Image via Complex Original
The jumpshot is one of the most useful tools in sports. There is a proper form and routine to be a successful shooter. "The perfect form" does not work for everyone. Some players need to change it up to be successful and some players will try every possible form under the sun to try and get it right. One-handed, underhanded, from the side of the waist, are some of the forms that players have tried, but they're just not aesthetically pleasing. Watching Ray Allen or Steve Nash knock down shot after shot with the perfect form is awesome, but these players make the jumpshot a painful experience. The players come in different sizes and at different positions.
Rick Barry was a great free throw shooter but that underhanded fling was laughable. Wilt Chamberlain tried every way possible to make free throws but just could not knock them down at a respectable rate. From Reggie Miller's effective but unorthodox three ball to Shaq's ugly heaves at the free throw line, here are the Ugliest Jumpshots and Free Throws in NBA History in GIFs.
20. Jerry Stackhouse
Career years: 1995-present
Career PPG: 16.9
Career FG%: 40.9%
Career FT%: 82.2%
Jerry Stackhouse's form on his jumper is pretty much normal and efficient based on his free-throw shooting numbers. His routine on the other hand makes this whole process look ugly. Stackhouse explained that his mom has something to do with that:
"During high school, I would be at the line and I could hear my mom yelling for me to bend my knees. After I started really bending my knees and shooting that way all the time my percentage went up, so I just kept doing it. I shot that way all through high school and college. My first year in the NBA I went away from it because I looked around and no one else was doing it so I stopped. But my percentage went down, so I went back to it."
We'll give Stack a pass because of his mom the influencer.
19. Kenyon Martin
Career years: 2000-present
Career PPG: 12.8
Career FG%: 48.2%
Career FT%: 62.9%
K-Mart starts his shot from just above his forehead and practically flicks it with little effort. Martin doesn't use any touch on the ball. But his toughness and ability outweighs the ugly looking jumper that he possesses.
18. Josh Childress
Career years: 2004-2008; 2010-present
Career PPG: 9.2
Career FG%: 52.2%
Career FT%: 77.9%
Childress doesn't extend his range very far usually, but he can occasionally knock down a jumper. An ugly jumper that he shoots from his midsection which makes it prone to being disrupted.
17. Leandro Barbosa
Career years: 2003-present
Career PPG: 12.0
Career FG%: 46%
Career FT%: 82.1%
The push shot is not an easy form of shooting and is very unorthodox. Leandro Barbosa has done a good job of perfecting that jumper on the way to a Sixth Man of the Year award (2007) and countless three-pointers. Now if he can recover from a torn ACL, that would be a major comeback.
16. Michael Adams
Career years: 1985-1996
Career PPG: 14.7
Career FG%: 41.5%
Career FT%: 84.9%
Most of the strange shooting motions in the NBA come from big men, but Michael Adams proves that it can come from even tiny guards. The 5'10" dynamo was a volume scorer and did it with one of the more unorthodox shots in league history.
15. Desmond Mason
Career years: 2000-2009
Career PPG: 12.1
Career FG%: 44.9%
Career FT%: 74%
Watching Mason shoot free-throws is pretty horrifying. It's a good thing that he spent most of his time in the league at the rim. We finally realize why he never developed a jumper.
14. Don Nelson
Career years: 1962-1976
Career PPG: 10.3
Career FG%: 48%
Career FT%: 76.5%
As a coach for the Golden State Warriors, Don Nelson tried to inspire Andris Biedrins to shoot free-throws the way he did. His one-handed attempt consists of a simple fling of the ball, but it seemed to work judging by his robust shooting percentages.
13. Wilt Chamberlain
Career years: 1959-1973
Career PPG: 30.1
Career FG%: 54%
Career FT%: 51.1%
While he was a dominant force, Wilt Chamberlain was never able to solve his free-throw shooting. Wilt the Stilt went as far as to try underhanded attempts for a part of his career, but he was never able to get them right. As you can see in this GIF, his form is just all types of wrong.
12. Shaquille O'Neal
Career years: 1992-2011
Career PPG: 23.7
Career FG%: 58.2%
Career FT%: 52.7%
The beauty of the free-throw is that it's supposed to be the easiest shot considering it's an open and standstill one. Shaq's free-throw struggles were such a problem that teams developed the strategy of "Hack-A-Shaq" to exploit his weakness at the line. According to Shaq, he makes them when they count but even when he makes them it never looks pretty.
11. Jamaal Wilkes
Career Years: 1974-1985
Career PPG: 17.7
Career FG%: 49.9%
Career FT%: 75.9%
Wilkes brings the ball up from the side and heaves it over his head. It's a strange looking form, but Wilkes made a successful career out of it. He has a pretty rough looking shot for a guy nicknamed "Silk."
10. Kevin Martin
Career years: 2004-present
Career PPG: 17.8
Career FG%: 44.3%
Career FT%: 86.7%
Sometimes, players sort of look like they're committing acts of violence while they shoot. It looks like Kevin Martin is reaching for his gun in his holster. Martin is a gunner though. His ability to get hot and shoot the lights out is a major boost to any team.
9. Bill Cartwright
Career years: 1979-1995
Career PPG: 13.2
Career FG%: 52.5%
Career FT%: 77.1%
That weird hitch in Cartwright's free-throws caused a ton of lane violations. Players could barely tell if or when he was actually going to release the ball. Just try shooting with him in NBA 2K.
8. Andris Biedrins
Career years: 2004-present
Career PPG: 6.4
Career FG%: 59.4%
Career FT%: 50.3%
Free-throws don't come easy to everyone. Andris Biedrins was a below average free-throw shooter initially. He eventually lost all confidence in his freebie attempts and became one of the worst free-throw shooters in the league. His struggles have affected him in mutliple ways. Biedrins is practically afraid of receiving the ball out of the fear of being fouled which is a major reason why he rarely plays now (he averaged just 9.3 MPG in 2012-13). A little dose of confidence would be very useful right now.
7. Joakim Noah
Career years: 2007-present
Career PPG: 9.4
Career FG%: 50.7%
Career FT%: 75.1%
Noah has one of the more awkward releases in the NBA today. While it's not the prettiest looking form, Noah has managed to develop his outside jumper and free-throw shooting into a respectable weapon to his swiss army knife style of play. Every jumper he hits deserves the hashtag #2handz.
6. Anthony Mason
Career years: 1989-2003
Career PPG: 10.9
Career FG%: 50.9%
Career FT%: 70.9%
The purpose of the off-hand is to help guide the free-throw. Mason didn't always shoot this way but he made the change in '95. Here's his explanation to the Daily News:
"It's logical to shoot it that way," said Mason, who proved it last night by hitting six of seven from the free-throw line. "When I have the ball in one hand, it's already in the proper place next to my head to line up the shot."
Anthony Mason chose to hold his off-hand in an awkward position while shooting strictly with his left hand. He wasn't a great free-throw shooter, but he was able to stay respectful with a plus-70 shooting percentage from the line.
5. Marcus Camby
Career years: 1996-present
Career PPG: 9.5
Career FG%: 46.6%
Career FT%: 67%
It looks like Camby is holding and hurling a heavy object over the top of his head. It's such a rare motion and unique shot but it worked for Camby. He made a couple mid-range jumpers in his day, but with that slow motion he has a hard time beating the buzzer.
4. Chuck Hayes
Career years: 2006-present
Career PPG: 4.0
Career FG%: 50.3%
Career FT%: 61%
When it comes to weird free-throw shooting, Chuck Hayes takes the cake. It seems like he's trying to stutter-step and fake out an imaginary defender. That shaky form was just not a good look so Hayes took away the awkward step and he's improved slightly from this nightmare.
3. Rick Barry
Career years: 1965-1967; 1972-1980
Career PPG: 23.2
Career FG%: 44.9%
Career FT%: 90%
Somehow, someway Rick Barry was able to master underhanded free-throws. Most players have attempted but failed miserably at the underhanded heave. Barry was a career 90 percent free-throw shooter and one of the best pure shooters in the league. That ugly underhanded shot still gets no love though. He tried to show Shaq how to do it but the Diesel refused.
2. Shawn Marion
Career years: 1999-present
Career PPG: 16.1
Career FG%: 48.5%
Career FT%: 81.1%
Marion rarely shoots jumpers anymore, but he'll still break out that awkward thing the play calls for one. With a simple flick of the wrists, Marion could get that shot off quick. We wonder how he ever made 721 career threes with that unorthodox jumper.
1. Reggie Miller
Career years: 1987-2005
Career PPG: 18.2
Career FG%: 47.1%
Career FT%: 88.8%
Miller's arms were all over the place and his legs were flailing as if he was shot. Miller took that unorthodox shooting form and made it a major success with clutch shot after clutch shot. If we had a dollar for every time someone made a joke about Miller shooting like a girl because he shot with two hands, we could afford to pay Reggie's retirement so he can stop appearing on TNT.