I have absolutely no idea what this kid’s thought process was behind this.
At the Los Angeles Lakers game last night (in which they decimated the Memphis Grizzlies and booted them out of the playoffs), a 13-year-old fan named Cooper was chosen to shoot at halftime in their “Half-Minute To Win It” shooting challenge.
These types of on-court fan interactions have been known to create some viral moments over the years, but Cooper made this one go viral for all the wrong reasons.
The goal of the Laker’s shooting challenge is to get 10 points in the allotted 30 seconds, with a shot worth 1 point at the basket, 3 points at the free throw line, and 10 points from beyond the arc.
You would think that in order to win, you would want to get as many shots up as possible. Maybe try to make as many layups as you can, or start at the free throw line and make a couple there then finish it off with 1-point shots at the basket.
If you decide to go for the “all or nothing” shot from the three point line (which in the game is worth 10), you better be jacking up shots as fast as you can until you make it.
And Cooper here, he only takes one shot in the entire half-minute.
The Lakers host Ashley tells contestant Cooper before the game starts:
“Cooper we put 30 second on the clock, all you gotta do is score 10 points. You ready?”
Cooper, who has way too much confidence in himself, responds with:
“I was born ready.”
This is the part of the TV show where the narrator comes in and says “Cooper was not, in fact, born ready.”
Once the clock starts, instead of shooting, Cooper puts the basketball down where he is standing behind the 3-point-line and begins to hype up the crowd.
At first it looks like he maybe didn’t know the game had started, but then it becomes clear that, for some reason, Cooper is going to effectively “hold for the last shot” and try to make a buzzer-beater 10-pointer to win the game.
The Lakers host does her best to allow for Cooper to hype up the crowd, but at the same time was really questioning what the hell the 13-year-old kid was doing. She evens laughs when Cooper hasn’t shot the ball halfway through the contest:
“Cooper, you’ve got 15 seconds to score those 10 points.”
Cooper waits until the clock is about to hit zero, then chucks up a shot from the “1o point zone” and misses it terribly. Probably because his arms were tired from trying to get the crowd into this bizarre halftime entertainment.
The buzzer sounds and Cooper still gets to go home with a “Lakers fan pack,” though I’m not sure he entirely deserved it after that showing.
Watch the scene that seems straight out of a sitcom below:
Why did Cooper do this?
Maybe he didn’t understand the rules of the game? Possibly the bright lights of Crypto.com Arena blinded him from actually participating how he was supposed to?
The most likely scenario is that Cooper wanted to go viral on TikTok or social media by hitting a dramatic buzzer beater to win. He still pretty much did that, but just not the way he wanted to.
Cooper’s dumb, questionable arrogance is similar to Icarus of Greek mythology. He thought he had it all figured out, but then he flew too close to the sun with his perishable wings and perished himself (maybe a little dramatic but you get the point).
Cooper thought he knew how to play the game, but as it turns out, the game played him.
You hate to see…
