Free throw

Penalty in basketball

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Interest in “Free throw” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-25.

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Key Takeaways

In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area.
Free throws are also awarded in other situations, including technical fouls, and when the fouling team has entered the bonus/penalty situation (after a team commits a requisite number of fouls, each subsequent foul results in free throws regardless of the type of foul committed).
Each successful free throw is worth one point.
The league's best shooters (such as Mark Price, Steve Nash, Steve Kerr, Rick Barry, Larry Bird, Ray Allen, José Calderón, Stephen Curry, Reggie Miller, Kevin Durant, and Dirk Nowitzki) can make roughly 90% of their attempts over a season, while notoriously poor shooters (e.
During a foul shot, a player's feet must both be completely behind the foul line.

In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team, analogous to penalty shots in other team sports. Free throws are also awarded in other situations, including technical fouls, and when the fouling team has entered the bonus/penalty situation (after a team commits a requisite number of fouls, each subsequent foul results in free throws regardless of the type of foul committed). Also, depending on the situation, a player may be awarded between one and three free throws. Each successful free throw is worth one point.

Description

In the NBA, most players make 70–80% of their attempts. The league's best shooters (such as Mark Price, Steve Nash, Steve Kerr, Rick Barry, Larry Bird, Ray Allen, José Calderón, Stephen Curry, Reggie Miller, Kevin Durant, and Dirk Nowitzki) can make roughly 90% of their attempts over a season, while notoriously poor shooters (e.g. Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Andre Drummond, Andris Biedrins, Chris Dudley, Ben Wallace, Shaquille O'Neal, Ben Simmons, and Dennis Rodman) may struggle to make 50% of them. During a foul shot, a player's feet must both be completely behind the foul line.