LeBron James and the last 10 seconds of a ball game

You would first have to establish there is such a thing as a "Clutch Player." I think it is an invented phenomenon. Good players are good, amd great players are great. No players are clutch. Maybe this isn't like in baseball, where there is absolutely no such thing as a clutch hitter. I'm thinking it is.

I would be willing to bet Michael Jordon's attempted game winners to made game winners ratio is remarkably close to his field goal percentage. In fact if you defined any "Clutch Situation" you would be hard pressed to find one player who performed at a consistently higher level in those situations over the course of their career.

 

that's an interesting way of putting it. never thought of it like that, you may be on to something.

 

I disagree 100%. Players that can calm their nerves and perform the same in a pressure situation the same as they do in practice are clutch. Boise States kicker was not clutch. Auburns kicker was clutch. Auburn's kicker was able to make sure that he repeated the same kick as he did 1000 times in practice before that. Boise St's kicker had 2 chances and he wasn't able to do so.

In other sports, it also involves playing smart. In basketball, a clutch player will be able to shoot the same as he does in practice, and not let the clock influence how he shoots it.

In baseball: see 2004 Red Sox. Hockey: see 2010 Flyers vs. Boston.

 

Prove it. Show me the baseball players who hit say 20 percentage points above their average when runners are in scoring position. Or define the criteria for any sport and show me the examples.

I bet you don't find any.

 

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. - Michael Jordan

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The Science of Sports: Is There Such a Thing as a Clutch Performer? | Psychology Today




Your definition of hitting with RISP is not clutch. Being clutch is hitting with RISP in game 7 of the WS at the opponents park with 2 outs.


Simply put, there is and never will be enough evidence to prove one way or the other. Once something becomes regular, such as the situation above, it's not clutch anymore. When the sampling is kept small, such as Jordan hitting game winning shots on playoffs, you can define a player as clutch because he can be great in limited opportunity.



Also: I think golf is probably the easiest sport to see what a clutch player is or isn't.

 

Robert Horry

 

I was at a Houston-area (Taps) bar a couple of weeks ago and saw Big Shot Rob there with his mini-entourage. I looked at his wiki page the next day to refresh my memory on all of his big shots. While he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, I think there should be a special display to highlight his big moments.

I believe athletes can be "clutch". I would argue that hitting with RISP does fit the definition of clutch, even if it's only a regular season game.

To me, being "clutch" is to feel confident in the moment which allows your performance to improve. When I play pickup basketball, my focus and confidence improves with the game on the line. Even though my opponent's D may be stepped up, I'm still going to make sure I get a better percentage shot than normal.

On the other hand, if I'm playing golf (which I lack the confidence in bigger situations), I will typically play worse during a "clutch" moment.

 

To me being clutch is where everybody including the defense knows what you are gonna do and you still do it anyways. Guys like Robert Horry hit some big shots but they are more opportunistic than anything. They benefit from playing with superstars and hit wide open shots with the game on the line. Guys like Kobe, Paul Pierce, Carmelo, and maybe Kevin Durant do it with all the pressure on them. It doesn't always come at the buzzer either, sometimes hitting a 'dagger' near the end of the game is just as big.

Like LSU99 said, the difference is the extra confidence you have that allows you to hit those big shots. Those guys often have the biggest drive to win the game and can push their teammates to be better in practice and whenever. That's the guy you want taking the last shot.