Barry has said that his father told him not to worry about what people thought, telling him, “Son, if you’re making them, they can’t make fun of you.” If it works, coaches and players tend to do it. Route-one soccer apologists insist that-although it’s not pretty-long direct passing provides more opportunities for scoring. Fosbury’s awkward flop changed track and field forever. In the NFL, straight-on toe-first kickers gave way to the European-imported soccer style. Sport is oftentimes pragmatic, perhaps inherently so. Detroit Tigers may be missing Matt Manning for longer than expectedīarry himself said in a 2012 SB Nation profile that the reason that players don’t shoot like he did is because “It’s all about the ego… They don’t think it’s macho enough for them, and that’s fine.”.Detroit Lions: Is it time to root against Matthew Stafford?.Detroit Red Wings: Can Lucas Raymond produce as he did in rookie year?.Detroit Tigers: Jonathan Schoop continues to struggle in the batters’ box.Detroit Tigers: Can Kody Clemens be a difference-maker?.However, despite the clear improvement he made, Chamberlain eventually switched back to his regular technique. He used the technique during his historic 100-point game on March 2, 1962, setting an NBA record which still stands by scoring 28 points from the line. In 1961-62, Chamberlain increased his free throw percentage by nearly 11% from the previous season, up to his career high, 61.3%. Perhaps the most famous example of a player making the switch to an underhand technique was Wilt Chamberlain. He shot over 70% from the line eight times. He even convinced his teammate, George Johnson, to use the technique, and Johnson’s free throw percentage increased from 41.2% in his rookie season to a 69.4% career mark. Rick Barry has become synonymous with the underhand free throw, making 89.3% of his career attempts-which was the record when he retired in 1980-and shooting over 90% from the line seven times in his career.īarry is the world’s leading underhanded free throw apologist. There are only a few examples of players who have employed this technique, but every one of them has seen results. There is historical precedent for Strauss’ suggestion. Why not? Underhanded Free Throw Shooting Works He suggested to the Detroit Pistons’ big man that he might prolong his career by shooting his free throws underhanded.ĭrummond responded the next day by tweeting, “Let me make this clear…. Since Drummond became a starter in 2013-14, the Pistons have lost ten games by one point or in overtime in which Drummond missed at least one free throw.Įthan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN wrote Drummond an open letter in 2013. That doesn’t even include the points lost because Drummond is made to sit on the bench at the end of games due to his inability to score free points. If Drummond had shot at even that rate, the league standard, he would have made 1,384 free throws, 701 more than he actually has, an increase of roughly 1.82 points per game. During the 2016-17 season, free throws are converted 77.2% of the time, the highest rate in league history. He leaves as many as 2.88 points on the floor every night because of missed free throws. So, why don’t poor free throw shooters employ them?Īndre Drummond has shot 1,793 free throws in his NBA career. Underhanded free throws have proven effective at the highest levels of basketball. By Colton Wesley 5 years ago Follow Tweet
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