Milwaukee Bucks: 4 memorable game-winning shots in playoff history

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s famous skyhook to seal Game 6 win over Celtics in 1974 NBA Finals

Last but certainly not least, it’s easily the greatest shot to have occurred in the Bucks’ 53-year history and it couldn’t have come at a better time while on the league’s greatest stage.

Down 3-2 going into Game 6 of the 1974 NBA Finals, the Bucks had to work plenty hard to ward off a Boston Celtics team that had their sights set on eliminating Milwaukee that night on May 10, 1974. It was certainly no easy task and four quarters wasn’t going to settle an incredibly hard-fought contest.

It was late in the overtime period where the stage was set for an all-time finish. A hectic back and forth left the Bucks with 7 seconds remaining and trailing 101-100. Following a timeout called by head coach Larry Costello, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar received an inbounds pass from Oscar Robertson, spun around and drove towards the baseline and put up his signature running skyhook high above Celtics big man Henry Finkel.

The rest, as they say, was history as Milwaukee completed a 102-101 overtime victory to force a winner-take-all Game 7 back on their home floor. It turns out drawing up Abdul-Jabbar’s game winner was about as hectic mirrored the hectic finish as the Hall of Fame big man reflected on with On Milwaukee in June of 2014:

"“No one can remember what it was because no one really understood what it was!” Abdul-Jabbar said, laughing. “For all we know – I heard Jon McGlocklin’s name mentioned, and we have to do this, this, this. Then they were like, alright, we have to take the ball inbounds.”"

Unfortunately, the Bucks weren’t able to add another championship ring days later as they endured a tough 102-87 loss in Game 7 and have yet to return to the NBA Finals ever since then.