Howard took on the daughter of Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers, Kelzer Nielson, a mother of three and, apparently, a solid free-throw shooter.
The big man was so confident in his ability to beat Nielson that he even volunteered to shoot left-handed, which cannot be much worse than Howard shooting normally, can it?
Howard missed his first five shots before finally making one, while Nielson put in two of her first six. As the two went back and forth, she did her best to psych him out, even spitting out a, "Kobe thinks you're soft" before he took his fourth shot.
Howard had a chance to tie things up on his ninth attempt, but it sailed wide after knocking off the side of the rim. Nielson knocked in her 10th shot—her fifth bucket of the contest—to put Howard on ice and take the victory.
Following the initial terms of the wager, Howard had to give $5,000 to a charity of Simers and Nielson's choice and live with the knowledge that a mother of three beat him in a free-throw shooting contest. It was a fun little contest to toss online, but there was something to take away from the three-minute video that really says something.
Howard mentioned twice about thinking too much during a game and letting his head get the best of him at times. Simers added in a quote from his column for the L.A. Times.
"I have only one problem and it's between my ears," said Howard, while admitting he visited a Lakers' psychiatrist. "I just think too much."
Of course, he also told Simers that he wasn't planning on changing his free-throw style during the offseason—just that he would be shooting more of them.
Simers stated that Howard eventually did beat his daughter ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
