Thunder fan shows slumping club how it's done, hits $20K shot
Through 24 minutes Sunday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder were shooting just 34 percent from the field, trailing by 13 points to the Utah Jazz at home, and searching for explanations.
One answer? Turns out the best shooter in the building was sitting in the crowd.
For the first time in more than two years, a fan hit a half-court shot in the MidFirst Bank Shot Contest promotion at Chesapeake Bay Arena.
The fan? Shane McKinzie. The reward? A cool 20 grand.
You can see the $20,000-winning shot in the video above, as well as some of the crowd reaction.
According to The Oklahoman, the shot almost didn’t happen. “We thought about turning it down,” McKinzie, 23, told the paper about the team approaching him about the promotion as the game began. “But we signed up and said, ‘Ah, what the heck?'”
Here are a couple more looks at the shot, and even better, the reaction.
The Oklahoman reported that McKinzie’s shot was the 100th in the promotion, and that he was the ninth person to make one (and first since Nov. 21, 2013).
Look what this guy just did! @MidFirst Bank $20k shot! pic.twitter.com/Yio7SPXrGi
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 14, 2015
First time in 2 years anyone has hit @MidFirst $20k halfcourt shot. Nice job, Shane McKinzie from Stillwater! pic.twitter.com/TCqkORRJQO
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 14, 2015
It capped a great weekend for McKinizie, who reportedly graduated from Oklahoma State on Saturday. He then showed he learned a thing or two while obtaining that sociology degree:
"I've got to buy my girlfriend Christmas presents, and the rest of my family," he told the paper. "The rest will probably go to college loans.
"She'll get half of it, too."
And the magic must have rubbed off on the home team. When McKinzie hit the third-quarter basket, the Thunder had just made their first six shots of the the third quarter. And they kept the pressure on, coming all the way back to top Utah in OT, 104-98.
