Can Dwight Howard shoot free throws better than a Phoenix housewife?
Jun 3, 2013, 3:44 PM | Updated: 3:45 pm
When Dwight Howard came into the NBA straight out of high school in 2004-05, he connected on 67 percent of his free throws — a very respectable number for a big man in the league.
Since then, it’s been a steady decline. In his first year in Los Angeles, the Lakers center hit just 49 percent of his charity tosses. It was the second straight season he hit just 49 percent.
Frustrated L.A. Times columnist T.J. Simers got an idea — pit Howard against his daughter Kelly Nielsen (who lives in Phoenix) in a free throw-shooting contest.
The catch? Howard would shoot left-handed because, as Simers put it, the center is “no good right-handed” and Kelly would shoot right-handed. If Howard lost, he’d contribute $5,000 to charity and if Nielsen came up short, she and her dad would cough up $500.
See the results of the wager in the video below.