Don Calhoun’s Million Dollar Shot

by Matthew Paris

Back in the early nineties, the NBA teamed up with sponsorships from SONY and American Express to do a “Million Dollar Shot” contest. The contest spanned over four years, and four fans were picked out of millions who entered. NBA players mentored the four, but none made the shot.

In the 1993 season, the Bulls held a promotion for their fans. Out of the 18,000 fans, one would be chosen to take a million-dollar shot.

It was not a mid-court shot but one that had to span the entire court length. The insurance company and the Bulls organization felt so comfortable that no one would make the shot they ran the promotion. Leading up to the Heat game, 19 lucky fans were chosen to try and make the shot. Out of the nineteen, there were a lot of air balls, even though a few shots reached the backboard, and one even hit the rim. But none of them went in.

Enter Don Calhoun, a

Chicago Bulls fan during the Jordan era. The year was 1993, April 14th, to be exact. The Bulls were squaring off against the Miami Heat in a home game. The Bulls are blowing out the Heat, and Jordan has 22 points in the first half.

But this was Don’s night, figuratively and literally. He stepped on the court, took a deep breath, then a dribble, and finally launched the shot. The impossible happened. It went in! Don Calhoun just made a milliondollar shot. The Bulls fans erupted, and Michael Jordan came over to give him a hug. Scottie Pippen joined in, as did the rest of the Bulls. The Bulls then brought out an oversized check as the cheers continued. But the jubilation didn’t last long. Rules violation was the reason, the insurance company said. One rule was that the contestant could not have played organized basketball for five years leading up to the contest. Don was a member of a community basketball team, and he had informed the Bulls of that fact before being selected. The insurance company still cried foul, saying Don should have never been selected and that he would not be paid for making that shot.

The Chicago media got a hold of the story and backed Don. Michael and a few other Bulls players did, too. They went to the front office and asked the owners to pay. The Bulls held a press conference saying they would, but only by way of splitting annual payments over 20 years. Don then received his first payment of $50,000.

A year later, Don ran into Michael, and Don wanted the legend to sign a basketball. First, though, Michael wanted to know if Don had received his money as promised. “Yes,” was the answer, and Don got his signed basketball, too.

Author and filmmaker Matthew Paris writes human interest sports stories at The Sports Column. His recently published Honor Among Players is available at Amazon.com.

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