A man who made an improbable shot at an NBA game found out he wouldn’t be paid his prize money.
He thought that his shot of a lifetime had earned him the cash prize of a whopping one million dollars, but that wasn’t the case.
You can watch the moment here:
Prize money challenges in American sports games are nothing new.
We’ve seen it all, from trying to dunk off a trampoline to half-court shots, but this original viral moment might never be topped.
On 14 April 1993, during a regular-season game between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, Don Calhoun was selected from the Bulls crowd during a timeout in the third quarter to make the shot that would win him the big bucks.
And the goal was for him to score from one side of the court into the basket on the other – with the percentage of a clean shot being less than one.
Calhoun swished the ball in for the first time with nothing – and the shot was forever immortalised as the ‘Calhoun Shot’.
He even got to celebrate his win with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen – living every NBA fan’s dream.
Calhoun did the unthinkable and made an impossible shot. Credit: NBA
While Calhoun had a million-dollar smile plastered across his face, the insurance company paying the prize money did not share the same energy, however.
American Hole ‘N One Inc. refused the payment because they found out that he had played college basketball, violating their rules.
Insurance companies are known to be strict with the fine print – even with fun basketball competitions.
Contestants must be selected randomly from the crowd, and the teams are responsible for explaining all rules to participants.
At the time, ABC7 Chicago reported that it’s normal for franchises to pay the contestants themselves if any issues arise.
The rule, however, states that you can’t have played in an ‘organised’ version of the sport before the contest.
Does primary school PE count?
However, sponsors of the event, Coca-Cola and the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, agreed with the Bulls to cover the prize money if the insurance company decided not to.
Calhoun ended up receiving his prize money, thanks to the Bulls and other sponsors. Credit: NBA
So, luckily Calhoun got the $1,000,000 – albeit in $50,000 payments over the following 20 years.
They were $38,000 after tax, but Calhoun kept his office supplies salesman job while receiving these handsome annual payments until 2013.
He told ABC7 Chicago: “In reality, you’re not rich, you’re not a millionaire.”
And, as of 2023, his son is now the proud owner of the basketball that started it all.
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