Mayo gave the Grizzlies a one-point lead with 1.5 seconds left.

4) Julius Erving

On February 28, 1986, NBA Hall of Famer and four-time MVP Julius Erving of East Meadow, New York made a 53-foot buzzer beater in a 123-120 Philadelphia 76ers win over the Dallas Mavericks. Erving had two buzzer beaters that season. The other was from 28 feet in a 95-94 76ers win over the Boston Celtics on April 6, 1986. Ironically, these were the only two buzzer beaters in Erving’s career, and he accomplished the feat in his second final NBA season at the age of 36.

3) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

On November 27, 1992, Denver Nuggets point guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf of Gulfport, Mississippi made a 55-foot buzzer beater in a 109-106 Nuggets win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Like Erving, Abdul-Rauf had his only career buzzer beaters in the same season. The other was 23 feet in a 120-118 Nuggets win over the Phoenix Suns on April 25, 1993.

2) Max Strus

This is where Straus ranks in the top five. This was the sixth buzzer beater of the season. Strus joins Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks. Straus’s 59 foot buzzer beater was also the first assisted buzzer beater this season as Evan Mobley had the helper.

1) Devonte’ Graham

The longest buzzer beater in NBA history happened on December 15, 2021 as Devonte’ Graham of Raleigh, North Carolina made a 61-foot buzzer beater in a 113-110 New Orleans Pelicans win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. According to ESPN, the chances of Graham making that shot was 3.5%.

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