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Ranking Luka Doncic’s best shots so far, from game-winners to crazy trick shots

Where does Doncic’s game-winner against the Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals rank?

Update:
This story was originally published on April 16, 2021. It has been updated to account for Luka Doncic's game-winner against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals.

At just 25 years old, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic already has compiled quite the list of clutch shots. He also has made some crazy trick shots on the practice court.

Most recently, Doncic hit a game-winning stepback 3-pointer in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Where does that shot rank in Doncic’s history of crazy shots?

Here are our rankings of Doncic’s top shots throughout his NBA career.

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9. Trick shots in the NBA bubble

It’s no secret that Doncic practices a ton of trick shots. That didn’t stop during his time in the NBA bubble.

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In one of Doncic’s many viral moments from the bubble, he nonchalantly tossed the ball up to the ceiling of one of the practice courts in the Disney bubble and the ball fell back down at an angle and rattled through the net.

That wasn’t the only trick shot in the bubble.

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Doncic kicked — yes, kicked — this shot in from long distance during one practice in the bubble.

8. Trick shot before Mavericks-Philadelphia game breaks the internet

As talented as Doncic is, he would be hard-pressed to repeat this shot. For that matter, any NBA player would have a hard time replicating it.

Before the Mavs’ game against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 12, Doncic was walking off the court while dribbling a basketball with his feet. Doncic then bounced the ball off his right shoulder, caught the ball, spun around and shot from way behind the backboard near the tunnel leading off the court and swished it.

With the game being nationally televised on ESPN, the shot went viral after it was shown on air.

7. A pair of daggers against the Celtics

Hitting one go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of a game is hard enough, especially when everyone knows whose hands the ball will be in.

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Doncic did that twice to the Boston Celtics on Feb. 23 in a span of about 15 seconds.

With the Mavericks trailing 105-104 with 37.6 seconds remaining, Doncic dribbled around with the ball for almost the entire 24-second shot clock. Doncic made Daniel Theis dance with his handles as the shot clock winded down and then stepped back behind the 3-point line before draining the go-ahead shot over the 6-foot-8 center’s outstretched arm with 15.3 seconds remaining.

Boston quickly responded on the other end to tie the game at 107-107.

The Mavericks inbounded the ball to Doncic on the opposite end of the court with just over eight seconds left. He dribbled past half court, dribbled over to the left wing — a spot that will become quite familiar by the time you reach the end of this list — and pulled up for a deep 3-pointer near the hash mark and swished the shot over two defenders. On top of that, he drained the shot with 0.1 seconds left, which wasn’t enough time for the Celtics to get off a potential tying 3-pointer.

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6. ‘Luka Magic’ in Portland

Almost every Mavs fan will remember the birth of Luka Magic.

During his rookie season, a then 19-year-old Doncic and the Mavericks visited Portland on Dec. 18, 2018.

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The Mavericks found themselves in a tough spot on the final possession of the game. They were trailing 107-104 with just 0.6 seconds remaining and had Jalen Brunson inbounding the ball from the baseline.

Doncic curled to the right corner, caught the pass from Brunson and quickly flicked the ball up so high it left the field of view on the TV broadcast. Then, the ball dropped out of the sky, rolled around the rim and went in to force overtime.

While the Mavericks went on to lose that game in overtime, it was a pivotal moment in the young superstar’s career.

No one will ever forget the call by the Mavericks’ TV broadcaster Mark Followill.

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“How did he do it!? How did he do it!? That is Luka Magic!”

5. The one-handed 3-point game-winner at Memphis

For the first and only time on this list, Doncic combined a trick shot with a clutch in-game shot.

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With the Mavericks trailing the Memphis Grizzlies 113-111 and just 1.8 seconds remaining, Doncic caught the inbounds pass at the left wing. He stepped through the outstretched arms of 6-foot-11 center Jonas Valanciunas and 6-foot-7 forward Dillon Brooks, took one dribble, kept his left foot behind the 3-point line and swished in a one-handed floater to win the game.

After the game, Doncic himself admitted some luck was involved.

“I don’t really remember,” Doncic said of whether he got a look at the rim before his game-winning heave. “I was really surprised when it went in, and you know, those are the best feelings ever.”

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4. Another one-handed three

In the home opener of the 2023-24 season, Doncic hit one of the wildest shots of his career.

With less than a minute remaining and the game tied, Doncic was being defended closely by former teammate Dorian Finney-Smith. As the shot clock ticked down, Doncic was forced to heave a one-handed prayer from behind the 3-point line with Finney-Smith draped all over him.

Doncic banked it in and the Mavericks went on to win the game.

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Even Doncic was stunned by his own creativity.

“I saw it was like two or three seconds left,” Doncic said. “I said ‘I’ve gotta put it up. I’ve gotta touch the rim so we can have a chance at the rebound.’

“I don’t know how I made that.”

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3. The perfect miss (and putback)

Unlike the other shots on this list, the catalyst for this one was a miss.

At the free throw line with 4.2 seconds left and the Mavericks trailing the Knicks 115-113, Doncic intentionally missed a free throw to give Dallas a chance for a putback to tie the game.

Doncic successfully missed, and it was such a unique bounce that Knicks players had a hard time getting both hands on the ball. It was then that Doncic slipped in, flipped up a wild shot and tied the game to send the game to overtime, where the Mavericks eventually won.

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It was arguably the best game of Doncic’s career, as he finished with 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists.

2. Luka’s OT game-winner vs. the Clippers in the playoffs

Doncic has had plenty of clutch shots in his two and a half seasons, but nothing tops his game-winner in his first-ever playoff series in the NBA bubble.

With the Mavericks trailing the series against the Los Angeles Clippers 2-1, Dallas appeared to be on the brink of falling behind 3-1 as it was trailing the game 133-132 with just 3.7 seconds remaining in overtime on Aug. 23, 2020.

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But, as usual, Doncic came to the rescue.

Doncic caught the inbounds pass near the NBA logo at center court. With Clippers guard Reggie Jackson guarding him, Doncic dribbled to his left, crossed over to his right, then back to his left. He moved to the left wing (there’s that left wing again) pulled up for his patented step-back 3-point jumper and nailed it to win the game for Dallas.

Just like that, the Mavericks went from being on the brink of playoff elimination to tying the series at 2-2.

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1. Game-winner in the West finals

In Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2024, Doncic hit the biggest shot of his career thus far.

With a few seconds remaining in the game and the Mavericks down 108-106, Doncic hit his patented stepback 3-pointer over Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert to give Dallas a 109-108 win and a 2-0 series lead going back to Dallas.

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The Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend contributed to this post.

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