This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jerry Carter recognizes a good highlight when he sees one. For years, first while working for local television stations and later as a part of the Utah Jazz's television team, he has witnessed incredible, must-see moments through his camera's viewfinder.
So Carter gets why people are always interested in this one.
"I can watch it now," he says, as the video starts to play on a cellphone. "Then, it wasn't so funny."
The clip is from a 2001 Jazz-Lakers game and it starts unspectacularly enough, with a player trying to save a loose ball from going out of bounds on the baseline. Shaquille O'Neal, all of 7-foot-1 and weighing 325 pounds, jumps and his upper body disappears. Then the footage freezes and skips, the camera falls and Carter's head drops into the frame as his unconscious body slumps down to the floor.
When the clip ends, Carter laughs. "This job is a tough way to make a living," he says.
These days, the NBA hopes life under the basket is a little easier for players and photographers alike. The league has steadily trimmed down the number of photographers, dancers and team personnel allowed along the baseline — from the dozens who packed the space in the '90s to just seven photographers on each end of the court now — in hopes of avoiding collisions like Carter's.
The changes have been a pain for some media outlets, particularly local television stations, whose cameras have been relegated to higher and less desirable vantage points. But, in theory, it should mean a little less pain for players and the photographers capturing the action up close.
"I haven't been hit as much this year," said Melissa Majchrzak, the NBA photographer for the Jazz. "So that's a positive."
Over the years, the NBA has steadily removed people from the baseline. In 1995, the league first added escape lanes on each side of the basket to give players a clear runway. In 2011, league officials capped the number of photographers under the basket at 12. Dance teams — sorry, Laker Girls — got the boot prior to the 2014 playoffs.
"In the old days, it was like wall to wall," Carter said. "So there was no room for the player to escape. They were going to hit somebody. There was no way around it."
All the changes, however, haven't entirely stopped the hits from coming.
"One time last year, I hit my head," said Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood. "It hurt pretty bad, but I understand they [photographers] have to be there."
Cleveland superstar LeBron James needed stitches after cutting his head on a camera in last year's NBA Finals. This season, the league expanded its baseline restrictions. Three more media spots were removed, winnowing the total down to a maximum of seven under the basket, and the escape lanes were expanded from four feet wide to five feet.
Most players haven't really noticed the changes, and maybe that's a good thing.
"You don't really see them while you're playing," Jazz point guard Trey Burke said. "I've hit them a few times, but not really bad. Nothing that was really dangerous to the photographer or myself. Sometimes you go flying out of bounds, but nothing bad."
Even with the new policy changes, the quest to add more premium seating to arenas still causes a space crunch for photographers on the floor. But those in the line of fire say that's just part of the job.
Majchrzak has lost track of how many times she's been hit, or even the details of some of her worst encounters.
"I got hit hard four games ago," she said this week. "I went back and my back got crunched and the player was sitting on top of me. I don't remember who it was. It was one of many."
This is Majchrzak's 10th season with the Jazz after starting as an assistant photographer with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2001. She's been smashed, kicked and cut. She's hurt her neck. She's been concussed. She's been taken back to the locker room so team doctors could treat the golfball-sized goose egg on her forehead. She's been featured on ESPN's Not Top 10 list.
"DeMarre Carroll one time asked me if I ever had gotten landed on," Majchrzak said.
Then she showed the former Jazz forward photos of the time he had fallen on top of her along the baseline and kicked her in the side of the face.
Hood, the Jazz's second-year shooting guard, said proper etiquette is for the player to apologize. "You want to say sorry," he said. "You're coming at them so fast. You never want to hurt anybody, so you want to make sure they're OK."
But Majchrzak doesn't expect any sympathy.
"They're in a game," she said. "I don't expect them to apologize. Sometimes they help you up. Sometimes they push off and get running. I don't expect an apology. It's just part of the gig."
And part of that gig is getting knocked down and getting back up.
"I was a little gun-shy," Carter said, recalling his first game on the baseline after his run in with O'Neal. "I'll be honest. … But there's a pride factor. You train yourself. Don't worry about it. Get the shot. It's going to happen so fast it doesn't matter really. So there's a lot of bravery involved."
Fifteen years after the hit, Carter is still shooting video and capturing highlights for the Jazz, although his job doesn't take him under the basket as often. The collision concussed him, caused some neck issues and forced him to have surgery on his rotator cuff.
Looking back, he can laugh. He has a story to tell. He got the shot.
"I survived the Shaq attack," he says.
Twitter: @tribjazz