Rick Barry is the NBA’s quintessential angry old man. The former Golden State Warriors superstar pulls no punches when it comes to evaluating modern basketball. He’ll condemn anything from carelessness of the league’s MVP to a questionable no-call just before one of the most important shots in history, and do so with the brash confidence that helped make him an eight-time All-Star beginning nearly five decades ago.
But Barry’s hoops resumé hardly means his often incendiary assessments are correct. When it comes to his most frequent form of ire, though, the Hall of Famer is definitely, definitely onto something.
In the video above courtesy of Lakers Nation, Barry made it clear he gets why players who struggle from the line won’t utilize his famed underhanded method – but certainly isn’t giving them a pass for doing so.
“I can understand. See, when I was young and my father tried to get me to do it, I said, ‘Dad, that’s the way the girls shoot.’ But girls don’t shoot that way anymore. The women don’t shoot that way, either. So why in the world would somebody not want to try anything at all to get better at what they do?”
We’re not sure either, Rick, and these five players could definitely benefit from trying your successful yet controversial free throw style.
LeBron James
No, he isn’t even close to one of the worst free throwers in basketball. And yes, when his team needs them most, he knocks down freebies with better consistency than normal. But LeBron James is still absolutely one of the best candidates to go the Barry route of foul shooting.
At the turn of the decade, it seemed as if The King’s relative woes from the line would be a thing of the past. He shot a career-best 78 percent from at the stripe in 2008-09 and shot at least 76 percent each of the next three seasons, too. But he narrowly dipped below that mark during his final two seasons with the Miami Heat, then reached a nadir last year with the Cleveland Cavaliers by making just 71 percent of his free throws.
During his efficiency heyday a couple seasons ago, James said he could join the hallowed 50/40/90 club if he “decided to do it.” Couldn’t shooting underhanded be the best way to help him achieve that goal?
Dwight Howard
The Houston Rockets big man accounts for half the tandem that nearly pushed the NBA world over the free throw shooting ledge last spring. Dwight Howard took a mind-boggling 21 free throws in his team’s grinding Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals, and attempted at least 11 in three other games of that series.
His percentage from the line? An abysmal 38.8 percent.
It’s hard to remember now, but there was a time when Howard seemed destined to be a solid free-thrower. He shot 67 percent during his rookie season and hovered just below 60 percent in the following six years. It was in 2011-12 that Howard’s woes reached their current depths, a development that coincided with the advent of his notorious back problems.
Unlike James, the former Defensive Player of the Year isn’t quite self-assured enough try Barry’s method and face the negative public music. But like thousands of Rockets fans across the country, we certainly wish he would.
Jahlil Okafor
There’s no logical reason why the No. 3 pick of the 2015 draft should be on this list. He not only has deft touch in and around the paint, but has also flashed the makings of an eventually reliable mid-range jumper. It’s not like the Philadelphia 76ers center is the only player in league history with unfathomably large hands, either; Kawhi Leonard is a good free-throw shooter, for instance.
But Jahlil Okafor should absolutely try an underhanded approach from the charity stripe. He shot just 51 percent in his lone season at Duke, and struggled even more at the line during Las Vegas Summer League play.
The intentional foul rule isn’t changing for the foreseeable future. Can Philly afford to play a guy in crunch-time who made just 39 percent of his free throws during his first NBA action? Fortunately, the 76ers aren’t exactly trying to win games. But they certainly will be doing so eventually, and Okafor’s likely labors at the line could keep them from doing so.
Go underhanded, Jahlil. It’s not too late to turn your biggest offensive weakness into yet another awesome strength.
DeAndre Jordan
Everyone’s least favorite free-throw shooter has certainly earned that distinction.
There’s a case to be made that no player in NBA history has ever been worse from the line than DeAndre Jordan. His career mark of 41.7 percent is the worst among those who have shot at least 1,000 free throws. And in seven total seasons, he’s compiled four campaigns of shooting less than 50 percent from the line – the fourth highest total of all-time.
Doc Rivers consistently champions Jordan as the league’s best defensive player. Given the notorious sway of the Los Angeles Clippers’ coach over his star center, it’s a wonder why Rivers hasn’t convinced Jordan to give Barry’s shooting stroke a try. Despite an overhauled bench, the Clippers will need the First-Team All-Defense honoree on the floor as much as possible this season. Keeping him in the game will prove difficult yet again, though, when opposing teams inevitably begin intentionally fouling him to muck up general action or thwart Los Angeles’ crunch-time offense.
Please give underhand free throws a try, DeAndre. After this summer’s free agency debacle, it’s not like the public’s perception of you could get much worse.
Andre Drummond
The Detroit Pistons center has already refuted the notion of ever trying Barry’s approach. He even took to Twitter during his rookie season to shoot down the possibility for good. But there’s no player in basketball who would benefit more from more accuracy at the line than Andre Drummond.
You can even throw his overwhelmingly poor 39.7 free throw conversion rate – a league-worst record for qualified players, by the way – out the window. All that matters is that Drummond’s most glaring deficiency is holding him back, and will continue doing so until he does something drastic to fix it.
The 22-year-old has the chance to develop into a perennial All-Star. He could be the type of foundational cornerstone that Detroit can ride to legitimate contention for years and years to come. Drummond is arguably the league’s best rebounder and pick-and-dive finisher. He’s growing more comfortable in the post and has a developing understanding of advanced defensive concepts. There’s a chance he could be one of the most impactful two-way players in basketball – and soon.
But only if he makes a major, major change at the free-throw line. If Drummond wants to realize his nearly limitless potential, nothing will help him do so more than shooting free throws underhanded. We actually hope he’s made no strides from the stripe this offseason, too; even more abject failure might be the only way Drummond becomes the player he could be.
(Via Lakers Nation)
