Watch: Awful shot — or awesome? You decide

By Kamal Wallace

updated 5:09 PM EST, Tue January 15, 2013

NEED TO KNOW

Half-court basketball heave defies laws of physics
Ball lands squarely on back of rim and stays there

A man's half-court heave at an Atlanta Hawks game for a chance to win $1,000 defies the laws of physics.

There are plenty of conspiracy theories out there. What really happened at Area 51, or did we really land on the moon? Turns out the NBA may have its own conspiracy theory to explain.

Kevin, a season ticket-holder for the Atlanta Hawks, had a chance to win $1,000. All he had to do was make a basket from half-court. While the odds of him making the shot were against him, the odds of what he did with the shot had to be astronomical.

Kevin threw the ball toward the basket. The ball hit the backboard before landing squarely on the back of the rim. The emcee of the contest ran over to the basket, pulling the net underneath, which allowed the ball to go in the basket.

The good news is Kevin won the $1,000 (and a possible spot on SportsCenter, according to Hawks' PA announcer and radio personality Ryan Cameron). However, the video that quickly went viral left many scratching their heads, wondering what really happened.

So what do you think? Was the ball underinflated? Was there some sort of magnet or sticky tape on the backboard? Was there something wrong with the rim? (The Hawks won the game against the Utah Jazz 103-95, breaking a four-game losing streak).

Share your conspiracy theories (err... thoughts) in the comments below.

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