When 18-year-old Cody Hoover and his father attended the NBA game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, they never excepted to leave the Paycom Center in downtown Oklahoma City $20,000 richer.
Hoover, a senior at Mount Vernon-Enola High School in Faulkner County, is getting national attention on social media after he won $20,000 for making a half-court shot during a timeout at the game. Hoover is the 20th winner of the prize since the contest started in 2008, according to the NBA’s official website.
“On senior night, my parents gave me tickets to the Thunder game,” Hoover said during a phone interview Thursday. “They’ve been my favorite team ever since I started watching basketball.”
He was approached before the game to compete in a free-throw competition “for a chance at the court shot,” he said.
“I was definitely nervous,” Hoover said. “I had to walk down there to shoot at the first timeout in the second quarter, and so the whole time I was watching the game, all I could think about was going out there and shooting. I was shaking.”
He said his nerves subsided once he got on the court and began shooting free throws. He defeated another contestant for the opportunity at the half-court shot.
“I got the chance at the half-court shot and I sunk it,” he said. “I was speechless. I couldn’t believe it.”
Hoover also said his entire family was “ecstatic” following his all-star shot.
“My dad was freaking out. My mom at home, she was freaking out,” he said. “She’s been on Facebook finding all the clips and pictures of the shot since last night. I don’t think she’s slept.”
The soon-to-be high school graduate is set to attend the University of Central Arkansas in the fall. He said he plans to put most of the prize money toward college, “but I might do something nice for my parents since they bought the ticket.”
Hoover — who played on his high school team at Mount Vernon-Enola — said he started playing basketball in third grade but stopped about a month ago when the basketball season ended, “to focus on college and the future.”
For him, the half-court shot was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“Just the feeling of going out there and hitting the shot and the entire crowd cheering loud for you,” Hoover said. “Like, the entire Thunder stadium going crazy. I’ll never be able to experience something like that again.”