You heard it over and over again that defense wins championships and very few will argue win this logic. Here is another one:
Effective free-throw shooting wins games.
According to a 1977 study, when teams are evently matched, the team with the highest free-throw shooting percentage, wins 80% of the games. In 1986, statistics from a study which surveyed 316 games from four Division I conferences, it was found that the team that made the most free-throws, won almost 72% of the games played.
Free-throws have been estimated to account for 20 to 25% of the total points scored in most games. Estimates of the number of games decided by free-throws during a single season range from four to as many as one-half of all games.
It is not uncommon to hear coaches often refer to their teams' success or failure at the free-throw line as the deciding factor in the outcome of many basketball games.
But the reality of the day is that too many players focus too much time on leaning how to dunk rather than perfecting the art of the free-throw.
With the above statistics and the fact that everyone knows how often free-throws are missed and thus affect the outcome of the game, players and coaches should establish a strict free-throw regimen that transforms the neglected art of the free-throw into their most effective weapon.
