Man wins $100,000 after scoring unbelievable half-court basketball shot

A basketball fan managed to stun even the professionals when he sunk a half-court shot and won himself $100,000.

Fidel Olmos was one of hundreds of fans at the Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday (8 January), as the Los Angeles Lakers went head-to-head in a home game with the Toronto Raptors.

However, Olmos was the only one to walk away thousands of dollars richer.

His sudden increase in wealth came during a break in the game, when he stepped on to the court occupied by the likes of D'Angelo Russell for his chance at the MGM Rewards Big-Shot Jackpot.

The chance to win the cash takes place during Los Angles Lakers home games, when fans have the chance to take a shot from half-court, 47 feet away from the hoop.

The prize money increases with every miss, and had amounted to $100,000 by the time Olmos took his shot.

He appeared confident on the court, telling the announcer 'let's do it' when it came time for him to shoot.

After taking a short run up, Olmos made his shot and managed to sink the ball, making it look effortless.

The incredible shot caused the crowd to burst into applause, while Russell himself looked on with shock.

Though Olmos appeared to sink the shot with ease, he admitted to ESPN that he wasn't some half-court expert.

He had managed to sink the shot before, but only twice in his 34 years of life.

"At the basketball gym I would say [I've sunk] maybe two, and I was just messing around by myself," he said, adding: "This is probably the most pressured one I've felt, for sure."

To prepare for the moment, Olmos said he thought of 'positive affirmations', as well as planning for how he was going to throw the ball and making sure he was as 'confident' as he could be.

His preparations obviously paid off, even if the actual moment he made the shot was a bit of a blur.

"I guess I was celebrating, I don't remember even jumping up and down. I just remember it going in and next thing you know I'm literally holding the check and taking my picture," Olmos said.

The successful fan made clear he 'would have been happy with 20 bucks', but with an extra $100,000 to his name he now plans to use his money to pay off some debt, 'take care of some people', and treat himself.

Topics: Los Angeles, Money, Sport, Good News

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.