A common myth about basketball is that it is very hard to explain. Unlike sports like baseball, which have fewer interaction effects and much more statistical tracking, basketball seems like a complex symphony. Yet player stats remain very consistent year to year. On the lower end of consistency, though, is free throw shooting. In other words, a player's past performance from the line is not a great predictor of how well they’ll do in the future (or, it's less predictave relative to other basketball stats like rebounding, turnovers, and steals).

Why is it that taking the same shot, from the same location, over and over, is one of the things players can’t consistently do at the same level? I was lucky enough to get an answer from Art Rondeau, a Peak Performance Coach and free throw expert who has worked successfully with NBA and NCAA players.

I was introduced to Art’s work by the amazing R^2 Podcast at Hickory High. I was sold when Art talked about coaching players to take free throw shots that went in, and not to worry as much about making them look pretty. I pestered Art with questions about NBA players and their inconsistency with free throws. Here are Art’s observations.

To make sure this 100% clear: All of the conclusions and observations below are from Art. I have merely summarized his responses to some of my questions regarding free throws.

Balance

Art says that balance is the major reason players miss free throws. Either they lose their balance, causing the body to autocorrect and subsequently throw off the shot, or they do things to prevent losing their balance in the first place and, subsequently, throw off the shot. One of the major ways to mess up your balance is to shoot flat footed (see Dwight Howard!). Another way is to change your center of gravity; players that bulk up in the offseason can mess up their free throw shooting until they adapt. 

Fatigue

It may all come down to balance, but a key thing Art points out is that you tire out as a game goes on. By the time the fourth quarter rolls around, your muscles are sore and can’t adapt as easily to being off balance. We can call players “unclutch” for missing late free throws. Or we can call them tired.  Sometimes, they’re both.

Fatigue can also come up for players that suddenly see a change in minutes. Take Jeremy Lin, who had been used to ten minutes a game, playing in very few games, prior to the start of ‘Linsanity’ during the 2011-2012 season. Getting more minutes definitely had an impact on his free throw shooting as he wasn’t used to as many minutes as he played when he went from scrub to starter. Lin also had to deal with hard fouls, another point Art discussed.

Players get to the line by getting fouled. And this means they can be injured or jarred when they’re at the line. So Dwight in the fourth quarter is a perfect storm of terrible if a team is employing a Hack-A-Shaq strategy.

Injuries

One thing that is sure to mess up your balance is an injury to the lower body. Art brings up Chris Dudley, who had a hip injury in 1999 and went from hitting ten straight on Art’s program to hitting just 2-12 during the next few games while playing with a hip injury. Of course, injuries impacting performance is nothing new. It’s just worth noting that even standing still and shooting can take a serious hit as well.

One, Two, Three?

When a player goes to the line, they usually get two shots. Depending on if it’s a technical, or an and-one, they may get one. And in the even rarer case they get hit taking a three, they get three. The key is that most players don’t practice only taking three or fewer shots. Instead, players practice taking many shots in a row. Players are more prone to miss their first shot than their second. Players are used to getting into a rhythm for shooting free throws. This is much different than game time situations where they only get a shot or two.

The Right Way to Practice?

One of the most interesting things to me about Art’s work is his focus on how to improve free throw shooting in practice. As we’re prone to mention, we don’t usually see coaches improve performance. In regards to free throws, this can make sense. Having players simply hit the gym to take lots of free throws may not prepare them. Art suggests practicing game situations. This includes the number of free throws taken before having to back away from the free throw line (as mentioned above); practicing getting iced; practicing with loud noises and distractions; and practicing with silence. He also suggests that coaches stop penalizing players for misses and reward the players for makes, instead.  As an example, he says that normally, a team of 10 players shooting two free throws each would run six sprints for six misses. Rondeau suggests telling the team they have 20 sprints to do but that the coach will subtract one sprint for each made free throw. In both cases, six misses equals six sprints. But rewarding for makes may help the team miss just five or just four.  The difference is that rewarding good behavior (making the shot) is more effective than punishing bad behavior (missing the shot) when you’re dealing with skill rather than effort.  Focusing on the “perfect form” instead of what works, and ignoring fatigue and injury, don’t help either. As I started off with, there’s clearly something about free throws that makes them harder than people think. And hopefully with experts like Art around, the old thinking won’t stick around.