[keozosaosapParticipant]

First, I’d like to say that I don’t think that JUST free throw shooting shows who is the best shooter, but that there is a positive correlation (and a strong one) between being a good shooter and a good FT% shooter.
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If you get any season and rank the best shooters from mid-range/3point range and match with a popular ranking of the best shooters for the media/fans, you’ll get like the same 15 of 20 players every time
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Now, look at FT%. They’re there. There is a reason why Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki
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Of course there are some outlyers and things to consider, but all in all, it’s a good method that you can trust at a 85% rate or something like that
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Just look at the 25 best free throw shooters from the 2010-11 season, all better than 85% FT shooting
1 Stephen Curry , GSW
2 Chauncey Billups , NYK-DEN
3 Steve Nash , PHX
4 D.J. Augustin , CHA
5 Jodie Meeks , PHI
6 Randy Foye , LAC
7 Dirk Nowitzki , DAL
8 Kevin Martin , HOU
9 Ray Allen , BOS
10 Kevin Durant , OKC
11 Chris Paul , NOH
12 Darren Collison , IND
12 Manu Ginobili , SAS
14 Rodney Stuckey , DET
15 Beno Udrih , SAC
16 Rudy Fernandez , POR
16 George Hill , SAS
18 Danilo Gallinari , DEN-NYK
18 Kevin Garnett , BOS
20 Paul Pierce , BOS
21 Derrick Rose , CHI
22 Jamal Crawford , ATL
23 Andre Miller , POR
23 Mo Williams , LAC-CLE
25 Ben Gordon , DET
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Those are most of the guys you’d pick, even though free throw shooting is NOTHING like shooting with a defense set and the game in motion. Ray Allen, Dirk, Durant, Nash, Ben Gordon, Ginobili, Kevin martin, Billups, Kevin Love…all the best shooters we can think of right now.
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You know who are the guys at the bottom of that list (only shooting guys, mostly guards)? JR Smith at 106, Iguodala at 121, Beasley at 95, Tony allen at 96, Wade at 91…guys you prefer doin’ other stuff like driving to the lane or defending, not shooting (sometimes, NEVER shooting if they’re not hot)
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Now let’s look at the stars. Lebron, criticized for being a poor shooter, is nowhere near the 85% margin – he was a 76% free throw shooter. Kinda fits.
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Kobe Bryant was a 83% FT shooter, number 43 in the list. One hell of a shooter, that gets criticized a lot for his FG%, but people forget how many difficult shots he takes (even though some of those shots he does because he wants to, not because he has to). When you take all the ego thing and the hero ball, you see he’s an elite shooter.
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The last one – Isiah Thomas. A great slasher and fantastic player, he was never seen as a great shooter. Poor FG% even with stars in his team, really poor 3pt shooting…does that reflects in the FT shooting, the easiest shot you can get?
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The answer is yes. Career 75% shooter like Lebron.
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All in all, I’ve looked up more than 30 seasons, and I’ve never found a guy that efficiently shot great from the FT line be a poor or just mediocre shooter. Sure, a guy can be great for one or two seasons, but eventually the truth comes up.

What do you guys think? Can you sense a shooter from his FT%?

[koyozoyoosaParticipant]

Coming off of a season in which he was named both the Big East Player of the Year and the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Thabeet was sure to be the next big thing in the NBA.

[koyozoyoosaParticipant]

They all had plenty of motivation. But what about Thabeet, who has an established reputation for simply not wanting to put in the work required to be an elite NBA player?643463

[koyozoyoosaParticipant]

If he can do that, the Thunder’s reputation for being a team that develops their way to a championship just might reach legendary proportions.w1`

[scoobaoParticipant]

Evans believes he still has plenty left in the tank. Last season with the Washington Wizards, Evans produced when given an opportunity, averaging 4.9 points in 14.3 minutes. During the final game of last season against the Miami Heat, he was arguably the best player on the court, finishing with a game-high 18 points in 23 minutes. Evans trained in Houston during the offseason and feels great. While he can still help a team on the court, he acknowledges that his biggest contributions come off the court. He’s an excellent leader and locker room presence, which every team needs to succeed.vsadfada

[hsfge3223Participant]

Houston Rockets big man Greg Smith is facing the same sort of challenges that Gerald Green faced earlier in his career, but he’s not quite as far along in getting himself a guaranteed contract. In fact, Smith was invited to Rockets camp last year as well, but was cut three days before Christmas and the start of the 2011-12 lockout-shortened season.[-890890

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