Joe Crispin Hits Halfcourt Shot to win Michael Jordan

Ordinary Joe Hits an Extraordinary Shot
By Dustin Krugel
Posted: Feb. 5, 2002

Being an Ordinary Joe finally paid off for Suns guard Joe Crispin.

While attending a Stanford-Arizona game at Maples Pavilion on Saturday, Crispin was handpicked from the crowd to take part in a half-court shooting contest.

“I was just walking along and they asked me. ‘Do you want to shoot for something?’” he said. “They kept prodding me because it had to be done in a couple minutes. It was funny. I tell everyone, I can blend in with the best of them.”

Despite informing the skeptical public address announcer that he was, indeed, an NBA player, the 6-foot, 185-pounder was allowed two half-court attempts to make one.

“(The announcer) said, ‘Rumor has it, he played for the Lakers earlier this year,’ and then you hear this chuckle throughout the crowd because nobody believed him, of course,” Crispin recounted. “I was laughing. Then the guy with the mike was like, ‘No, I’m really serious.’

“I told them straight up when I got there (that I played for the Suns). I don’t know where they got the Lakers thing, probably from my buddy, Ryan, because that’s all people in California care about, the Lakers.”

Crispin didn’t need two attempts. He hit nothing but net in his first attempt.

His reward? A framed, autographed Michael Jordan jersey!

“I’m not really a collector, so I was just like, ‘Yeah, that’s cool. Whatever,’” he said. “It’s actually in my car right now. I might not want to tell anybody that.”

Plus, the Suns’ rookie is eligible with other contestants this year to shoot for $100,000 on Feb. 23 if his name is drawn.

The only problem is that the winner might not be announced until the day of the event. The Suns are scheduled return to Phoenix in the early morning that same day after a road game against Chicago. The Suns then host San Antonio the following day.

“It’s a day in between games, so I’m thinking I’ll have to have a charter flight from somebody to get up there,” he laughed. “But if they tell me beforehand, I wouldn’t mind flying up and giving it a rip.”




Wouldn't it be ironic if this was the highlight of his NBA Career