In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court (the free throw line; informally known as the charity stripe or foul line), and are generally awarded after a foul by the opposing team.
Each free throw is worth one point, and normally more than one is awarded. The importance of free throws is nevertheless sometimes underestimated; games have been known to be decided on them, especially when the score is close. Teams who could have sealed the game on free throws can finish with a narrow win or even a loss because of failure behind the line.
Free throws normally can be made at a high percentage. In the NBA, most players make between 70% and 80% of their attempts. Some good shooters (such as Reggie Miller, Mark Price, Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Ray Allen) can make as many as 90%-92%, while notoriously poor shooters (e.g. Shaquille O'Neal, Ben Wallace, or Dwight Howard) may struggle to make 50% of them.
Tall players often shoot free throws poorly; one explanation for this is that the high release point of their shots can cause them to stand overly erect. Basketball Hall of Fame member Wilt Chamberlain made just 51.1% of his free-throw attempts, one of the lowest percentages of all time , and the poor free throw shooting of 7'1" Shaquille O'Neal, 6'9" Ben Wallace, and 6'11" Tim Duncan, have led to the infamous Hack-a-Shaq and other intentional fouling tactics, which made them a liability to their teams in endgame situations where the score was close. On the other hand, there have also been big men who have been prolific scorers from free throws: Yao Ming (7' 6"), Vlade Divac (7' 1"), Pau Gasol, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dirk Nowitzki (7' 0"), Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett, Mehmet Okur, Brad Miller, Jermaine O'Neal (6' 11"), Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh,and Peja Stojakovic (6' 10") are all 70% or better from the stripe. The more likely explanation is that many big men are guilty of concentrating more on post moves, rebounding, shot-blocking, and screening, instead of working to develop a balanced game, and neglected to master the mechanics of free-throw shooting.
