Utah’s Trevor Booker hits the shot of the season in 0.2 seconds
It is widely known that NBA rules prohibit a player from catching and shooting the ball off an inbounds pass when there are 0.3 seconds or fewer on the shot or game clock. The idea is that it is physically impossible — the specific time listed might be an estimate but it makes a lot of sense. If a team is going to score, they’re going to have to do so via a tip-in around the basket. There is just no other way.
Or so we thought up until Friday night. With 1:01 on the clock in the Utah Jazz’s road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Gordon Hayward prepared to throw in an inbound pass with only 0.2 seconds on the shot clock following a deflection. Trevor Booker entered the game for Utah after the whistle. Here’s what he did on his first touch:
Feel free to watch that one a few dozen more times. If you can’t tell, Booker manages to loft the ball over his head with a two-handed touch — something between a volleyball set and a touch-pass — and right through the hoop for a swish.
There will be more dramatic shots this season, but I am fairly comfortable proclaiming that there will not be a more surprising or shocking basket for the rest of this season. Heck, we might not see one for another decade, if not longer.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
