Knicks Gave Away $1,000 in Lottery Tickets to a Fan Who Made a Half-Court Shot, and Social Media Is Divided

The Los Angeles Lakers gave away $100,000 to a lucky NBA fan that sank a half-court shot last [...]

By John Newby

The Los Angeles Lakers gave away $100,000 to a lucky NBA fan that sank a half-court shot last Sunday, eliciting excitement from the crowd. A New York Knicks fan sank a shot of his own on Friday and was given a much different prize. He was handed $1,000 worth of lottery scratchers.

While the fan may have been extremely excited to simply make the shot and get a prize, there were many NBA fans that just felt sorry for him. The Lakers are giving away $100,000, but this fan had to go home and scratch a multitude of tickets while hoping for a big win.

"Northeastern just had a kid take a half-court shot to win $2000 of actual money. You don't want to be doing worse promotions than NU, Knicks," one user wrote on social media. Others simply discussed how this was the most "Knicks" thing in NBA history. The fan was certainly excited to win the prize after making such a difficult shot, but many users on social media just felt pity for him.

For those that didn't want to mention the Lakers, they were able to bring up another comparison. The Los Angeles Clippers had a similar contest, but they rewarded fans for making a three-pointer.

"The Clippers just offered $5,000 to a fan to hit a three. Meanwhile the Knicks offered $1,000 WORTH OF SCRATCHERS for a half court shot," one individual chipped in to keep the conversation going.

Under owner James Dolan, the Knicks have made headlines for controversial moments and angry fans. This long-running franchise has struggled to remain competitive while being known for something other than the play on the court. Although the 10-29 record has not helped the situation.

As an example, the Knicks started the season with a 2-8 record while falling to last place in the Eastern Conference. A fan responded to the struggles by starting a "Fire Dolan" chant in early November. He was removed from his seat by members of the security team and taken to the arena's basement.

The fan was ultimately given the option to return to his seat if he agreed to follow the fan code of conduct. He instead opted to leave and spend his money somewhere else.

Photo Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

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