Celtics Fan Hits Half-Court Shot for $50,000 [Video]

The ‘Luck of the Irish’ must have been on the side of a fan of the NBA’s Boston Celtics this weekend, as a local man won $50,000 by hitting a half-court shot at the Boston Garden in front of a packed crowd. The man won the entry into the contest at a local bar before the game, and within a couple hours he was standing at half-court heaving up the improbably shot that won him a whole lot of loot.

For those of you that have goofed around in practice with the half-court shot, you’ll know that half the battle is just getting the ball to the rim at that distance. Aim and precision go out the window when you lose your technique in favor of power. Well i’d say a bit of luck and a lot of timing helped this guy cash in on the one-time chance….

The Patriot Ledger had this on the winner’s reaction:

Chris Miller, 30, showed up at the Harp, a bar across the street from TD Garden, and found himself entering a Pop-a-Shot contest sponsored by WEEI and Miller Light beer.

About an hour later, he was standing in the middle of the Garden court, $50,000 richer.

Miller, a New Jersey native who lives in Quincy, won the Pop-a-Shot contest at the bar on Friday, earning the right to take a potentially lucrative halfcourt shot.

“When I won (at the Harp), I thought I was supposed to get a ticket for a Jan. 15 game,” explained Miller, who works for John Hancock. But he was told that, no, he had to come across the street and take the shot almost immediately – so he couldn’t practice….

…A married man, Miller said he would probably use the money as a down payment on a new home.