{"id":1117593,"date":"2020-03-14T09:53:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-14T13:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1117593"},"modified":"2020-03-14T09:53:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-14T13:53:59","slug":"rick-barrys-underhand-free-throws-and-why-nba-players-today-dont-follow-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/rick-barrys-underhand-free-throws-and-why-nba-players-today-dont-follow-suit\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Barry\u2019s Underhand Free Throws and Why NBA Players Today Don\u2019t Follow Suit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It wasn\u2019t pretty, but it was highly effective. Rick Barry spent 14 seasons playing professional sports between the ABA and NBA (10 years in the NBA, 4 with the ABA). He was a scoring machine, averaging 30.5 points per game<\/a> in the ABA and 23.2 in the NBA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Barry was an eight-time NBA All-Star and a four-time ABA All-Star, he is fondly remembered for his free-throw shooting style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rick Barry\u2019s underhand approach
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\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XZUGiOoH8rU\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rick Barry<\/a>\u2019s free-throw shooting wasn\u2019t typical, but it was effective. He finished his NBA career with a .900 shooting percentage from the line. Encouraged by his father when he was in high school in the 70s, Barry was hesitant to shoot that way at first because girls were known to shoot that way.<\/a>
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“So I said, ‘I can't do that dad, everyone's going to make fun of me.' I remember him saying, ‘Son, they can't make fun of you if you're making them.' “<\/p>Rick Barry<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Barry went on to shoot underhand from the free-throw line throughout his professional days, leading the league seven times in free-throw shooting percentage. He is also the only player to ever lead the NCAA, NBA, and ABA in scoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barry said it was the comfort at the line and the fluid motion that made him successful at the foul line. “The mechanics of shooting<\/a> the underhand free throw makes so much more sense because everything is done\u2014it\u2019s not one motion, then another motion, it\u2019s a fluid motion, the ball has a softer touch when it goes up there,” he said<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why nobody in the NBA uses the underhand approach anymore<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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