Mike McDonald is now very close to achieving a good enough standard to win his $200,000 basketball prop bet.
The Canadian high stakes poker star has improved massively and is now looking likely to do what most people thought was impossible for an amateur.
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Mike McDonald Looks Set to Win
In April Mike McDonald took on a bet that he could sink 90 out of 100 free throws in a basketball court. One might think that with a little practice of doing the same movement over and over again this would be a simple exercise.
However, taking a look at the success rate of all-time great basketball pros you realise that it is no easy feat.
Everybody thought McDonald had no chance and was just taking on a typically crazy prop bet often seen amongst the high stakes regs. Now it seems that he is about to prove us all wrong.
It didn’t look great to start with. Fellow high stakes player Aaron Jones tweeted a video showing that this wasn’t only about skill but also about general fitness. McDonald’s form after a few shots degenerated as he began to tire.
This is a random sample of what’s happening, he started out shooting ~12/min at <50%, and is now doing ~9/min at >50%. He is fucking tired, out of shape quarantine life pic.twitter.com/KG1C7aQgNV
— Aaron Jones (@aejonesleggo) April 3, 2020
He said he hadn’t played any basketball since 2012, so unless this is all one big hustle the improvement is beyond measure.
Joining the Greats
Only three players in history have a free throw success rate of over 90%. Steph Curry, Steve Nash, and Mark Price.
That puts you ahead of most NBA free throwers throughout history 😱 pic.twitter.com/fXviDUbrOZ
— Alex the Trading Monk (@cloudreaver2) August 21, 2020
If McDonald can pull it off the achievement will make waves in the basketball community. Okay, this is not the same as performing in front of thousands of shouting fans, but impressive nonetheless.
Let’s remember that NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal could only manage a hit rate of 52.7% throughout his career.
Mike McDonald Does it the Hard Way
If Mike McDonald collects the $200,000 wager he will have done it the hard way. He must sink 90 throws out of 100 with no room for error.
He cannot increase the number of throws and hope he goes on a heater to hit 90%. 10 misses and he starts right back at the beginning.
He seems confident now though. So much so that with the standard almost met he even took time away from serious practice and tried shooting with his other hand.
The left hander thought it would be a nice touch if he could sink the final throw with his right hand. After a few hours of calamity he eventually decided to abandon the idea.
I actually decided the other day that just to flex I’d spend a few days shooting right handed so that when I was 89/99 I could switch to right-handed and melt faces on the 100th.
With more than four months to go it’s surely looking good for the Canadian. We look forward to seeing what he can come up with next to entertain us.
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