Dwight Howard recently looked back on his time in the NBA as he shared lighthearted clips with the followers of the game. The 38-year-old took to Snapchat to showcase his free throw shooting technique while mocking himself for his actions. It caught the eyes of viewers for containing a reaction from his then-teammate Seth Curry, capturing the emotional state of several others.
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During Dwight’s time with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2020/21 season, he chose to shoot free throws from closer to the top of the key. The center wanted to accomplish a higher percentage by increasing the distance between him and the basketball rim. Sadly, his decision did not pay dividends as the 2020 NBA champion shot only 57.6% from the free throw line in the regular season.
The 8x All-Star reflected on that period while sharing one such instance with the caption, “My free throw journey”. It showcased him air-balling an attempt against the Los Angeles Clippers as the camera’s focus quickly shifted to Seth. The latter was seen disappointed on the bench before smiling about it, eventually giving rise to a hilarious response to Howard’s endeavors.
Another clip on the same contained a hysterical commentary on his actions as the 3x DPOY prepared for the moment. The video provided a breakdown of his on-court decision, raising questions about his methods of shooting a free throw. On that occasion, the former 76ers star also failed to make his efforts count for his team. To be fair, however, that didn’t stop him from laughing about it.
Despite the mockery, it was not the worst career free-throw percentage of Dwight Howard
Howard recorded his highest-ever free-throw percentage during his rookie season with the Orlando Magic. Since shooting 67.1% from the line as a newcomer, he had always struggled to make free throws count for his team. In fact, his conversion rate with the 76ers was slightly above his career average of 56.7%.
All in all, his success rate from the line had typically remained far below the league’s average, ranking him as the 8th worst of all time in that category. Ben Wallace spearheaded that competition with 41.1% while a few iconic centers in NBA history ranked within the worst five. Namely, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal remain the fourth and fifth-worst free throw shooters in the league’s history respectively.
It sheds light on how the players representing that position often traditionally struggle to shoot from the free-throw line. Thus, Howard knows he has nothing to be ashamed of as he only sees the fun in his activities while looking back.
