This year I had the opportunity to sit court-side at an NBA game. The game took place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and was between the Pacers and the Bulls. I’ve had experiences of sitting close to the action at other sporting events before, but I had no idea what to expect going into the game.

Upon arrival at the game, we were granted access to a private restaurant that was located between the two locker rooms. While we were sitting there eating our steak and cake, players from each team would run right past us back and forth to the court to warm up. My first glimpse of a player was 6’11” Domantas Sabonis who gave me a smile while I was chewing on my food.

After we finished eating, we were escorted to our seats that were directly on the court. We sat opposite the team benches. During warmups, the balls would bounce directly towards us followed by a player standing within a foot of our seats. I had the pleasure of sitting near some loud-mouth drinkers who had a blast making sure the players heard everything they had to say.

The game started and every bit of action was absolutely captivating. It was the first time I had ever felt like I was part of a professional game and not just watching one. Each time the players ran past, I would feel a breeze and even feel some sweat droplets landing on myself. For the most part, you can hear everything the players say to the refs and other players. You feel the vibration of every dribble and 7 foot, 250 lb guys falling on the court. At one point in the game, Justin Holiday, a Pacers’ player, dove for a loose ball and knocked over the drink and popcorn of the person to my right.

The game was taking place on New Year’s Day, so the crowd was nearly sold out and had a high energy about it. The game was a close contest, and was a three point game heading into the fourth quarter. As with any sport, the ending is always the most entertaining. On that day, it was the best-case scenario as it was a one point game with less than 20 seconds left. I knew there was going to be some drama either way the game ended. I had a gut feeling something was going to happen, so I pulled out my phone to record the ending.

The Bulls had the ball with a chance to win the game if they made a shot. The entire stadium was on their feet for the ending and cheering for the Pacers to come up with one last stop. DeMar Derozan, the best player on the Bulls at the time, dribbled to a spot on the court that was 5 feet in front of me, jumped and launched a three to win the game. He made the shot and shocked the entire building.

During the 2021-22 NBA season there were only 14 game winning buzzer beaters out of a total of 1,230 games, meaning only 1.138% of games ended in a buzzer beater. Pretty good timing for the one court-side game I was able to go see.

Advice to my future self: Always get as close to the action as possible - whether it's sports or something else.