Free Throws

[Bart]

Why are there so many players who just can't shoot free throws? Shaq is a prime example but he is not alone. Watching Tim Duncan miss six straight attempts at a crucial portion of the game was exasperating. Rick Barry was one of the absolute best free thow shooters of all time, hsi career Pct. was .900 and one year it was .947! He shot his free throws UNDERHANDED ! He would give exhibitions and shoot em blindfolded and stillnail ten of ten at times.


Why don't horrible shooters try the underhand approach? Do they think it's for girls or looks uncool? Rick would just let the ball hang down and then FLICK his wrists and swoosh, very impressive. Keith Wilkes was a team mate of Barry's and he said after practices they would shoot free throws and the loser would buy dinner. He said in all the years they did that , Barry NEVER bought lunch or dinner.

 

[JD074]

Why don't horrible shooters try the underhand approach? Do
they think it's for girls or looks uncool? 

Exactly! Rick Barry himself said that he was going to teach
Shaq how to shoot free throws and Shaq said that it "wasn't hip
hop." This is the same guy, by the way, who wrote in his book
that if you get dunked on by a white player you hear about it
from your buddies. It's all about image and ego with
these guys.

 

[Don Wassall]

Didn't Wilt Chamberlain shoot free throws underhanded, and was terrible at it? Or am I thinking of somebody else?

 

[Bart]

Don, I had totally forgotten about Wilt the Stilt. Some internet info.


* Rick Barry shot free throws underhanded. At 90
percent, he is the most accurate free-throw shooter
in NBA history. (The technique alone does not
guarantee success: Wilt Chamberlain shot free
throws underhanded, too, and was a career 51 percent
shooter).

 

[Don Wassall]

Nice find, Bart. Wilt was the Shaq of his era when it came to free throw shooting.

 

[sport historian]

I remember Wilt shooting free throws underhanded. It was pretty painful to watch. Sometimes he would even try them "overhand," still pretty bad. I have read that he had a mental block in that he could make them while practicing in an empty gym, but couldn't hit them in a game. Ironically, Wilt hit 28 of 32 foul shots the night he scored 100 points in a game in 1962.