A few weeks ago, we revealed NBA stars who got the best whistle from referees so far during the 2023-24 season. These 10 talented scorers have mastered the art of manipulating their way to the free throw line and are thriving this season because of it. Today, we take a different approach. Below, we will take a look at 10 NBA stars who are excelling as scorers this season despite getting a bad whistle from referees and taking far fewer trips to the free throw line.
These 10 offensive juggernauts have found ways to dominate the game despite being given a less-than-favorable advantage in terms of foul shots per game and in total. We will take a look at these scorers and how they are finding ways to get the job done without any advantages afforded to them by the officials. It is what makes what each of these players are doing this season all that more remarkable.
1. Donovan Mitchell
Free Throw Stats: 5.2 FTM-6.0 FTA (86.2%)
In 2023-24, Donovan Mitchell is headed to his fifth straight All-Star Game averaging 28.2 points per game on 47.5% shooting from the field and 36.1% shooting from three. Mitchell’s near-career-high in scoring is coming with just 5.8 free throws attempted per game. He ranks 33rd in the NBA with 243 free throw attempts in 42 games played.
Despite getting to the foul line less than three times per game, Mitchell still ranks fifth in scoring in 2023-24. His less aggressive approach than in seasons past has allowed him to unlock a free-flowing perimeter game and dominate as a three-point and mid-range shooter. He is also shooting a career-high 73.3% in shot attempts at the rim where 22.0% of his total shots come from.
For a top-five scorer in the NBA to rank so low in free throws speaks volumes about Mitchell’s abilities as a scorer this season. It certainly has helped the Cavaliers who are 17-2 in their last 19 games and 35-17 overall, second in the Eastern Conference.
2. Nikola Jokic
Free Throw Stats: 4.6 FTM-5.7 FTA (81.4%)
Of all the players you will see on this list today, you would think that a reigning Finals MVP and two-time MVP would be getting more than 5.7 free throw attempts per game. Given that Nikola Jokic also plays center and spends a fair amount of his time in the paint makes his low free throw numbers even more astounding.
So far in 2023-24, Nikola Jokic is attempting just 5.7 free throws per game and 293 total free throws which although ranks Top 20 in the NBA, is nothing compared to other top NBA big men such as Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Now, you may point to Jokic’s playmaking from the perimeter and high post as a reason why his free throw numbers are so low. Do you mean to tell me you haven’t seen what his arms look like he just got into a fight with Freddy Krueger on a nightly basis.
Jokic may pick apart opposing defenses from the outside but over 25.0% of his shot attempts still come from within three feet of the basket. Yet, he is seeing the least amount of time at the free throw line since his 2021 MVP season.
3. LeBron James
Free Throw Stats: 4.5 FTM-5.5 FTA
I know a certain group of NBA fans who will laugh at the thought of LeBron James being on a list of players who do not get a favorable whistle from referees in 2023-24 but the numbers do not lie. Currently, James is seeing less than three trips to the free throw line this season and has attempted less than 200 free throws through 48 games.
James’ downhill and aggressive style has always been a topic of discussion as he uses his big, athletic frame to move through defenders and contact with ease. Due to the fact he has made it look so easy at times, officials have gotten far too comfortable not rewarding him for legitimate contact on shot attempts over the years.
Things have been no different in 2023-24. While the Lakers have been rewarded with trips to the foul line more than any other team this season, James has not been the primary beneficiary of the calls. Teammate Anthony Davis has played in just two more games and given 71 more opportunities from the free throw line.
4. Stephen Curry
Free Throw Stats: 4.7 FTM-5.1 FTA (92.7%)
Now, I am fully aware that playstyle is responsible for a large portion of why players get to the foul line at a more abundant rate. A player who plays like Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to get calls far more than a player like Stephen Curry whose game is predicated on the three-point shot. However, getting less than 5.5 free throw attempts per game is still ridiculous even for a three-point shooter.
While Curry ranks 20th in the NBA this season with 227 made free throws, his 245 attempts rank 32nd behind players like Jimmy Butler, Alperen Sengun, and Jalen Brunson. It isn’t like Curry shies away from attacking the paint either with 24.7% of his shot attempts coming from within 10 feet of the basket.
The way Curry has been officiated this season has been the way things have been for him since bursting onto the scene in the 2010s. Even with the unfavorable whistle in 2023-24, he is sixth in the NBA with 28.1 points per game showing yet again why he is known as the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history.
5. Lauri Markkanen
Free Throw Stats: 4.3 FTM-4.9 FTA (88.4%)
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Lauri Markkanen has become one of the best offensive players in the entire NBA. Standing 7 feet tall, Markkanen is a true three-level scoring threat with a wide array of moves that create open opportunities all over the floor. One area it has hardly helped in, however, is getting him to the free-throw line.
Lauri Markkanen is currently a top 20 scorer in the NBA, Averaging 23.7 points per game on 50/40/88 shooting splits. Despite his increasingly improved offensive game, Markkanen ranks 41st in the NBA with 210 free throw attempts through 43 games played. Over 41.0% of his field goal attempts come from within 10 feet of the rim so simply, averaging 5.0 free throw attempts doesn’t make much sense.
6. Domantas Sabonis
Free Throw Stats: 3.4 FTM-4.9 FTA (69.2%)
Yet another big man who makes his living in the paint shows up on our list. Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings was not only snubbed as an All-Star this season but an unfavorable whistle from officials has given him an even bigger disadvantage.
Currently, in 2023-24, Sabonis is averaging 19.9 points per game with 47.9% of his shot attempts coming within three feet of the basket. Even with his aggressive style and attempts at the rim, Sabonis is being sent to the foul line at the lowest rate in his career since 2020 with the Pacers and at the second-lowest rate of his career.
Sabonis is of course at his deadliest when operating in the pick-and-roll with guard De’Aaron Fox. The fact that he is being sent to the line just 4.9 times per game is something that is holding him back from even bigger offensive numbers coming out of those formations.
7. Karl-Anthony Towns
Free Throw Stats: 4.2 FTM-4.8 FTA (87.1%)
For the second season in a row, Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns is being sent to the foul line a career-low 4.7 times per game. Many will point to Towns being used more as a power forward since the arrival of Rudy Gobert before last season but even with that fact, there is something more suspicious going on.
As it stands, Towns ranks 22nd in the NBA with 22.6 points per game. However, he ranks 35th in free throw attempts per game and 151st in the NBA with 135 free throw attempts in 29 games. Even someone who has shot much more from the perimeter at seven feet tall is going to get more calls than that.
Even if you want to point to his shooting as a reason why he is not getting the majority of his calls, Towns is still attempting 55.0% of his shots from within 10 feet and 24.7% of his shots from within three feet. A player of Towns’ stature around the rim should be getting to the line far more than 4.7 times per game.
8. Kawhi Leonard
Free Throw Stats: 3.8 FTM-4.2 FTA (89.1%)
If it were any other season, I could point to injury or load management being a reason for Kawhi Leonard ranking toward the bottom of the NBA in free throw attempts. That is not the case in 2023-24 as Leonard is as healthy as he has ever been and currently leading the Clippers with an MVP-caliber campaign averaging 24.2 points per game along with 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
Leonard is doing this while averaging just 4.3 free throw attempts per game which is his personal lowest since 2018 with the Spurs and ranks 54th in the NBA with 279 total free throw attempts on the season. This comes despite 36.1% of his shots coming from within 10 feet of the basket. Leonard has never been one to show emotion on the court but maybe he should start speaking up and getting some more calls thrown his way.
9. Jaylen Brown
Free Throw Stats: 3.0 FTM-4.1 FTA (71.9%)
Amidst another All-Star season in 2023-24, Jaylen Brown is averaging 22.0 points per game on 49.5% shooting. What makes Brown’s production even more impressive is that he is putting up incredibly efficient scoring numbers while being sent to the free-throw line just twice per game. Brown’s 4.1 attempts per game have given him a 44th overall ranking in free throw attempts with 203 through 49 games played.
Brown is also attacking the rim at a higher rate than in seasons past, taking 22.2% of his shots at the rim and 47.1% of his shots from within 10 feet. In 2023-24, Brown is also finishing 75.0% of his shots at the rim, the second-best finishing effort in a season in his career. Given these facts, it is almost unfathomable that Brown is not getting more calls sending him to the foul line where he is a 71.9% shooter.
10. Paul George
Free Throw Stats: 3.4 FTM-3.7 FTA (91.2%)
The final All-Star-caliber player that has been dealt a bad whistle so far in 2023-24 is Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George. Now, George has never been one to overuse his ability to manipulate the defense but he has been able to get to the foul line at a decent rate using the deception and shiftiness he has as a shot creator.
The 2023-24 season has been a different story. George’s 3.6 free throw attempts per game are his lowest in a decade since 2015 with the Indiana Pacers. He has attempted just 175 free throws through 48 games played which ranks 52nd in the league this season. George is attempting a career-high in attempts from three this season but is still taking just over 27.0% of his shots from 10 feet or in.
The fact is that George, averaging 22.4 points per game on the season, might be a 25.0 point per game scorer or better if he was getting his fair share of calls that do not seem to be going his way so far.
