Top 10 NBA plays of 2022

So many indelible moments and so little time.

From high-flying finishes to buzzer-beating heaves, NBA fans were spoiled with countless highlights over a calendar year rife with regular-season and playoff excellence. Here's a look at the top 10 plays of 2022 as selected by theScore's NBA editors:

10. Jokic's implausible post pass

Do you know how good a pass has to be to make this countdown when it didn't even go down as an assist? Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic is capable of plenty of those, but this no-look laser from the post in February is on another level of absurd for the Serbian. The pass literally turned heads as it whizzed directly into the corner. Monte Morris' failure to hit the ensuing three should have been grounds for an immediate ejection.

9. Griffin stuns dad and Raptors

Getting the better of your dad as a professional athlete may be one of the coolest feelings in sports. Atlanta Hawks forward AJ Griffin was likely on cloud nine in November when his last-gasp overtime layup sunk the Toronto Raptors while his father and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin sat courtside. It marked a notable shift for the rookie, as his numbers have essentially doubled across the board since that play. Griffin did nearly the same thing less than a month later against the Chicago Bulls.

8. Banchero debuts with a bang

The No. 1 pick in last summer's draft wasted zero time announcing himself to the league. Paolo Banchero marked his NBA debut with a disgusting poster that Cory Joseph is probably still feeling today.

7. Russ uncorks new dunk de la mort

Russell Westbrook doesn't live above the rim as frequently as he used to, but he can still ruin a defender's day when he gets a full head of steam. Unfortunately for Rudy Gobert, he learned that the hard way in mid-January when Westbrook made him look like a poor man's reincarnation of Frederic Weis.

6. Tatum sinks winner and Nets' hopes

The Boston Celtics choosing not to call a timeout upped the chaos factor at the end of Game 1 in their opening-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. But amid all the mayhem, Jayson Tatum had the poise to spin around Kyrie Irving and steal a win for Boston at the buzzer. Having a road win slip away from them like that seemed to sap the Nets' will for the rest of the series. They rolled over in four games, while the Celtics went on to the Finals.

5. Maple Jordan snatches Luka's soul

Andrew Wiggins enjoyed a career-revitalizing campaign with the Golden State Warriors last season that resulted in his first NBA title. There's no play that better encapsulated Wiggins' unexpected term than when he tried to posterize Luka Doncic into purgatory in the Western Conference finals. Thankfully, Steve Kerr's challenge helped overturn the initial charge call presumably made as a sign of respect to Doncic's departing spirit.

4. Morant's miracle buzzer-beater

Ja Morant constantly wows us with gravity-defying poster dunks, but one of his greatest highlights of 2022 didn't involve baptizing anyone. With 0.4 seconds left in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs in February, Steven Adams airmailed a beautiful quarterback heave that led to Morant producing one of the most unfathomable buzzer-beaters ever seen. Fun fact: the Memphis Grizzlies star also set a career high in this game with 52 points.

3. Embiid's vengeful dagger silences Toronto

Joel Embiid doesn't forget. He'll always remember Kawhi Leonard's series-ending gravity-defiant buzzer-beater in the 2019 conference semis, nor will he have repressed the ensuing tearful tunnel memes. The Philadelphia 76ers talisman exacted some form of revenge in Game 3 of last season's first-round clash to hush a Toronto faithful that serenaded him with "F--k Embiid" chants throughout the contest, snatching a 3-0 series advantage in the process.

2. Luka's unparalleled performance buries Knicks

Down nine with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter versus the Knicks, Doncic sparked a comeback the league hasn't seen in over two decades. He sent the game to overtime with a deliberately bricked free throw-turned buzzer-beater and subsequent celebratory spasm. The fact Doncic became the first player in NBA history to record a 60/20/10 triple-double in the victory only adds to the play's charm.

1. Ja banishes Beasley to shadow realm

This might be the most vicious dunk of Morant's career, which is saying something. The Grizzlies' high-flyer completely eviscerated former Minnesota Timberwolves wing Malik Beasley in the third quarter's dying seconds during Game 5 of the 2022 first round. Morant's cram seemed to ignite his teammates, too. Down 13 before the dunk, Memphis outscored Minnesota 37-24 in the final frame to take Game 5, then won Game 6 to move on.