The Million Dollar Shot

The Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman is a middle grade story that follows a young boy’s journey to make a single basketball shot, win $1 million, and change his family’s lives. The book won Maryland’s Black-Eyed Susan Book Award and the California Young Reader Medal, and it was also nominated for the Iowa Children’s Choice Award and Minnesota’s Maud Hart Lovelace Award, among other honors.

New York Times bestselling author Dan Gutman has written over 100 books for young readers, including middle grade novels, chapter books, and picture books. His titles include the Baseball Card Adventures series, the My Weird School series, and the Million Dollar series. Prior to writing for children, Gutman worked as a magazine editor and columnist for several years, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rutgers University. He currently lives with his wife in New York City.

This guide refers to the 2006 Second Hyperion Paperbacks edition.

Plot Summary

The Million Dollar Shot follows 11-year-old Eddie Ball, who has lived in a trailer park with his mom since his dad died of cancer a year before the novel’s beginning. Eddie has become best friends with Annie, who moved in around the time his dad died, and their favorite activity is playing basketball. The biggest company in Eddie’s town is Finkle Foods, which makes “Finkles,” an unhealthy snack food. The company employs most of the town’s adults, including Eddie’s mom and Annie’s dad, until both are fired in a company downsizing.

Shortly before Eddie’s mom is fired, Finkle announces a contest. In partnership with the NBA, one lucky boy or girl who submits a poem will be selected to make a shot at the first finals game of the season. If they make the shot, Finkle Foods will award them $1 million. Eddie vows to win the contest to get back at Finkle Foods and its owner, Mr. Finkle, for firing his mom. With Annie’s help, Eddie writes a poem that is chosen as the winner, and Eddie begins to prepare for his million-dollar shot.

Eddie doesn’t think he needs to practice much, but Annie disagrees and talks her dad into coaching Eddie. Years ago, Annie’s dad missed his chance to get drafted by the NBA, and now he refuses to let Eddie miss his shot. With the help of Annie and her dad, Eddie improves his form and starts to work on his weakness—concentrating despite distractions.

After Eddie notices a man with a video camera watching him, Mr. Finkle visits Eddie to offer a deal. Finkle Foods is losing money, and it will soon be revealed that the snack food causes cancer. Mr. Finkle offers to give Eddie’s mom her job back and to pay for Eddie’s college if Eddie misses the shot on purpose. When Eddie refuses, Mr. Finkle creates obstacle after obstacle to intimidate Eddie so that he will miss the shot. Despite these challenges, the most distracting thing for Eddie is the possibility of a romantic relationship between his mom and Annie’s dad.

On the day of the shot, Eddie is nervous but confident, at least until he gets onto the court. Faced with so many distractions, he starts to think that he won’t make the shot, and his self-doubt is made worse when Mr. Finkle directs a group of people hold up paintings of the stadium’s hoop behind the actual hoop, forming a visual kaleidoscope of fake hoops. Eddie finds Annie in the crowd; she closes her eyes to remind Eddie of how she sank a shot with her eyes closed on the day they met. When Eddie closes his eyes, he is able to block out the distractions, and thanks to all his practice, he makes the shot. Mr. Finkle is left bankrupt, and Eddie uses the money to buy out Finkle Foods, hire back all the people that Mr. Finkle fired, and change the company’s product line to a variety of healthy snack foods, using a slogan based on Eddie and Annie’s winning poem.