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Chuck Connors - aka "The Rifleman" - breaks backboard via a set shot, not a dunk

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 TV viewers know that The Rifleman, played by Chuck Connors, was a fine long-gun shot. While he hardly ever missed with his rifle on the TV series, he was not a sharpshooter with a basketball. In his one season with the Boston Celtics, he shot 24% from the field and 46% from the foul line.


Connors holds the dubious distinction of breaking the first backboard in NBA history. But it wasn't via a slam dunk. It was the result of an errant-too-strong set shot that hit the front of the rim and shattered the glass backboard.

The backboard Chuck Connors shattered

This happened in 1946 - prior to the emergence of "shatterproof backboards". I personally found this incident to be difficult to perceive, but apparently "the brick' launched by a 6'6", 2-sport pro athlete was sufficient to do the job. 





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