During the half-time break, fans get a chance to take a moment away from the intensity of watching their favourite players strut their stuff on the court, but some lucky ones get an opportunity during the interval to emulate the greats. Half-court shot contests are a popular and common feature in basketball leagues across the world, from Australia's own National Basketball League to the Eurobasket and, of course, the NBA.

With substantial money and other prizes at stake in many of the contests, there is naturally a big appeal in this sporting feature. It's one of sport's great instant moments, where a complete amateur steps into the spotlight in an attempt to drain the ball from the halfway line. What was once a simple distraction to fill in some time has evolved into a sometimes news-worthy, high-stakes spectacle.

What Are the Chances?

An NBA professional has a 1 in 40 chance of making a half-court shot during game conditions. An average person has a 1 in 50 chance of hitting a successful half-court shot. This is a greater probability than winning a slot machine jackpot. If you check legalcasino.uk, an expert website studying and rating legal online casinos, you will find out that platforms listed there offer numerous jackpot slots, and prizes can get up to six figures.

Winning a jackpot could be anything from 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 50 million chance. But those numbers are slightly deceiving, as a person doesn't need any skill to win at a slot machine (just luck), whereas a half-court shot takes a huge amount of accuracy and force, making it extremely difficult. Stepping up to centre court and being asked to drain the ball from so far away can also heap a ton of extra pressure on the amateur, even more so, doing it in front of a big crowd.

Professional courts in Australia are 28 metres, making it around 12.8 metres to the centre of the hoop. In the NBA, courts are a little longer, with 13.1 metres to the centre of the hoop from halfway, while a standard NBA 3-pointer is around 7.2 metres. But contestants are also asked to stand behind the halfway line, to ensure that they don't go over and foul, extending the actual distance the player needs to cover.

Where It All Began

Half-court contests and different variations of small-scale shooting contests have been around for decades, with no exact start pinpointed. The majority of the early contests, however, paled in comparison to what is available today in terms of prizes. Everything from game tickets to team jerseys, basketball shoes, a year's supply of pizza, gift cards and cars have been given away in these events.

But it was in the early 90s when the popularity of the half-time court contest rocketed, as the Big Shot era was ushered in. On April 14th, 1993, a 23-year-old office supplies salesman called Don Calhoun was fortunate to be picked out of the crowd watching a Chicago Bulls game, to try his hand at what was a remarkable $1 Million USD prize shot. It was prize money touted as something almost a gimmick because of the small likelihood that someone would actually hit it.

But Calhoun made arguably the most famous half-court shot of all time, and it came with controversy, because the insurance company dug deeper and found that Calhoun had played college basketball, which breached the small print of the contest. They didn't pay out, so the Chicago Bulls, along with some other sponsors, stepped up to the plate and gave Calhoun the prize money in instalments.

Other Big Winners

In 2025, Jaren Barajas won $100,000 during the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend in a MrBeast challenge against NBA star Damian Lillard. Michael Ball also won $100,000 scoring a Big Shot Jackpot offered by the LA Lakers. The largest recurring cash prize in Australia for a half-court contest is $50,000, which is typically seen during the NBL Finals.

Getting Picked

It's not a completely random pick from the crowd, as some screening or even entry requirements will happen first. Staff may look around the arena before tip-off for people who have good energy and unrestricted clothing, while some teams ask interested people to enter themselves for the contest if they meet legal requirements. Sometimes entry to the half-court shot comes from getting a lucky seat in the area with a golden ticket stuck under it.

Sticking Around

Prizes in Australia are a lot smaller than what's seen in the NBA, and that's because the NBA has massive TV audiences, sponsorship deals and general budgets which allow them to pay for insurance policies that will cover something like a $1 million payout. Australia's NBL market is a lot smaller; therefore, the promotions are capped at lower payouts, but that doesn't diminish the excitement of the opportunity. The popularity of the all-or-nothing half-court contest is not going to go away, because it provides great drama and mid-game entertainment.