The Houston Rockets’ Boban Marjanović is 7’ 4” tall, but despite his imposing presence, he has never really been a very impactful player in his nine seasons in the NBA. He’s carved out a nice career, but mostly as a limited backup. He is known, however, as one of the nicest, funniest players in the league, a personality trait that paid dividends for fans attending the final game of the regular season between Houston and the L.A. Clippers in Los Angeles.
The game was meaningless for both teams – Houston couldn’t make the playoffs and L.A.’s seed was locked in – so it was a game for the backups. With less than five minutes remaining, Boban went to the free throw line to shoot two.
The Clippers have a promotion where if an opposing player misses two straight free throws in the 4th quarter, everyone in attendance gets a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich. Boban missed the first free throw, so the fans started getting loud, cheering for the possibility of free chicken.
Boban, who used to play for the Clippers, heard everyone loud and clear. He stepped back from the line, acknowledged the crowd, smiled, and seemed to say, “I’ve got you,” and “This one’s on me.”
When he got the ball back from the ref, he pointed to himself again and, a hero without a cape, Boban Marjanović intentionally missed the second shot to the approving roars of the crowd. He had just treated the fans to well over $100,000 worth of Chick-Fil-A. As he backpedaled down the court, Boban raised one finger triumphantly.
Interestingly, that missed shot likely affected wagers on the game, though anyone who bet any significant amount of money on a meaningless game needs help. The consensus over/under closed at 222.5, but depending on the time and sportsbook, bettors could have gotten 221 or 222.
The final score was Houston 116, L.A. 105, for a total of 221.
