Russell Westbrook's shot here doesn't count. I know it doesn't count. There are good reasons for it not to count. But damnit, I don't care. It should count.
Let's examine. Westbrook is wrapped up during this fast break and flips it up, underhanded, from basically the free throw line. That he even drew backboard is impressive!
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It proceeds to hit the top of the backboard, then the shot clock support, then the backboard again, then the shot clock again, then the backboard again, maybe the backboard a couple more times but I can't tell because the naked eye is not trained for such occurrences, then the rim when it falls, then another part of the rim, then the backboard, then the rim some more, and then it goes in.
Whenever you can write a 73-word sentence describing how many things the basketball touched before going through the hoop, the shot counts. I'm almost positive that was a rule that passed in the NBA's last Collective Bargaining Agreement.
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March Madness: How big of a Cinderella story is Syracuse?
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