San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes has spent his NBA career as a support act, and never as the main guy. Yet his record on one particular shot in one particular situation places him alongside some of the league’s most prominent offensive players. As well as Moochie Norris.
Research by HoopsHype has found that, with four game-winning three-pointers made as time expired, Barnes is tied with Damian Lillard for second all-time in NBA history, behind Vince Carter’s five. All four of Barnes’s shots came during the regular season, while Lillard’s total includes two playoff winners.
This category is, of course, incredibly specific. It only counts three-pointers that won games at the final buzzer, thereby excluding two-point baskets, shots that forced overtime and go-ahead scores that left time for an opponent to respond. It is a conveniently narrow field of view, chosen purely for the fun of a graphic. Nevertheless, within those selectively harsh restrictions, Barnes sits above several of the game’s best late-game scorers, both past and present. Smoke ’em if you got ’em.
Better Even Than Moochie Norris
The rest of the HoopsHype lists features the more easily anticipated names of Gilbert Arenas, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Luka Doncic and Mo Williams, all tied with three apiece alongside the great Moochie Norris. LeBron James, by contrast, has only two, both in the playoffs. And Michael Jordan – who admittedly was never much of a three-point shooter until towards the end – has only one. (If each player’s total number of game-winning shots was to be counted, Jordan and Barnes would – you would imagine – be listed the other way around. Many people seem to believe that Jordan was a better clutch player than Harrison Barnes.)
Barnes’s inclusion is nevertheless unusual because he has never been selected for an NBA All-Star Game. His career has included a championship with the Golden State Warriors and starting roles across several teams, but he was never the one the rest of the team was designed around. Then again, neither was Robert Horry.
Barnes’s first qualifying winner came for the Dallas Mavericks against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 22, 2017. The Grizzlies led 94-92 with just half a second remaining after a JaMychal Green putback, leaving the Mavericks enough time for a catch-and-shoot attempt, but little opportunity to create anything more elaborate. Barnes nonetheless banked in a three in to give Dallas a 95-94 victory. It was his only made three-pointer that night.
He added two more for the Sacramento Kings during the 2021 season. The first came against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 27, when the Kings trailed by one with 1.6 seconds remaining. De’Aaron Fox threw a long inbound pass to Barnes, who v the winning three. The second came seven months later against the Phoenix Suns on October 27. With the score tied and 1.4 seconds left, Fox again inbounded to Barnes. This time, Barnes made the shot over Devin Booker to secure a 110-107 win. The two Sacramento finishes required different passes and positioning, but both ended with Barnes converting a contested attempt immediately before time expired.
Harrison Barnes’s Place Among The Game’s Greats
Barnes’s fourth – the one that separated from the Luka, Kobe, KD-like riff-raff – came for San Antonio against the Warriors on April 9, 2025. He made a three-pointer over Jimmy Butler at the buzzer to give the Spurs a 114-111 road victory, and a meaningful one at that, damaging the Warriors’ position in a closely contested Western Conference playoff race.
That last one also came against the franchise where Barnes began his NBA career. Golden State drafted him seventh overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, and he was part of their 2015 championship team before subsequently playing for Dallas, Sacramento and San Antonio. He was a game-winning player in Golden State after all. Just not for them.
Of course, the ranking here does not establish that Barnes is a better late-game scorer than players below him. Probably not even the Mooch. It gives no measure of missed attempts, shooting percentage, the difficulty of attempts, time spent dribbling, play calls designed for him or the number of opportunities each player received. Those would be necessary for a broader comparison, and were not included for a reason.
What it does however reaffirm is a small but distinctive record of big clutch moments. On four separate occasions, Barnes made the three-pointer that ended the game. Just call him Horryson Barnes.
Harrison Barnes Among NBA’s All-Time Leaders in Unlikely Category