As the ball soars toward the goal, mere 10ths-of a-second feel like ages. The once raucous crowd is left speechless. The fate of the winner, and loser, hangs in the air.

Moments like these, where the pressure is thicker than humidity in a fitness room sauna, aren't for everyone. In fact, those who are truly effective in the deciding seconds of a game are very few.

So what is the mindset of a player who relishes under the glow of the spotlight in the game's crucial moment and can handle the outcome, for better or worse? And in reality, the frequency is usually worse.

"It's a mentality," two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash said of those who are willing to take game-deciding shots. "I think some guys are just more predisposed to that situation and more confident in that situation. And that makes all the difference."

Like Nash, NBA Champion Dwyane Wade insists the final seconds are made for those with confidence, whether the shot falls through or adrift.

"You've got to be a winner to take what comes with it when you miss it or when you make it," Wade said. "You've got to be able to take both and not be afraid with what comes with either of them."

Within the blink of an eye, the shooter's destiny is decided, goat or hero. It's all part of the beauty of taking the game winning shot.

Sure, many players talk about wanting the shot, but the number fades when the situation is presented, according to Kings coach Reggie Theus. Those who really want it speak up when the time comes.

So the question is offered -- are players born to take game-winners or made to take them -- through hard work, focus, visualization and a bit of luck?

No scientific proof exists to quickly come to a conclusion, but players and coaches have their opinions.

"Not all guys want that shot first of all," Theus said. "But the guys that want it, it's a mentality. It's who they are. It's something that you cannot teach. Guys mature into it sometimes. But you can't teach it. You have to have a nose for the ball and you have to be able to accept and want to carry the burden of a make or miss."

Supporting Theus' stance, Kings swingman Francisco Garcia, who has been responsible for one of the Kings game winning buckets this season agrees, it's innate.

"When I was a kid I used to watch Michael Jordan and he always made those shots. I always dreamed about it," Garcia said reflecting. "In the last game [I hit one] it was one of those moments that I feel like I needed to make that shot. [My team needs] me at those times, so I focus on those shots - I like to make those.

"I always think I'm going to make it and I always should. If I don't hit it, I just missed one. I don't sleep as well, but I only missed one."

Arguably the greatest clutch player in NBA history, Michael Jordan, hit a remarkable 25 game-winning shots in 13 seasons with the Chicago Bulls. Add his game-winner as a Tar Heel which is part of NCAA Tournament lore, and a few as a Washington Wizard, and it's hard to argue anyone else knows more about hitting game-winners than the player they called Money.

"I felt that I had that winner mentality instilled in me," Jordan once said.

While the original Mr. Clutch is Jerry West, the Kings have a Mister Clutch of their own -- John Salmons.

"When I was in high school I took a lot of game-winning shots and made a lot of big shots," Salmons said." Actually, they called me Mister Clutch in high school."

Salmons' game-winner this season -- the coast-to-coast heavily contested running floater that banked in to beat the Mavericks, sent the ARCO Arena crowd into a frenzy. And nearly as memorable was the postgame reaction his teammates had, laughing because they didn't know their ever-stoic teammate could display so much joy.

Again, that's its beauty.

"You always remember game-winners," Martin said. "I think everybody does. I remember my first game-winning shot against San Antonio [in the 2006 Playoffs]. Then I had a couple in my third year and I've had a couple this year."

While sinking free throws isn't as dramatic as knocking down a jumper at the horn, the trip to the line is more anxiety-provoking, Martin says.

"You have more time to think about it, so I think you get more nervous when you go to the line," Martin said smiling the day after his 35th and 36th point of the night finished off the Grizzlies. "[On an inbound play] you don't have time to think. But at the free throw line, it seems like the refs are trying to ice you and the other players are trying to ice you."

But when a player silences his opponent and a game-winning shot falls true, "there's no better feeling than to win that late in the game," Nash ensures.

The overwhelming feeling of joy that follows a game-winning basket, whether at the charity stripe or on a field goal, eventually fades. Fortunately, so does the feeling of heartbreaking defeat when a player is on the losing, or missing, end. But for those hours that follow the made basket that send a team, fans and many times a city into pure ecstasy, it's incomparable.

As for the pressure that once lingered, for the time being, it's forgotten.