Rick Barry shot his free throws underhand. Sports Illustrated called him “the second-best free throw shooter of all time (90.0%, behind only Mark Price’s 90.4%).” Barry offered to teach the method to Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal answered: “I would shoot negative percentage before I shot like that.” Barry recalled: “He said it wasn’t good for his image.”
Wilt Chamberlain shot underhand in the 1961–62 season. He made 61 percent of his free throws, the best season of his career. He also shot underhand in the game where he scored 100 points. He made 28 free throws and missed 4. The next season he gave up the method. In his autobiography he wrote that the shot made him “look silly” and “like a sissy.”
The underhand shot produces results, but few players use it. Asked why, Bill Pearson, who played for Wisconsin in the 1970s, gave a short answer: “Because it’s ugly.”