{"id":74744,"date":"2025-12-17T01:56:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T04:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/mitchell-robinson-its-time-to-go-granny-style\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T01:56:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T04:56:17","slug":"mitchell-robinson-its-time-to-go-granny-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/mitchell-robinson-its-time-to-go-granny-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitchell Robinson: It\u2019s time to go granny-style"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The art of the free throw is something that should not be complicated. After all, they\u2019re free for a reason.<\/p>\n

The Knicks are, by and large, a great free-throw shooting team.<\/a> Jalen Brunson shoots 85%, Karl-Anthony Towns shoots 88%, Jordan Clarkson shoots 83%. Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, Landry Shamet, and Deuce McBride all shoot above 75%. All eight Knicks who attempted more than 20 free throws entering Tuesday night were shooting above 75% from the line. As a team, the foul line is a productive place for them.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s not the case for Mitchell Robinson. It never has been the case, and it never will be the case. We\u2019ve expected bad free-throw shooting from him for his entire career, as it just does not appear like something he\u2019ll ever be able to fully patch up.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s one thing if you\u2019re hovering between 50 and 60 percent, which Robinson has for much of his career. It\u2019s not a good percentage, but on average, you\u2019re at least splitting your trips to the line. But when you\u2019re 5-for-25 on the season, an unbelievably horrific 20%, you have to change something.<\/p>\n

Robinson has never been good at free throws despite some occasional tweaks. For much of his career, he\u2019s mostly shot line drives with little-to-no margin for error. There has to be a reason that Robinson has not tried more arc on his shot, but for the purpose of this exercise, let\u2019s think outside the box.<\/p>\n

The greatest free-throw shooter in NBA history is Stephen Curry. His career percentage of 91.1% is remarkable and truly shows what it looks like to master the free throw. Also in the top ten? Names like Steve Nash (90.4%), Mark Price (90.4%), Damian Lillard (89.9%), Ray Allen (89.4%), and\u2026 Rick Barry.<\/p>\n

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Barry is a player who was absolutely spectacular in his heyday, making 12 all-star teams and being in the Hall of Fame, among other accolades. The longtime Golden State Warrior was among the league\u2019s best players from his 1966 Rookie of the Year season to his swansong with the Rockets in 1980.<\/p>\n

He was also a unique player. He spent his entire career, in which he shot 89% from the free throw line, shooting underhanded from the stripe. The \u201cgranny shot\u201d came to define Barry, and his success in shooting it has been a neat fact in NBA history.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the only player to shoot underhanded for the vast majority of his career. The second-most notable example of the granny shot in the NBA? Wilt Chamberlain tried it for one night on March 2, 1962, the day he scored 100 points.<\/p>\n

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Chamberlain was a terrible free-throw shooter. One has to wonder if the original Hack-A-Shaq came in the 1960s, with Chamberlain\u2019s offense being unstoppable in his prime. The inner-circle Hall of Famer shot an ugly 51.1% from the line in his career, but he shot 28-for-32 in his 100-point game, and his best season from the stripe was that 1961-62 season (61.3%). He abandoned the idea in totality shortly after, going back to his ghastly shooting.<\/p>\n

Since Barry\u2019s retirement, it\u2019s been extremely rare to see any basketball player at any level shoot granny style, but at this point, I think Mitch should try it.<\/p>\n

Mitch, if by any chance you have stumbled upon this article, hear me out:<\/p>\n

The reason that, despite its long-studied advantages,<\/a> most NBA players have refused to try out the underhanded free throw is that it\u2019s not masculine, whatever that means. In Wilt\u2019s autobiography<\/a>, he remarked that he abandoned the style because he felt silly and \u201clike a sissy\u201d. But sure, he was Wilt Chamberlain. Who cares if he couldn\u2019t make free throws?<\/p>\n

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A professional basketball player\u2019s ego is extremely strong and prevalent, I get it, but please tell me what\u2019s more embarrassing:<\/p>\n