diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/storage/etcd3/store.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/storage/etcd3/store.go
index df9917ed61c..b0acc840165 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/storage/etcd3/store.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/storage/etcd3/store.go
@@ -562,6 +562,14 @@ func (s *store) List(ctx context.Context, key, resourceVersion string, pred stor
 			return fmt.Errorf("no results were found, but etcd indicated there were more values remaining")
 		}
 
+		// avoid small allocations for the result slice, since this can be called in many
+		// different contexts and we don't know how significantly the result will be filtered
+		if pred.Empty() {
+			growSlice(v, len(getResp.Kvs))
+		} else {
+			growSlice(v, 2048, len(getResp.Kvs))
+		}
+
 		// take items from the response until the bucket is full, filtering as we go
 		for _, kv := range getResp.Kvs {
 			if paging && int64(v.Len()) >= pred.Limit {
@@ -612,6 +620,37 @@ func (s *store) List(ctx context.Context, key, resourceVersion string, pred stor
 	return s.versioner.UpdateList(listObj, uint64(returnedRV), "")
 }
 
+// growSlice takes a slice value and grows its capacity up
+// to the maximum of the passed sizes or maxCapacity, whichever
+// is smaller. Above maxCapacity decisions about allocation are left
+// to the Go runtime on append. This allows a caller to make an
+// educated guess about the potential size of the total list while
+// still avoiding overly aggressive initial allocation. If sizes
+// is empty maxCapacity will be used as the size to grow.
+func growSlice(v reflect.Value, maxCapacity int, sizes ...int) {
+	cap := v.Cap()
+	max := cap
+	for _, size := range sizes {
+		if size > max {
+			max = size
+		}
+	}
+	if len(sizes) == 0 || max > maxCapacity {
+		max = maxCapacity
+	}
+	if max <= cap {
+		return
+	}
+	if v.Len() > 0 {
+		extra := reflect.MakeSlice(v.Type(), 0, max)
+		reflect.Copy(extra, v)
+		v.Set(extra)
+	} else {
+		extra := reflect.MakeSlice(v.Type(), 0, max)
+		v.Set(extra)
+	}
+}
+
 // Watch implements storage.Interface.Watch.
 func (s *store) Watch(ctx context.Context, key string, resourceVersion string, pred storage.SelectionPredicate) (watch.Interface, error) {
 	return s.watch(ctx, key, resourceVersion, pred, false)
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/storage/etcd3/store_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/storage/etcd3/store_test.go
index 8b36b611096..d7c7f0f10d3 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/storage/etcd3/store_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apiserver/pkg/storage/etcd3/store_test.go
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/coreos/etcd/integration"
 	"github.com/coreos/pkg/capnslog"
 	"golang.org/x/net/context"
-
 	apierrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	apitesting "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/testing"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
@@ -1236,3 +1235,68 @@ func Test_decodeContinue(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func Test_growSlice(t *testing.T) {
+	type args struct {
+		t               reflect.Type
+		initialCapacity int
+		v               reflect.Value
+		maxCapacity     int
+		sizes           []int
+	}
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		args args
+		cap  int
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "empty",
+			args: args{v: reflect.ValueOf([]example.Pod{})},
+			cap:  0,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "no sizes",
+			args: args{v: reflect.ValueOf([]example.Pod{}), maxCapacity: 10},
+			cap:  10,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "above maxCapacity",
+			args: args{v: reflect.ValueOf([]example.Pod{}), maxCapacity: 10, sizes: []int{1, 12}},
+			cap:  10,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "takes max",
+			args: args{v: reflect.ValueOf([]example.Pod{}), maxCapacity: 10, sizes: []int{8, 4}},
+			cap:  8,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "with existing capacity above max",
+			args: args{initialCapacity: 12, maxCapacity: 10, sizes: []int{8, 4}},
+			cap:  12,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "with existing capacity below max",
+			args: args{initialCapacity: 5, maxCapacity: 10, sizes: []int{8, 4}},
+			cap:  8,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if tt.args.initialCapacity > 0 {
+				tt.args.v = reflect.ValueOf(make([]example.Pod, 0, tt.args.initialCapacity))
+			}
+			// reflection requires that the value be addressible in order to call set,
+			// so we must ensure the value we created is available on the heap (not a problem
+			// for normal usage)
+			if !tt.args.v.CanAddr() {
+				x := reflect.New(tt.args.v.Type())
+				x.Elem().Set(tt.args.v)
+				tt.args.v = x.Elem()
+			}
+			growSlice(tt.args.v, tt.args.maxCapacity, tt.args.sizes...)
+			if tt.cap != tt.args.v.Cap() {
+				t.Errorf("Unexpected capacity: got=%d want=%d", tt.args.v.Cap(), tt.cap)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}