PHOENIX -- A season ago, followers of the NBA were all abuzz about Chris Paul's Guinness World Record for half-court shots in a minute, set during Saturday morning's All-Star practice session. At the time, I thought that things seemed a little contrived -- and after seeing it go down in person this weekend, I can tell you it absolutely was.The Guinness World Record reps have placards and certificates already made to give to the record-setters-in-waiting, and they choose things like "longest shot sitting down" and "blindfolded free-throw shooting" that aren't exactly special talents. But still, records were set, man. So head on past the jump, where you can see video of how Devin Harris and Chauncey Billups were able to etch their names in the record book.
First up is Devin Harris, who set the (inaugural, I guess) record for quickest baseline-to-baseline dribble (or something). He does it in 3.9 seconds, but the best part is the false start, which is why the clip is almost three minutes.
Two things happened there that make me think that these things aren't the greatest idea. One, the fans didn't even cheer when he finished, because they didn't know if there was a pre-existing time he needed to beat, or if they just made up something for him to set a record at -- the latter is what actually happened. And two, the fact that when Harris was asked "hey, are you satisfied with your record?" he was like, "I'm good, thanks." As in, "I'm done with this [stuff]."
Now we have Chauncey Billups, who tied the record for "most made free throws in one minute while blindfolded." Yeah, not exactly an everyday activity. My camera angle's not as good on this one, but trust me, that's Chauncey at the line, he's really blindfolded (as you'll see by all the airballs), and he gets some advice from Shaq, which is always good for a laugh.
So there you have it: world records are world records I guess ... even if they're ones that are set by doing completely made-up activities.
