June 30, 2017 by Philip Lewenstein

Free Throws Are a Given: Don’t Give Them Away

When I was in seventh grade, I entered my junior high school’s free-throw contest. Entrants shot 25 free throws and then, based on their total made, were seeded for match play competition—best of ten. In both seventh and eighth grades, I won the school championship. In ninth grade, I set the school record by swishing 25 straight shots in qualifying—but I was upset in match play.

Since then, I have been fascinated by watching players shoot free throws, uncontested shots 15 feet from the basket. I often shudder and curse under my breath when players miss these free shots. I abhor multimillionaires who make less than 50 percent of their free throws.

My interest in free-throw shooting was piqued recently when I read an ESPN magazine article, “Fifteen Feet of Trouble: The Rim-Rattling Tale of LeBron James’ Absurd Struggles from the Foul Line,” by Tom Haberstroh. Haberstroh points out that James, who has a career free- throw average of 74 percent, was in the middle of the worst-free throw-shooting season of his career, converting 67.9 percent. His career free-throw- shooting percentage on technical fouls is 67 percent, worst among the 104 players with at least 100 such attempts since 1996.

James has been notorious for changing his free-throw-shooting routine over his career. Haberstroh reports that James used 18 distinct free-throw variations with countless combinations throughout the season. In November, James changed his routine at least 21 different times. In March, his worst month when he shot 62 percent, James changed his routine every game.

I tracked free-throw shooting in the 2017 NBA finals in which Golden State defeated Cleveland 4-1. James made 24 of 37 free-throw attempts, or 65 percent. In contrast, his teammate, Kyrie Irving, made 18 of 20, or 90 percent. Kevin Durant made 38 of 41, for 93 percent, while Steph Curry made 35 of 39, for 90 percent. In total, the Warriors made 105 of 128, or 82 percent, while the Cavaliers made 92 of 123, or 75 percent.

I learned to make free throws myself by shooting on my basket in the alley behind my house—hundreds and hundreds of attempts in sun, rain, and snow. I did not learn from a coach, a YouTube video, or a televised game. My only print resource was a 35 cent paperback, Basketball for the Player, the Fan, and the Coach, by Arnold “Red” Auerbach, head coach of the Boston Celtics’1956-57 world championship team. The book was published in 1953 and revised in 1957. I still have my copy and recently reviewed chapter 7 on the foul shot. One section provides facts on the foul shot (“remember that the foul shot is a free throw. Nobody will bother or press you”); another section illustrates how to shoot underhand.

Auerbach traces the increasing importance of the foul shot. Before 1924, a single player was designated as the foul shooter and shot all free throws for the entire team regardless of who was fouled. The foul shooter was a specialist like the place kicker in football, except that the free-throw specialist had to be playing, according to Auerbach. If the free throw were made, the ball was tossed between the two centers in the middle of the court. As the game changed from a slow, deliberate style to a fast-breaking, driving type of game, defending a variety of shots became more challenging, more fouls were called, and free-throw accuracy became more important.

In his 1973 instructional book, Basketball My Way, the great Laker Jerry West, logo of the NBA, refers to the free throw as “perhaps the single most important shot.” West notes that an aggressive offensive player will draw a great many free throws every game every season and gets to shoot them standing still without defensive pressure.  “It’s a sin the way some players throw these away,” West says. “They are precious to the player individually and make the difference in the many games decided by a few points. There is no reason why a player cannot approach perfection on free throws.”

West explains that “it is important to use a shooting style that feels comfortable to you and practice it, repeat it countless times, hundreds of times every week, until you groove it, then go on practicing it, keeping it in the groove. And when you get to the line in games, shut your mind to everything else except the mechanical motions you have mastered. Do it exactly the same way every time.”

Detroit Pistons’ Coach Stan Van Gundy says it is rare for NBA players to change their routine as often as LeBron does. For the typical player, free-throw alterations almost never happen, possibly once or twice in a career, Van Gundy says.

West describes shooting as a memory skill. “You find your best rhythm and use your muscles in the same way again and again, gaining a groove, building up your confidence,” West says. “If you do it exactly the same way every time it will work the same way every time.”

West recommends using one’s best shot for the free throw. Today, the best shot is typically a one-hander. Many years ago, several players used a two-hand set shot. And a unique free throw style was the two-hand underhand shot, sometimes known as a “granny shot.” Using the underhand hand shot, hall of famer Rick Barry of the Warriors made almost 90 percent of his free throws. The granny technique is rarely used today, but Rick’s youngest son, Canyon, who played for the University of Florida last season, used his father’s underhand method. The only player in the modern era to use the underhand style is Chinanu Onuaku, a rookie for the Houston Rockets.

Many coaches recommend the BEEF routine of shooting: balance, elbow straight, eyes on back of rim, and follow through. I recommend the KISS method: keep it simple stupid—the approach implied in West’s advice.

West points out that most players will tell you to shoot for the back of the rim because backspin will drop in a lot of soft shots that otherwise would go astray. However, I always have used West’s preferred approach to shoot for the front of the rim and to drop the ball just over the front of that rim. “The important thing is to decide which part of the rim to aim at and to use that part all the time,” West says.

When shooting a free throw, I align my right foot on the foul line facing the basket with the left foot a little way back. Like West, I focus on the front of the rim, hold the ball in the fingertips of my right hand, bend from the knees, shoot softly over the front of the rim, and follow through.

The NBA career record holder for free-throw accuracy is Jose Calderon, who made 151 of 154, or 98.1 percent, in 2009 as a member of the Toronto Raptors. The career leader is Steve Nash, who made 3,060 of 3,384, or 90.43 percent, followed by Mark Price at 90.39 percent. Steph Curry is at 90.10 percent in his career. The 2017 NBA champion was C.J. McCollum of Portland at 91.3 percent. Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics is the WNBA career leader at 94 percent.

Some amazing free-throw shooting streaks have been recorded. John Wooden, the legendary late UCLA coach, made 134 consecutive free throws in the 1930s while playing for Purdue. In 1935, Bunny Leavitt, using the underhand style, made 499 straight free throws, missed one, and then made 371 more consecutive shots. Leavitt toured the country for the Converse Shoe Company, giving lectures, clinics, and demonstrations on how to shoot a foul shot.

Tom Amberry, a retired podiatrist from Long Beach, California, set the consecutive free throw record at 2,750 in 1993 at age 72. He ended on a make when the gym was closed for the night. It took him 12 hours with five minute breaks each hour. Amberry died  in March. His 1996 manual, Free Throw: 7 Steps to Success at the Free Throw Line, emphasizes the importance of keeping things simple and routine with focus on concentration. The book is available on Amazon.

Then, in 1996, Ted St. Martin, a retired dairy farmer, made 5,221 straight free throws in seven hours and twenty minutes using a two-hand shot. He took time-outs for fluids. His book, The Art of Shooting Baskets: From the Free Throw to the Slam Dunk, is available on Amazon.

Clearly, players, who are often exhausted and under pressure, shoot a lower percentage in games than they do in practice.  But that does not excuse poor foul shooting. As West says, “Free throws are about the only things that are given in basketball, and even those you have to work for with aggressive play. Points are precious. It’s a lot easier to sink two one-point free throws than one two-point field goal. Check the box scores and see how many games are lost that could have been won with better free throw shooting. Work at it and keep working at it. When you’re given something in this game, don’t give it away.”

LeBron James, who calls himself the greatest player on the planet, could learn a lot about free- throw shooting from Red Auerbach and Jerry West. If James and other mediocre free throw shooters learn, practice, and improve, I will enjoy watching games much more than I now do.