I hate this analogy. NBA players can all hit 90% of their free throws shooting overhand too. Just some of them are much worse at handling the pressure and pace change of the situation in a game context.

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oblio 14 hours ago | parent [-]

The underhanded throw is mechanically just better for free throws. Much easier to put backspin, for example. It's just a shot that doesn't help anywhere else.

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thenanyu 13 hours ago | parent [-]

That’s beside the point. It wouldn’t help shaq or any of those big men hit free throws. They have no problems with mechanics.

	▲	jychang 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> have no problems with mechanics. What? Shaq shot free throws at 85% in practice. Players with good mechanics like Curry wouldn't be caught dead shooting 85% during the season, he's always 90%+ at free throws. Curry would probably shoot free throws at 99.9% in practice; there's plenty of stories of him swishing 100 3-pointers in a row in practice. I'm not saying Shaq would shoot free throws as good as "90% in game and 99.9% in practice" if he threw free throws underhanded, but clearly Shaq had mechanics issues.