Former KU great Devonte’ Graham drains NBA’s longest game-winning buzzer-beater in last 25 seasons

By Matt Tait     Dec 16, 2021
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New Orleans Pelicans guard Devonte' Graham (4) celebrates with teammates after hitting the game winning basket to end the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Ever the showman and nearly always confident in every shot he took, former Kansas All-American Devonte’ Graham spent countless hours firing up half-court shots throughout his KU career.

In practice. At shoot-arounds. At home and on the road. If the basketballs were out and shots were going up, Graham almost always found a way to fire up a few from halfcourt and beyond, making at least one pretty much every time.

On Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, all of that practice paid off.

With Graham’s New Orleans Pelicans tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder following a deep, game-tying 3-pointer from OKC guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Graham took a short inbounds pass from teammate Josh Hart with 1.4 seconds remaining and went looking for a miracle.

He found it, just seconds later, after his three-quarter court heave from along the right baseline banged off the backboard and fell through to give the Pelicans the improbable victory.

The long-range bomb, which came from 61 feet away and was the longest buzzer-beater game-winner in the NBA in 25 years, capped a solid night for the former Jayhawk, who finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists.

After the victory, New Orleans head coach Willie Green said, the buzzer beater notwithstanding, he was proud of the way Graham was more aggressive and more assertive offensively throughout the game.

Traded to New Orleans by Charlotte in the offseason, Graham is averaging 13.3 points and 4.5 assists in 31.1 minutes per game for the Pelicans. He has started all 27 game he has played in so far this season.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.