NBA bigs have often been ostracized for not being able to hit free throws on a consistent basis, but one Houston Rocket recruit is doing whatever he can to buck the trend.
In the fourth quarter of the Rockets’ pre-season game against the New Orleans Pelicans in China on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), 19-year-old rookie Chinanu Onuaku stepped into the charity stripe and showed off an unusual shooting form, not seen in the league since the ’70s.
The 37th overall pick of this year’s draft casually swished a pair of underhanded free throws—much to the delight of sold-out crowd inside the LeSports Center in Beijing.
The unorthodox below-the-hip shooting form was popularized by NBA legend Rick Barry, who posted a .900 free throw percentage during his career.
Barry, whose sons Jon and Brent also played in the NBA, was named among the 50 Greatest NBA players in history in 1996.
Fictional character Hanamichi Sakuragi from the Japanese basketball-themed manga Slam Dunk was also a notable basketball figure who used the peculiar shooting form. Khristian Ibarrola