Free throw shooting is one of the main fundamentals young ballers need to address throughout their early years, as nobody can make it to the NBA with a poor free throw shooting percentage, or at least that’s what they want you to think.
Truth to be told, over the course of history, there have been hundreds of poor free throw shooters, even though they aren’t big men, who are the guys most used to be poor shooters from all over the court due to their characteristics.
So, today, we’re going to let you know about the worst free throw shooters in today’s NBA, so you avoid them in fantasy basketball or start praying when the game is on the line and they’re walking towards the charity stripe.
* To qualify, a player must be on pace for 125 free throws made.
PG: Ben Simmons (56%)
Ben Simmons is one of the most entertaining players to watch in the league and it’s not even close. He can do a little bit of everything with that point forward body type that reminds us of LeBron and Magic.
But, since he’s been used to dominate in the paint through his entire career and is a great finisher with both hands, he hasn’t developed a true shooting form, not even from the charity stripe. Note: we’re only counting guys that qualify (over 125 attempts).
Honorable Mention: Dennis Smith Jr. (69%)
SG: David Nwaba (65%)
Even though coaches have loved David Nwaba’s grit, grind, speed, hustle and athleticism, he hasn’t been able to establish as a role player in the league, being passed around and spending the most time in the G-League.
Nwaba is a great scorer and puts a lot of heart in the defensive end of the hardwood, but, for a guy that’s playing at the 2, 65% shooting from the line is just something no coach would like to deal with.
Honorable Mention: Caris LeVert (71%)
SF: Josh Jackson (63%)
Josh Jackson has a lot of upsides, he’s a stud in the defensive end of the hardwood with Kawhi Leonard kind of ceiling, but his offensive game is still a work in progress, to say the least, and it will take a while before taking a step forward.
Jackson vastly improved as a shooter as the season went on throughout his rookie campaign, but he’s still yet to master the free throw shooting and three-point shooting areas, where he’s been terrible.
Honorable Mention: Jerami Grant (67%)
PF: Montrezl Harrell (62%)
Montrezl Harrell is a hustler. He works hard in both ends of the glass, has a nice footwork and even a solid face-up game, but even so, he’s always been stuck at the end of the bench wherever he’s played.
One of those main reasons is the fact that he lacks the range of modern power forwards and the size of a good old center, but yet, he shoots the ball from the line with very low percentages and that’s something that’s always going to hurt the team.
Honorable Mention: Derrick Favors (65%)
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C: Steven Adams (55%)
For all of those that thought Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan or Andre Drummond would be the worst free throw shooting big men, this may come as a surprise, as Adams doesn’t strike as your average bad free throw shooting big man.
Adam’s form isn’t as broke as some of his colleagues’, and he doesn’t go to the line as often as them, either. Even so, hacking him late in games is a great way to get him out of the game, as he’s a major defensive factor down low but can become a huge liability from the free throw line.
Honorable Mention: Clint Capela (56%)
