Reflections Of A Rebounder

We made 41 consecutive free throws yesterday as a team. I spent pretty much the whole stream rebounding and passing the balls to shooters by choice. When we started this seemingly impossible challenge we had nine guys. 

Dave and Big Cat were in every lineup and then five other guys that could be rotated. I wasn't in Big Cat's original starting five, which is understandable after what I've shown on The Yak.

When I found out I wasn't starting, I immediately I volunteered to board for the group. It's funny now that people are praising my passing after I spent most of the night getting roasted by the chat and the other participants.

I figured it'd be a long stream, so when everybody went first around 4pm CST, I asked how they want their passes. I got a bunch of giggles and most answers were, "I don't care, whatever is fine." But as the night went on and pm turned to am, people started to wise up. We're playing a game of unprecedented consistency so how they receive the ball can make a difference.

Titus was actually on that train first and around 8pm CST told me he wanted me to board for him after I had taken a quick break. I knew he liked getting the ball right in the shooter's pocket so he could go up quickly and efficiently. So everytime he went to shoot, I was there trying to set him up for success. Being the remarkable shooter he is, he knocked down damn near all of them.

One time when I needed a break because my legs were getting tight and I went to get a bite, Titus missed a free throw. Dave was sitting next to me and said, "That's on you. You need to get out there."

I'm honestly not sure things would've been any different if anybody else was boarding/passing, but as long as the guy's thought it made a difference, I was all for it. And to be clear, I'm not trying to take any spotlight. I didn't make any real shots that counted in the 41. This was never about Steven Cheah or any single person on the stream for that matter. I was/am/and forever will be proud to be included in this group and happy to contribute in any way possible. Seven and a half years ago I joined this company and helped set up the ad tags on our website. I spent the next several years sending podcast ads and dipping my toe into the content waters whenever possible. On Monday I got a Draft Kings uniform with my name on it to help promote our new sportsbook partner (#DKPartner) that also bought into a gambling brand that I created from scratch. That will never be lost on me, so anything I can do to help the team is my job. So if rebounding and passing good shooters the ball how they like it helps the team, then I'd be happy to do it. For 15 minutes or 15 hours. Because it's always about the team, the team, the team.

Advertisement

I'd also be remiss not to point out that PFT rebounded damn near the whole night too. He doesn't get nearly enough credit after he did commentary for the first couple hours. He could've left and went home at any time. He wasn't taking part in the free throw shooting, but he stayed up til 7am CST and rebounded next to me for hours. He's a great friend.

Pick up the Free Throw Dream Team shirt here:

And catch today's full Yak here: