An 11-year-old basketball wizard served as the honorary team captain for the Atlanta Hawks against rival Portland Trailblazers as part of his title as the Knights of Columbus International Free Throw Champion.

Bobby Perez wowed the crowd at the free-throw competition last spring with a perfect shooting record: 25 shots, 25 baskets.

Perez was named honorary captain of the National Basketball Association team by winning three competitions sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. He won the Council 6532 competition in Alpharetta, then went on to be the top scorer at the District 13 championship in Dunwoody. He topped the list of sharpshooters by his perfect score at the Georgia State Free Throw Championship in March taking home the title.

Some 179,000 basketball players competed in 3,000 events in Georgia as part of the throw competition, according to the Knights.

In October, Perez and his family, along with Dan Baker, Knights of Columbus state deputy, had courtside seats as the honorary team captains for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.

During pre-game activities at Philips Arena, Baker presented the young man with a trophy for his perfect shooting. (Unfortunately, the Trailblazers beat the Hawks that game.)

The presentation was a joint effort by the Atlanta Hawks and the Georgia State Council of the Knights to promote youth development. Thom Mead of Macon, the state competition chairman, worked closely with the Hawks to develop that relationship and was responsible for making the presentation at Philips Arena happen.