Maybe it's unfair on HN, but I'm a bit skeptical about some of these claims:
> The muscle memory required for shooting at all requires an inordinate amount of daily practice.
Do you mean, at a professional level? Lots of people shoot the ball without daily practice. I know people who have picked up a ball and shot decently after many years of not playing at all.
> everybody who is decent at free throw shooting uses whatever shooting mechanism they're good at normally.
From what I know, coaches teach a specific free throw shooting technique, including what is done before and between free throws.
And finally I want to say: Steph, it's really cool that you like BSD and contribute to HN (a hometown forum!). But stop exaggerating.
NBA Free Throw % All-Time Leaders:
* Career: Stephen Curry: 90.9%
(Or is it José?)
* Single season: 1. José Calderón 98.05% (2008-09), 2.Calvin Murphy .95.81% (1980-81), 3. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 95.6% (1993-94)
> From what I know, coaches teach a specific free throw shooting technique, including what is done before and between free throws.
Maybe that's your experience. But I have never seen that. However, all the coaches I have interacted with have emphasized be totally consistent. Same ritual every single free throw.
Perhaps this is true in college as I have no experience with that? However, in high school the amount of strength varies so much between players that you can't possibly teach the same biomechanics to every single child.
> Single season: 1. José Calderón 98.05% (2008-09), 2.Calvin Murphy .95.81% (1980-81), 3. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 95.6% (1993-94)
You can quote what you wish. However, what I said is true. I was a small center in high school (only a couple inches above 6 foot). If my free throws weren't amazing, I was going to get punished horribly and take all manner of grief from people much, much bigger than me. Foul shots were my lifeblood--I practiced them accordingly.
Do remember that those guys play a LOT more games than we ever played in high school (larger statistical sample size). If we played 24 games in a season, that was a lot--20 was more typical. Any of those NBA players probably have multiple 20 game streaks where they didn't miss a free throw (about 10% (.9^20) chance for Steph--better than 66% for José (.98^20)).
Steph, as you near retirement, if you remember 98% then I'm down with that. Did Draymond introduce you to BSD? Seems like his kind of thing.
Edit: I know about how tall you are, but I didn't know you played center in high school. At that level, why not, I suppose?
Edit2: Sorry if I sound like a jerk, dismissing the FT shooting debate. Aruging that the best NBA free throw shooters ever - comparing yourself to effing Steph Curry! - might have done it over 20 games is not persuasive to me, any more than arguing that Timothy Gowers could prove some mathematics, so why couldn't you do it in high school? Your strategy for being a small center is a good story and smart approach, though.
> The muscle memory required for shooting at all requires an inordinate amount of daily practice.
Do you mean, at a professional level? Lots of people shoot the ball without daily practice. I know people who have picked up a ball and shot decently after many years of not playing at all.
> everybody who is decent at free throw shooting uses whatever shooting mechanism they're good at normally.
From what I know, coaches teach a specific free throw shooting technique, including what is done before and between free throws.
And finally I want to say: Steph, it's really cool that you like BSD and contribute to HN (a hometown forum!). But stop exaggerating.
NBA Free Throw % All-Time Leaders:
* Career: Stephen Curry: 90.9%
(Or is it José?)
* Single season: 1. José Calderón 98.05% (2008-09), 2.Calvin Murphy .95.81% (1980-81), 3. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 95.6% (1993-94)
https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ft_pct_career.h...
https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ft_pct_season.h...