Since the NBA was founded, there have been 848 game-winning buzzer-beaters as of writing, the most recent being the Wizards’ Bub Carrington’s ridiculous last-second circus shot against the Miami Heat to close the season and Harrison Barnes’ 30-footer against the Golden State Warriors. The game-winning buzzer-beater is possibly the most exciting thing to happen in a basketball game. It got me thinking, though, who made the first game-winner in the NBA? 

To find out, we have to go back all the way to 1946, when the NBA was officially founded. This was when the league was called the BAA (Basketball Association of America), before its merger with the NBL and rebrand as the NBA. 

Meet John Evans Barr, the 6’3 forward who played for the St. Louis Bombers. It’s December 10th, 1946, and the Bombers are taking on the Cleveland Rebels. After an incredibly low-scoring first quarter where both teams put up less than ten points, both squads would be neck and neck for the remainder of the game, eventually going to overtime. As the final seconds wind down with the Bombers down one, Barr’s teammate Aubrey Davis passes him the ball, and Barr knocks down a shot for two points, giving the Bombers their 13th win for the season.   

Barr would only have four points for the night. Not many players make history with just four points, but being the first player ever to make a game-winning buzzer-beater in an NBA game definitely makes you an exception.