They were short with nearly every 229-point shot and had three air balls from behind the line.
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"Those used to be air balls," said Rob Girard, the team's head coach and a cousin of the marksman.
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Instead, they shot air balls and watched as free throws that looked good suddenly spun up and out of the basket.
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In Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Western Conference Finals at Utah, Bryant infamously uncorked four air balls in the late stages of a 98-93 loss.
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Chance The Rapper proved why he's not Chance The Hooper on Wednesday ... throwin' up air balls and brick shots on the court after the Clippers game ... and it's all on video!!!
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Markelle Fultz Air Balls Shot in Paint at Practice - NOT Good for Sixers #1 pick who is battling season long shoulder injury - could be DONE for ENTIRE Season#MarkelleFultz #Sixers pic.twitter.
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And there's still hope for Chance ... remember Drake was clowned for those air balls at Kentucky a few years back -- but hired some specialists who fixed his shot and now he's pretty good!!!
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Basketball owes its ascendance to its players — to their dunks and their blocks, their 3-pointers and their air balls — but it also owes it to Stern, the son of a delicatessen owner.
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Villanova coach Jay Wright couldn't explain why his team came out flat at the start, alternating air balls and turnovers while a captivated crowd at KeyBank Center began wondering if history was about to be made.
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Baylor (18-163, 6-1 Big 12) couldn't find its usual rhythm from beyond the arc, which was obvious when guards Al Freeman and Lecomte threw up air balls on consecutive trips down the floor with less than five minutes left.
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Bryant's four air balls in a 1997 playoff game in Utah — one at the regulation buzzer and three in overtime — came against the same Jazz franchise he riddled for 60 points in his final N.B.A. game on April 13, 2016.
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However, Hundley shot a hook shot and a behind- the-back shot that both resulted in air balls.
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The base is finally stormed by the Red Army, shown a safe passage in by the escaped Nikola. Bayley, facing imminent capture, swallows some frozen air balls and explodes.
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325 O'Neal began calling Bryant showboat because of his flashy offensive moves.Lazenby 2006, p.328 In an overtime playoff loss to the Utah Jazz that eliminated the Lakers, O'Neal fouled out with two minutes remaining in regulation. Lakers coach Del Harris had designed the Laker offense around the rookie Bryant, who went on to shoot four air balls.
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A block is not considered a rebound.A ball does not need to actually "rebound" off the rim or backboard for a rebound to be credited. Rebounds are credited after any missed shot, including air balls. If a player takes a shot and misses and the ball bounces on the ground before someone picks it up, then the person who picks up the ball is credited for a rebound.
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The Oxford English Dictionary cites earliest printed use of "air ball" in a 29 January 1967 article from the (Hayward, Calif.) Daily Review, which reads: "Cal State, four times lofting air balls at an orange basket that may as well have been painted invisible." An air ball by an opposing player during a competitive game will usually prompt fans (primarily in the college game) present to chant “Aiiiir ball! Aiir ball!” repeatedly in a continuous drone to humiliate the shooter. Since the 1980s, it has become common to restart the chant the next time the shooter touches the ball.
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Filming took place between July and September 1997. Locations included Coney Island, Brooklyn, Cabrini-Green housing projects in Chicago, Illinois, Elon University, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Los Angeles, California. For the role of Jesus, Lee had drawn up a list of every NBA player who could pass for a high school senior. Kobe Bryant was the original choice to portray Jesus Shuttlesworth, but after shooting several air balls that resulted in a brutal playoff loss to the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Playoffs, he planned an extensive workout plan that would help maintain his strength throughout the duration of the longer NBA seasons.
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Bryant's performance throughout the year earned him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight. The Lakers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals in the playoffs against the Utah Jazz, when Bryant was pressed into a lead role at the end of Game 5. Byron Scott missed the game with a sprained wrist, Robert Horry was ejected for fighting with Utah's Jeff Hornacek, and Shaquille O'Neal fouled out with 1:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. Bryant shot four air balls at the end of the game; the Jazz won 98–93 in overtime to eliminate the Lakers 4–1.
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