Was his choke job again the rockets the biggest in history of sports? I know we have bill Buckner and that french guy, but the probability of him missing 4 free throws in a row: ((1 - .704)^4) * 100 = 0.767656346 % The magic would have prob still lost, but maybe they wouldn't have got swept.
I think Buckner was more dramatic. However, Nick Andersen was historic because he never recovered from that performance. Did John Starks recover from Game 7 against the Rockets?
Biggest choke job in all of sports? Not even close. Whats the probability that a top professional goalie playing in one of the biggest games of his life could mishandle a ball right into the net that most middle school goalies could probably have stopped?
wow i hope you're not comparing that to nick anderson... Anderson wasnt the worse, but a lot worse than that soccer game. Anderson cost them a win in the finals. Had FOUR opportunities and missed them all in a row. Not to mention he was suppose to be a decent FT shooter. England didn't even lose that game.
Starks was the sixth man of the year in '97 so yes I'd say that he recovered. His biggest problem wasn't his play, it was the fact that the Knicks drafted Alan Houston.
Players generally shoot worse when they're tired, and those FT's came at the end of the game. It's also much harder to knock down critical FT's. Even harder in the playoffs. Even harder than that in the Finals...and with each miss, the pressure grows. So it's not as unlikely as your formula suggestions...although still very rare.
see Tracy McGrady. I actually think the Magic would've won if not for the demoralizing game 1 loss. we wouldnt be having conversations of Kobe as the GOAT, Orlando would have at least 4 championships, and Penny would be a HOFer. not that Nick Anderson needs any more added guilt/stress to his life, but he kinda single-handedly dismantled a possible great dynasty.
I voted yes, but it was because of personal involvement. I put the special curse on him for those free throws. A beavis and butthead rendition that involves raising your shirt over the back of your head and making scary hands in the air while mumbling incoherently in an aggressive manner. I feel sorry he was "in the way" at the time, seeing how it affected his entire career. I have been more careful with my powers since then... perhaps to a fault, looking at our performance of late.
Look up most free throws missed in a row, I'm sure its much more than four and I'm sure it happens much more often than what happened to England.
And? You have to take into consideration the circumstances the player is in and the number of times they choke. You're generalizing the fact that he missed 4 freebies. Yes, i'm sure it happens during the season a lot, especially with poor free throw shooters. But in the closing seconds of the nba finals, to decide a game, after you already screwed up one opportunity and were basically a 70% FT shooter? He missed two, had the opportunity to re-focus and make up for what he did, and he choked AGAIN. It's very likely that goalie would take that mistake to heart and not let it happen again. Maybe he would have, but the point is we wont know because it didnt go that far, with Anderson it did. With the goalie it's more of a mistake than a choke job. Nick Anderson didn't make a mistake or have an accident, he completely and thoroughly choked.
Ooops I just realized that it's the history of sports. In that case I have to give it to Steve Bartman. The man had to leave the country for his own safety. But man Nick the Brick never recovered after that game.
