Brett Brown Isn't 'Comfortable' With Markelle Fultz's Shooting Form

Though Sixers rookie Markelle Fultz shot better than 41 percent from behind the arc during his freshman season at the University of Washington, he was a middling 65 percent shooter from the charity stripe. During Sixers training camp last week, ESPN’s Mike Schmitz noticed that Fultz seems to have altered his form significantly, at least at the free-throw line.

Interesting how dramatically different Markelle Fultz's FT stroke looks here compared to @ UW (65%). Has lowered release point considerably. pic.twitter.com/6REIFX0qtR

— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) September 28, 2017

It’s impossible not to recognize that Fultz had a much higher release when he was with the Huskies and that he has perhaps over-corrected his mechanics to the point that he appears to be shooting from his chest. It certainly looks awkward, so that must be at least partially what head coach Brett Brown was referring to here.

Brett Brown reiterates he's not comfortable with where Markelle Fultz's jumper is, and that they're going to work to return to previous form

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 1, 2017

Yet just a few days ago, Fultz insisted that he’s going to use the same form as he did in college, so who knows what’s really going on.

Fultz-“My free throw’s going to look the same as @ college.I’m just trying to look @ different ways to see how the ball can go in the hoop.”

— Jessica Camerato (@JessicaCamerato) September 28, 2017

Mechanics are obviously important, but free throws are primarily a mental thing, given that we’ve seen video evidence of horrendously-poor free-throw shooters like Dwight Howard sink a dozen or more in a row during practice. Overthinking it usually doesn’t help.

This video breakdown of Fultz knocking down threes shows a happy medium between the above two forms that is positively Steph-Curry-esque, so if he wants to get back on track, this is what he should probably strive for.