Durant - Best FT season ever?

[Clangus]

Slick Watts posted a few weeks ago on the Thunder board the following

I wanted to make a post about this. Kevin Durant is on pace to make some history at the free throw line this year.

With 8 FTA this game (making all 8), Durant is now averaging exactly 10 FTA per game, and he's currently shooting 89.3% from the line. Not only would that be the highest percentage of anyone ever who shot 10FTA/g (surpassing even Rick Barry) in a season, but KD is within striking distance of becoming the first NBA player to shoot 90% from the line while shooting it that much.

Since 1960, the most free throw attempts a player has attempted in a season while shooting 90% or better is Reggie Miller, who shot 600 FTA in 1990 at 91.8%. Kevin Durant is on pace to shoot 820 free throws this season. If he makes it to 90%, very possible considering he's red hot right now from the stripe, this would blow away everyone else historically and would be in contention for one of the best foul shooting seasons ever.

Even if he doesn't make it to 90%, Kevin Durant may surpass 700 FTM this year, which would be the first time it's been done since Karl Malone in 1989. If he keeps his percentage going, Durant would have the highest FT% ever of anyone who made 700 free throws in a season, again surpassing Rick Barry.

Of all the things Kevin Durant does well, consistently getting to the line, and making them, might just be his best quality. He's having one of the best FT shooting seasons of all time. Having your best player and scorer with this quality will be huge when he's making playoff runs..

Well KD made it. 90% with 840 attempts

Is it the best FT shooting season of all time?

[Cthulhu]

Meh, I dk about that. Dirk shot 91.4% on over 7 fta. I highly doubt the extra 2.whatever attempts a game drops Dirk's ft% 1.4 points.

[Kobblehead]

Yeah, peep some of Dirk's years.

[yanggu0]

Of course not.

.958 -Calvin Murphy

Correct me if I am wrong but 95.8% > 90%. I know that coming from left field, but just stick with me on this one.

[Rendezvous]

Nice

[Clangus]

Of course not.

.958 -Calvin Murphy

Correct me if I am wrong but 95.8% > 90%. I know that coming from left field, but just stick with me on this one.

how many attempts? missing the point I think.

[mysticbb]

Well KD made it. 90% with 840 attempts

Is it the best FT shooting season of all time?

He is an incredible free throw shooter, but there are still some players in the league who can convert them better (like Steve Nash or Dirk Nowitzki). But the question isn't really the conversion rate, but the volume in combination with the ft%. The only ft-season which can challenge Durant's season is Rick Barry anno 1967. Barry had 88.4 ft% which is 15.2 percentage points above league average at this time. Durant got it to 90%, which means "only" 14.1 above league average. I would put Barry's still ahead, but I can understand, if someone doesn't judge that in the same way and the choice would be Durant with the best FT shooting season ever.

[mysticbb]

Of course not.

.958 -Calvin Murphy

Correct me if I am wrong but 95.8% > 90%. I know that coming from left field, but just stick with me on this one. :lol:

.98 - Jose Calderon

Correct me if I am wrong but 98.0% > 95.8%. ;)

[slick_watts]

Durant shot 90% on 840 FTA. That is the best free throw season in history. Some have shot it better than 90%, but on far less volume than Durant. The most FTA by a player in the last 40 years while shooting 90%+ besides Durant is Reggie Miller, who only went to the line 600 times. Durant beats him by 240 FTA.

The combination of volume (6th most FTM all time) and accuracy (90%+) is unrivaled. I find it unlikely someone like Dirk (who only shot 90%+ three times) would do so if he had to shoot 840 times during the year.

[Clangus]

Meh, I dk about that. Dirk shot 91.4% on over 7 fta. I highly doubt the extra 2.whatever attempts a game drops Dirk's ft% 1.4 points.

Yes he COULD have done it, but he DIDN't .

That is the point.

Lebron COULD score 82 in a game, but he hasn't.

[mysticbb]

how many attempts? missing the point I think.

215, just to answer the question.

[Clangus]

Durant shot 90% on 840 FTA. That is the best free throw season in history. Some have shot it better than 90%, but on far less volume than Durant. The most FTA by a player in the last 40 years while shooting 90%+ besides Durant is Reggie Miller, who only went to the line 600 times. Durant beats him by 240 FTA.

The combination of volume (6th most FTM all time) and accuracy (90%+) is unrivaled. I find it unlikely someone like Dirk (who only shot 90%+ three times) would do so if he had to shoot 840 times during the year.

I hope you don't mind me posting it here slick. I thought it was a good thing for the GB to discuss/know.
(not trying to be joyner by any means )

[Kobblehead]

I'm curious, is there any way to check what part of the game Durant's free throws come? If the majority of them come in the second half, than I'd agree about him having the best FT shooting season of all-time.

[yanggu0]

Of course not.

.958 -Calvin Murphy

Correct me if I am wrong but 95.8% > 90%. I know that coming from left field, but just stick with me on this one.

how many attempts? missing the point I think.

No I didn't. The question CLEARLY says best ft season ever.

.98 - Jose Calderon

Correct me if I am wrong but 98.0% > 95.8%.

I can't vote for a Raptor. That is just against my religion.

[mysticbb]

The combination of volume (6th most FTM all time) and accuracy (90%+) is unrivaled. I find it unlikely someone like Dirk (who only shot 90%+ three times) would do so if he had to shoot 840 times during the year.

Well, Nowitzki attempted 1131 Free Throws over the last two seasons and made 1021 of them (90.3%), 2005/06 +2006/07 he had 1149 FTA, 1039 FTM (90.3%). I wouldn't exactly rule it out that Nowitzki could also shoot 90% on 840 attempts for a season, but obviously he never done that and especially wasn't close to that at such a young age like Durant.

I guess the age is probably the most impressive thing. Usually players convert FTs not as good while being younger, but later will become better at this. Probably Durant can even push that to 92/93 ft% while attempting 9 to 10 per game.

[ponder276]

Very impressive. I hate the way Durant gets FTs though, he picks up so many garbage, ticky tack, flopping fouls. He would otherwise be a fun player to watch, but his ugly, flopping, throwing himself into defenders style makes him almost unwatchable for me. Reminds me of other skinny floppers like Kevin Martin, Manu Ginobili or Chris Bosh (although I actually like Bosh, probly just cause I'm a Raps fan though). All of these guys are constantly jumping into defenders, or swinging their arms into defenders arms, then flailing about like they've been shot. It's effective in the NBA, but it's not pretty basketball, if you played like this in a pick up game or any sort of rec league you'd just be a huge douche. To me players should be trying to score, and if a defender fouls them by being too aggressive, fair enough, but too often guys like Durant, Martin, Manu, Bosh, etc. aren't even looking to hit a shot, they're specifically going for the foul. That's not basketball, that's just abusing the rules. It's hardly the players' fault, if the game is called this way you may as well abuse it, but I really think the NBA has to change the way they call games. Too often a defender is just going up for the block, not jumping into the offensive player at all, the offensive players flings himself into the defender then flails out his arms, and somehow that's a foul on the defender.

/rant

[mysticbb]

I'm curious, is there any way to check what part of the game Durant's free throws come? If the majority of them come in the second half, than I'd agree about him having the best FT shooting season of all-time.

If you want to know how good Durant is in clutch situations, you can check that via 82games.com. Durant made 49 of 58 (84.5%) in those clutch situation. Still good, but obviously not as crazy as Nowitzki who missed just two free throws in 4th quarter and overtime during the season and has 98 FT% in clutch situations.

[fallacy]

Yes, it is by far the best FT shooting season ever. There really shouldn't even be an argument

[slick_watts]

Every good offensive player that is also a capable free throw shooter will make moves with the intent to get fouled. Kevin Durant and the 'skinny guys' aren't the only ones. In our most recent game against Phoenix, Amar'e pulled the rip move where he swung his arms under Serge Ibaka and got the call. Juwon Howard attemped the same thing in our recent game against Portland (unsuccessfuly).

There's no way to solve this it's just part of the game. The only guys that don't flop or flail at least sometimes are the ones who don't shoot free throws well.

[ponder276]

Yes, it is by far the best FT shooting season ever. There really shouldn't even be an argument

Rick Barry shot 89% from the line on 13.0 FTA/G, somehow Durant shooting 90% on 10.2 FTA/G is "by far" better? Durant has made 9.2 FT/G this season, while Barry, MJ, West, Oscar and Dantley all have seasons where they've made more than 10 FT/G while shooting better than 85%.