NBA fan Michael Drysch drained a basket from midcourt to win a $75,000 prize and an enthusiastic hug from Miami Heat superstar LeBron James.
Drysch, a 50-year-old computer technician from Illinois, won a draw to try for the prize, with the shot also earning $75,000 from one of James’s sponsors for the Girls and Boys Clubs of America.
When his awkward right-handed hook from the center-court circle swooshed through the net, James raced out of the Heat huddle on the sideline and embraced him in a hug that actually pushed Drysch to the court.
“Ecstatic. Euphoric. Wonderful,” Drysch said. “I put some spin on it. Nice way to meet somebody. I can’t believe it.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra — whose team beat Detroit 110-88 — said he wasn’t watching that closely at the end of the third quarter when Drysch made his shot.
“I had just heard the eruption,” Spoelstra said. “I turned and I saw LeBron absolutely tackle him. I had no idea what was going on.”
Asked what James said to him, Drysch said: “He just said, ‘It was a great shot.'”
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