Economy & LaborFEB 17, 2025

Teen Scores $100K After Taking Down NBA Star Dame Lillard In A Shoot-Off

Many of us have asked ourselves more than once—how can we get rich? And not just that, but how can we get rich quickly? Like, in a couple of minutes. If we put aside winning the lottery jackpot or buying a couple thousand bitcoins in 2012 when they were damn cheap, there are not that many options left, right?

For example, winning a $100K 3-point shooting challenge from MrBeast during the NBA All-Star Weekend - why not, if you played a lot of basketball as a child? True, for 18-year-old Jaren Barajas, the situation was incredibly complicated by the fact that his opponent was one of the best basketball shooters of all time...

More info: YouTube

A 18YO college student was chosen by MrBeast to challenge Damian Lillard in a $100K shooting challenge at the NBA All-Star Game

Image credits: Chaz NBA / YouTube

The teen confessed that he used to play basketball a lot at school but now he concentrates more on his studies

Damian Lillard has made 37.1% of his shots from behind the arc in his career, he has won the All-Star Game 3-point contest twice, and is famous for his exceptional composure in clutch time, when the seconds are running out and you need to make a shot to win the game. And so, against such a 'monster' this weekend, a random guy from the stands at NBA All-Star Weekend had to go out.

The host of the challenge was MrBeast, and the winner received $100K. Depending on who won, the amateur could just take the cash, but Lillard would simply transfer the money to charity. The lucky guy the host called to the court was Jaren Barajas, an 18-year-old college freshman who, by his own admission, played a lot of basketball in school, but is now focused just on his studies.

Image credits: Chaz NBA / YouTube

The stud had to make only one accurate shot from the logo - but the NBA star had to make 3 of them to win the challenge

The rules of the challenge were pretty simple - the opponents took turns shooting from the logo - that is, about a couple of yards before the three-point line. However, Jaren had an advantage - any accurate shot brought him immediate victory, while Damian had to make three shots to win the challenge.

The famous shooter made two accurate ones pretty quickly, but Jaren was not doing so well. They had to call in Kenny Smith, a television analyst and formerly one of the most outstanding masters of long-range shots in the NBA, for help. A few words about the correct shooting technique from the expert - and the ball, breaking out of Jaren's hands, hits the hoop. The arena froze - but no, another miss.

Image credits: Markus Spiske / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The teen managed to beat the buzzer with his last ball to top one of the greatest basketball shooters ever

Steph Curry adds to the tension - the greatest shooter of all time shows that the time allotted for the challenge is running out, so the opponents need to hurry. Dame misses another one, and even Shaquille O'Neal, who has made only one accurate three-point shot in his entire career, runs out to help Jaren. Usually, Lillard has no equal in such conditions - but not today.

The last ball leaves Jaren's hands right at the last second - and he beats the buzzer! With a ricochet off the backboard - but most importantly, the ball goes straight into the hoop! And this means that a random teen beats one of the greatest basketball shooters ever. The lucky guy falls into the arms of mascots, stars of the present and past, and, on the advice of MrBeast, literally climbs into a huge box of dollars. It was damn cool!

Image credits: Shane / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The 18YO was really happy to win $100K, especially with such an incredible shot

"This is going to mean the world to me, it's going to help my family a lot and definitely my future," - these are the words of a happy Jaren right after the victory. Yes, at the very least, this will be a good addition to his college fund. As for Damian Lillard, he was probably also happy with the kid's success. In the end, the main thing for Dame this season is to fight for the coveted ring, and everything else is not so important.

You can watch the whole video here

"Stars of different sports often take part in MrBeast's challenges - and sometimes the greats lose. For example, Tom Brady recently lost to a high school teen quarterback, and the no-less-legendary soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't cope with a random subscriber too," says Michael Spivakovsky, a sports journalist and blogger, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here.

"Of course, the conditions in such challenges are not the same for professionals and amateurs - but this is completely reasonable. After all, the main goal of such videos is to create a show, and how interesting will it be if the star simply destroys the amateur guy? So I have almost no doubt that if this was the end of a playoff game, Lillard wouldn't have missed."

"However, it's not worth assuming that the star shooter gave in to a teenager. In the end, every outstanding athlete has his own legacy - and to completely fail in such a competition is not very good for that. So, in my opinion, the kid was just incredibly lucky, and I am also very happy for him," Michael summarizes.

People in the comments are also really happy for Jaren, although some are quite surprised by his restrained reaction to the victory. However, judging by the teen's look, he was simply stunned by such a denouement. "Unbelievable shot! So happy for the kid," someone wrote aptly. "Good on Dame for going easy on him."

And the responders also noted that after taxes, the student's winnings will obviously get reduced. By the way, it's quite reasonable; for example, it was recently calculated that the winner of another MrBeast's upcoming show will receive not $10M, but 'only' $5.3M. However, in any case, a victory is a victory. And what do you, our dear readers, think about this challenge? What would you spend the winnings on if you were the champion?