Tulsa Man Talks Hitting $20,000 Half-Court Shot At Thunder Game

One Tulsa man has a much fatter wallet after his trip to the Thunder game Wednesday.

"We had bought tickets like a month before it," said Tiandre Nichols.

Nichols was picked out of the crowd to attempt a half-court shot for $20,000 and nailed it.

He and his girlfriend had just gone to the game to see Russell Westbrook and ended up with much more.

"I just happened to look up,” said Nichols. “One of the ladies that worked there, she just happened to randomly pick me out.”

He had been picked to be in a game-break contest where two guys were given 24 seconds to shoot free throws, and whoever hit the most would get a chance at a half-court shot for $20,000. The problem was, it wasn't until almost halftime.

"The first quarter, I was cool,” he said. “And the second quarter, once I got down there, I was like this is really about to happen. This is crazy.”

Three free throws later, it was a half-court shot at history.

"After he gave me the ball, I just pumped up the crowd a little bit, took a couple steps behind and I just let it go after that,” Nichols recalled.

So, he left the arena with more money than he entered with.

"At the moment, I'm just going to save it and give [to] my son,” he stated. “Anything for him. Then with the rest of it, I'm just going to let God, whatever God plans for me to do with it." 

And oh yeah, Nichols was a high school hooper in Eufaula. His position?

"I played shooting guard,” he said.