The final day of the 2023-24 regular season was an eventful afternoon, with a number of playoff teams vying for seeding, others trying to improve draft odds and a few simply hoping end the campaign on a good note.
The Houston Rockets, who made a late push for the Play-In Tournament with a 13-2 record in March but fell short in early April, fell into the latter category, seeking their first undefeated record since the season 2019-20. .
It turned out on Sunday that the Rockets – and Los Angeles Clippers fans – both had a victory. With 4:44 left in the fourth quarter of Houston’s 116-105 victory over the Clippers, center Boban Marjanović missed his first free throw. Marjanović – a career 76.4% free throw shooter – then deliberately missed the second to win free chicken from Los Angeles fans.
The Clippers organization is running a promotion in which fans in attendance receive free chicken if the opposition misses two free throws in a row. The Clippers faithful, who had seen their replacements fight admirably all evening, finally had something to rejoice, triggering the crescendo.
Boban.
Man of the people. 🍗 pic.twitter.com/PRq6xIXxIW
-NBA (@NBA) April 15, 2024
Rewarding home fans when two consecutive fourth-quarter free throws are missed has gained popularity in recent years. Amid the eruptions when the end-of-the-bench players finally speak up, few things are more satisfying than seeing a reserve miss the first free throw, rile up the crowd, only to make the second and be laughed at.
But if there was anyone in the NBA who would deliberately miss out to ensure that traveling fans went home with a reward, it would be Marjanović, arguably the nicest professional basketball player on the planet.
Little-used Marjanović played the entire fourth game, the biggest indicator of Houston’s season ending, but the former Clipper, who was named a finalist for the NBA Sportsmanship Award, did a career of kind gestures during his various stops in the league. As soon as the second free throw rolled off the side of the rim, Boban raised a finger in the air, reminding attendees who to thank for the free Chick-Fil-A.
(Photo: Adam Pantozzi/Getty Images)