Former KU guard Devonté Graham wins game for Pelicans with improbable 3/4-court shot
Former Kansas basketball point guard Devonté Graham banked in a 61-foot shot at the buzzer to give the New Orleans Pelicans a shocking 113-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at Paycom Center in OKC.
ESPN Stats and Info’s Twitter account indicated Graham’s bucket was “the longest game-winning buzzer-beater over the last 25 years.”
ESPN Stats and Info added on Twitter that the game was the first “over the last 25 seasons to feature multiple game-tying or go-ahead shots from 30-plus feet inside the last five seconds of a game.”
Prior to Graham’s 3/4-court three, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 31-foot three with 2.3 seconds left to tie the score and presumably force overtime. New Orleans had no timeouts left, so the ball was inbounded at the end line to Graham, who quickly launched before the final horn sounded.
Graham, a 6-foot-1, 26-year-old guard from Raleigh, North Carolina who played at KU from 2014-18, finished with 15 points, all on threes. He made 5-of-10 from beyond the arc but was 0 for 4 on two-pointers.
“When I was at Kansas, I used to shoot half-court shots every game, every practice — trick shots and stuff like that,” Graham told CBSsports.com. He indicated that he was going to give the game ball to his mother or grandmother.
“For me it was just playing around. You never know, you might get into that situation one day, just like today. And it ends up paying out for you,” Graham added.
Graham for the season is averaging 13.3 points, 4.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. He’s made 36.6% of his shots overall and 35.3% of his threes.
Pelicans coach Willie Green had this to say to nola.com about Graham’s game-winner: “When I saw it release from Devonté’s hands, I said, ‘Lord, please.’ He delivered. It was a crazy ending to an up and down game. Both teams fought, battled. I’m glad that we’re on the winning side of it.
“The moment the ball went in, Devonté looked at me. I put up a touchdown sign,” Green added. “And he knew what that meant. It was a crazy shot. I’m just glad it went in.”
Graham told nola.com the play the Pelicans ran on his game-winning shot was called “Vegas.”
“That’s definitely my best game winner I’ve had,” Graham told nola.com. “Every one is memorable. But full court, a shot like that, it’s got to be ranked number one.”
The Pelicans improved to 9-21 while OKC fell to 8-19.
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 7:37 AM.
