Jaren Barajas, a 18 year old kid who is backed up with school work at college attending at Los Medanos College which is a two-year college at Pittsburg. The kid shoots on his backyard hoop every once in a blue moon. His dad, Michael, monitored ticket prices for any All Star event in the NBA and then finally, Michael found something in his range Saturday and went for it. He shared the great news with his son and they arrived early to the arena from the East Bay suburb of Oakley, then by sheer luck Jaren was asked whether he might like to participate. The father and son couldn’t believe their good fortune — dad fought his emotions afterward.
When Jaren was ready to participate, he was ready to give his best and when he faces up Damian Lillard, he was a little nervous at first but he had confidence within himself. The goal of the game was that whoever can hit a half court shot first, wins $100,000 from Mr. Beast. Damian Lillard gets 3 tries while Jaren gets only 1. When it mattered most, Lillard only needed one more try to win the money and when the 30 seconds were up, Jaren lets this last shot fly and miraculously banked the shot in at the buzzer.
“This is going to mean the world to me, it’s going to help my family a lot and definitely my future,” Jaren said. “Hopefully it’ll help me pay for my education, which it will.” Jaren was still just trying to catch his breath after the experience of a lifetime.
“I just beat Damian Lillard.”
