--- title: Michael Phelps Distracts a Free Throw Shooter description: Michael Phelps became the latest diversion to pop out from behind the Sun Devils' legendary "Curtain of Distraction." canonical: https://time.com/4200358/michael-phelps-distracts-free-throw-shooter/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-29T20:32:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:29:28.690Z og:title: Watch a Speedo-Clad Michael Phelps Distract a Free Throw Shooter og:description: That's one way to to play defense og:url: https://time.com/4200358/michael-phelps-distracts-free-throw-shooter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch a Speedo-Clad Michael Phelps Distract a Free Throw Shooter twitter:description: That's one way to to play defense twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch a Speedo-Clad Michael Phelps Distract a Free Throw Shooter > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=915170c4-aa82-4a44-9378-5a9387faea9f&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 29, 2016 8:32 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 29, 2016 8:32 PM UTC It’s not everyday that an [Olympian](http://time.com/3986956/michael-phelps-duis-swimming-rio-olympics/) agrees to participate in your school’s elaborate stunt. During Thursday night’s men’s basketball game between [Arizona State](http://time.com/3832461/freshman-year-online-pay-classes-pass-arizona-state-edx/) and Oregon State, [Michael Phelps](http://time.com/3717812/michael-phelps-engaged/) became the latest diversion to pop out from behind the Sun Devils’ legendary “Curtain of Distraction.” The 18-time Olympic gold medalist stripped down to a tiny pair of yellow swim trunks and danced as OSU’s Stephen Thompson Jr. missed both of his foul shots with 13:47 left to play. Arizona State coach [Bobby Hurley said](http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/%5F/id/14670378/michael-phelps-featured-arizona-state-sun-devils-curtain-distraction) Phelps “made a major contribution to the game.” **Read More:** [Michael Phelps Will Aim for 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio](http://time.com/3824251/michael-phelps-summer-olympics-rio/) > [](https://twitter.com/MichaelPhelps/status/692901962761768960) ASU went on to win the game 86-68. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4200358/michael-phelps-distracts-free-throw-shooter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4200358/michael-phelps-distracts-free-throw-shooter/"},"headline":"Watch a Speedo-Clad Michael Phelps Distract a Free Throw Shooter","datePublished":"2016-01-29T20:32:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:29:28.690Z","description":"That's one way to to play defense","url":"https://time.com/4200358/michael-phelps-distracts-free-throw-shooter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Basketball","Sports topic","College Basketball","Michael Phelps"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4200358/michael-phelps-distracts-free-throw-shooter/","name":"Watch a Speedo-Clad Michael Phelps Distract a Free Throw Shooter"}}]}] ```