Every athlete lives for this moment: the chance to steal victory from the clutches of defeat by scoring an impossible goal with literally seconds to go on the clock. Last night, Devin Harris of the New Jersey Nets got that opportunity and rose to the occasion by nailing a half-court shot with two seconds remaining.

At first, the referee waved the shot off, claiming that it had been made after the time had expired. However, she eventually came to her senses, realizing that the ball was still in play and Harris had actually fired it off before the buzzer rang. Good thing too, because there probably would’ve been a riot if she had held to her initial decision.

In any case, I’ve often wondered what goes through an athlete’s mind when faced with this Herculean task. After all, the weight of the world’s collective pressure is upon them, and if they fail, they will likely be the subject of ridicule or, more often than not, indifference in the morning paper.

Do they even aim when they shoot, or is it a blind Hail Mary shot thrown in the general vicinity of the hoop? I imagine it must be the latter, because no one—not even Michael Jordan himself—could nail this shot with any sort of consistency.

Ok, I lied; Jordan can.