Robert Horry was never the best player on the court, but he always seemed to win, and he always seemed to deliver in the clutch. When you win seven titles, you have to contribute somehow, even if you aren't always the guy chipping in the most points on a nightly basis.
While Horry won two titles with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers , and another two with the San Antonio Spurs, his defining play came in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. And when looking back on his big play, Big Shot Bob had quite an admission.
Big Shot keeps it real
The Lakers' 2002 title run was nearly derailed by the Sacramento Kings , who scraped by them in the WCF in a tight seven-game series. Ultimately, the defining play in the series came when Horry hit a game-winning shot in Game 4 to knot things at two wins apiece.
Horry's improbable play is one of the most viral highlights of all time, and it's easily the play he is most well-known for. Robert said he wants the video of that shot playing at his funeral while admitting that the designed play went haywire immediately.
"We run that play all the time, the play is called 'What the f***,'" Robert Horry said on MaXed Out . "If you watch the play from the beginning, it wasn't run right. I inbound to Kobe and I was supposed to come over and set a screen. Before I got to Kobe, he took off, you got to see me curl out of the way. Usually Kobe, if my man goes with Kobe, he's kicking it back to me, so that's why I was still at the three. And I'm waiting and waiting and waiting, and Kobe had the angle with the floater, he missed it."
"Shaq was there, he short on it, and Vlade (Divac) does what every big man is taught. If you can't get it down the end, you tip it out. Motherf***er tipped it out to me… That's one of my greatest moments, growing up a Laker fan…To me, to this day, when you see the shot from the top of the Staples Center, and everybody jumps up at the same time, it's for me, when I die, I wanna have this play played at my funeral because it's the most exhilarating thing. I still get goosebumps when I see it because it's just an exciting time," he added.
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Horry saved the Lakers' 2002 title pursuit
With seconds remaining in Game 4, Kobe Bryant missed a floater that would have tied the game. Shaquille O'Neal couldn't grab the rebound, leaving Vlade Divac on the Kings to tip it out to the perimeter. However, the ball went right to Robert, and he nailed the game-winning three.
Even though this shot didn't come in the NBA Finals, you can make a case that it won the Lakers a title. Considering how LA would have fallen into a 3-1 series deficit had they lost and the fact that they lost Game 5, it's not a stretch to say that he saved their season.
After losing Game 5, the Lakers rallied to win Games 6 and 7, and that was that. They quickly swept the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals, giving them their third straight championship and the fifth of Horry's career.
Horry would go on to win two more titles with the Spurs, but this shot was the defining moment of his career. He may not have been the biggest name on this Lakers team, but without him, there's no doubt they would have come up short in their 2002 playoff run.
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