The clutch factor in basketball is something that coaches are looking for from one or two of their best players on a consistent basis. When a player has the ability to come through in the clutch, it means he has the ability to hit a shot or make a key play like a steal or a rebound when the game is on the line. Players who come through when the game is on the line are dependable, and that intangible factor can win more games than athletic ability.
Intangible Factor
Clutch players are often the best and most well-known players. However, it is difficult to measure whether a player is effective in clutch situations based on statistical analysis. As a game nears its conclusion, some players are going to want the ball while others may hesitate to shoot it when they get the ball with an open look and the game on the line.
Kobe Bryant
In a poll of NBA general managers, Kobe Bryant was voted as the player who is best equipped to take the shot in which a game is tied or down by two points or less for nine straight seasons starting in 2003. In a poll during the 2010-11 season, 79 percent of the NBA general managers wanted Bryant to have the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. However, Bryant only made 31.3 percent of those shots since the start of the 1996-97 season. That ranks 26th in the NBA over that period, according to ESPN.com. Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks ranks first in that category, making 47.7 of his late-game shots.
Demanding the Ball
Go to any school yard, high school game or college game. When the game is close in the late stages, the best players almost always demand the ball. They simply don't want any other players taking responsibility for taking the game-winning or game tying shots. Former Bulls and Lakers coach Phil Jackson won championships with Michael Jordan and Bryant. He explains that Bryant wants the responsibility when the game is on the line. "I sometimes think Kobe is so addicted to being in control that he would rather shoot the ball when guarded, or even double-teamed, than dish it to an open teammate," Jackson wrote in his 2004 book "The Last Season." "He is saying to himself: how can he trust anyone else?"
Great Teams and the Clutch Factor
The difference between good teams and great teams is often the presence of more than one clutch player on the best team. For example, when the New York Knicks won their first world championship in 1970, they were led by center Willis Reed. However, guard Walt Frazier, forward Bill Bradley and guard Dick Barnett could all take shots when the game was on the line. Bradley, who was a Rhodes scholar from Princeton and later became a U.S. senator from New Jersey, explained in his book "Life On The Run" that the ability for nearly all of the players on the court to come through when the game was on the line made the Knicks difficult to defend. The Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls all have had the clutch factor and used it to win championships.
References
- ESPN: The Truth About Kobe Bryant in Clutch Time; Henry Abbott; January 2011
- "The Last Season"; Phil Jackson; 2004
- "Life On The Run"; Bill Bradley; 1976
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