Mike McDonald wants to prove that his skills are not just limited to poker. The 30-year-old agreed to a prop bet with a private individual back in April, and for over three months now, he’s been in the basketball court trying to hit his goal – sink 90 out of 100 free throws before the year ends.
To meet that target, the Canadian poker pro must learn how to shoot like Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Curry has a free-throw shooting percentage of 90.6%. He alongside Mark Price and Steve Nash are the only players in NBA history shooting from the free-throw line at a 90% clip, and no player has ever gone beyond that.
McDonald, who last played basketball eight years ago, must achieve a 90% percentage. This sounds like a very daunting task, but will he be able to do it? Well, latest updates show he could be on course to win the challenge!
Journey To $200K 
The prop bet requires McDonald to use a regulation basketball as well as a regulation hoop. He must stay within the free-throw line while shooting the ball, otherwise the shot will be forfeited. He must score 90 out of 100 attempts and he is allowed unlimited number of tries throughout the year. Meaning, he can devote much of his time shooting free-throws until the goal is accomplished.
McDonald is serious about it, as shown in a series of footages of him taking his best shot. When he started, his shooting percentage was at 50%, but he has pretty much improved since then.
During his latest Twitch livestream, the 30-year-old can be seen doing the challenge in an organized gym where he was able to drop 89 out of 100 shots, a personal best since the prop bet began over three months ago. That was just one shot closer to the goal, and if he continues to be in good form in the weeks or months ahead, seeing him finally hitting the target won’t come as a big surprise.
McDonald started with a shooting percentage like that of Shaquille O’Neal, and now he’s slowly transforming into Steph Curry. Arguably, there’s a huge difference between shooting alone in a court and doing it in front of tens of thousands of people. But hitting free-throws at a 90% clip isn’t common even among the most popular athletes. McDonald’s latest score should motivate him to push his limits even further and constantly practice to become $200K richer!
Popular Prop Bets From The Past
Prop bets are common in the world of poker. Bill Perkins, for example, is well-known for engaging in strange prop bets with fellow players. In 2016, the hedge-fund manager agreed to a $1.2 million cycle ride prop bet with high-stakes player Dan Bilzerian. The King of Instagram bet that he could cycle 320 miles from his LA, going past the “Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas” sign within 48 hours. Bilzerian ultimately won the prop bet.
In 2019, Perkins and McDonald also went on a $1 million dollar chess prop bet. Perkins offered $100K to anyone who can defeat stockfish on its highest setting. McDonald amped up the prize to $1 million, provided the chess-playing software is defeated twice
In 2018, Jamie and Matt Staples won a $150,000 Weight Loss Bet also initiated by Perkins. As part of the bet, the siblings must get to the same weight within one year. When the prop bet was announced, Jamie was weighing 304 pounds, while Matt was at 134. Both worked hard and after one year, the official weigh-in took place. The siblings weighed exactly 188.3 pounds (Jamie lost 115.7 pounds; Matt gained 54.3 pounds.
In 2016, Antonio Esfandiari also accepted a daring prop bet from Perkins, requiring him to move only by making lunges for 48 hours while taking part in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.