NBA Players Free Throws: We have travelled through the eight decades of NBA basketball history in different ways over the past few months. We recently looked at the NBA players who have won the most playoff games in each decade. Before that, we also evaluated the top five small forwards in each decade in NBA history.
In particular, we will be concentrating on some of the best free throw shooters in NBA history today, in addition to some of the best scorers in the league’s history. Throughout their careers, these leaders from every decade excelled at deftly manoeuvring around defences and making their way to the foul line, where they ultimately achieved long-term success. Prepare yourself for another journey down memory lane with us as we examine these foul-line experts from each decade of NBA history.
NBA Players With The Most Made Free Throws in Each Decade
These NBA players have made the most free throws in a given decade.
1950s – Dolph Schayes (4,986 FTM)
There was just one NBA player who made 4,000 free throws in the 1950s. No other player from 1950 to 1959 made it to 4,000 free throws, with Dolph Schayes falling just 14 short of a perfect 5,000 for the decade. Schayes played for the Syracuse Nationals and finished his career as an 84.9% free throw shooter, shooting 7.9 shots per game. With a 90.4% free throw percentage from the foul line in 1958, Schayes topped the NBA in that category.
Paul Arizin and Ed Macauley each made 3,500 free throws during the 1950s, with Macauley finishing in second place with 3,750. Throughout his career, he shot 76.1% from the foul line, but he regularly reached the line enough to record six seasons with 400 or more made free throws. Arizin’s ranking on this list is quite remarkable, given that he missed two seasons of duty in the US Marines. During the 1950s, Arizin led the NBA in both attempts and made free throws, shooting 80.8% from the field.
1960s – Oscar Robertson (6,129 FTM)
Not surprisingly, the top three offensive players of the 1960s are also the ones that lead the league in free throws made during that era. Oscar Robertson has made the most free throws (6,129), because to his physical style of play that makes it easy for him to get to the line. Robertson did not lead the NBA in attempts made, but he did lead in made free throws four times throughout the 1960s. In nine seasons, he made at least 600 free throws eight times and more than 700 four times.
Of all the players in the history of the game, Wilt Chamberlain was the most dominant. He shot a pitiful 51.4% from 1960 to 1969 from the foul line, therefore the easiest method to slow him down was to send him there. Despite only making slightly more than half of the 10,057 free throws that Chamberlain attempted throughout the 1960s, he still broke scoring records. If he was even 70.0% from the foul line, can you imagine what his records would look like?
Jerry West, who was 81.4% from the foul line during his career, is at the other extreme of the spectrum. West was well-known in the 1960s for being a proficient scorer and shooter who enjoyed hitting the foul line. When West shot 840-977, or 86.0%, from the foul line in 1966, he even led the NBA in made free throws.
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1970s – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (3,853 FTM)
By far among of the best scorers of the decade were the three free throw leaders during the 1970s. From 1970 to 1979, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won five MVP awards, one NBA title, and the MVP award in the Finals, making him the finest player in the world. During the course of the decade, Kareem never shot above 80.0% from the foul line, although he did make 400 or more free throws in four separate seasons. Kareem made 470 and 504 free throws, respectively, in his scoring championship seasons of 1971 and 1972, accounting for around 20–25% of his total points.
In the 1970s, Elvin Hayes was another outstanding scorer who frequently crossed the foul line. Hayes would go on to record four seasons in which he made 400 or more free throws, averaging 67.7% on almost 5,500 shots. From 1970 to 1979, Hayes averaged 6.7 free throw attempts per game in addition to 23.2 points per game.
Pete Maravich, who played in just eight seasons throughout the decade, is the third leader in made free throws from 1970 to 1979. Being a proficient free throw shooter, Maravich led the NBA in 1977 with a 501-600 record. In the 1970s, he made 81.9% of his foul line shots, winning a scoring title and being selected to four All-Star teams in the process.
1980s – Moses Malone (5,975 FTM)
There were several gifted scorers and players in the 1980s who could get to the free-throw line quickly. Being one of just two players to make at least 5,000 free throws between 1980 and 1989, Moses Malone was the player of the decade. From 1980 to 1985, Malone would lead the NBA in both made shots and free-throw attempts five times. In a season, he converted more than 600 foul shots five times and shot over 80.0% just once.
In his heyday in the 1980s, Adrian Dantley was a master craftsman when it came to making basket passes. Dantley would lead the NBA in made free throws four times and average at least 30.0 points per game between 1981 and 1984. Dantley led the NBA in attempts twice and four times made more than 600 free throws in a single season. He was among the most effective free-throw shooters of the decade, shooting barely under 80.0% just twice.
Considering how frequently he reached the foul line, Reggie Theus was not a name I anticipated seeing on this list. Thus was able to make his free throws consistently even though he only attempted 5.0 to 6.0 a game on average. He finished with the third-most foul shots made from 1980 to 1989, having made 400 or more free throws four times and shooting 82.7% overall for the decade.
1990s – Karl Malone (5,738 FTM)
It was common for dominating big men to frequently cross the foul line in order to establish their presence in the post throughout the 1990s. Using this strategy to perfection from 1990 to 1999, Karl Malone topped the 1990s in total points scored. In five of the ten seasons he would lead the NBA in both made and attempted free throws, finishing with over 600 made in five of those seasons and over 500 attempted in eight of those seasons. Malone’s career was built on dominating overly aggressive post defenders, even though he was a 75.1% free-throw shooter.
David Robinson, a little less effective free-throw shooter than Malone, is comparable in this regard. In the 1990s, Robinson led the NBA in both attempts and made free throws for three consecutive seasons. Despite shooting just 74.0% from the free throw line, he had six seasons in the 1990s with more than 500 made free throws and four with more than 600.
Despite not being as large as Robinson or Malone, Reggie Miller was still able to create and get to the foul line rather quickly. What’s more, he was an excellent free-throw shooter who led the NBA twice in 1991 and 1999 while shooting 88.4% from the field throughout three seasons combined.
2000s – Kobe Bryant (5,360 FTM)
Kobe Bryant is at the top of the list when it comes to players that shut down defences and attacked at an alarming rate, particularly in the 2000s. In the course of winning four NBA titles with the Lakers between 2000 and 2009, Bryant made 5,360 free throws with an above-average 84.4% accuracy rate. As a Finals MVP, MVP, and two-time scoring champion in the 2000s, Bryant would lead the NBA in made free throws twice and attempted free throws once.
One of the most effective scorers in NBA history, Allen Iverson was one of only two players to reach 5,000 free throws in the 2000s. Iverson hit 79.4% from the foul line between 2000 and 2009, a period that saw him win three scoring titles and an MVP award, in spite of accusations of ball-hogging and inefficiency. Having made at least 600 foul shots in three seasons, he topped the NBA in both attempts and made free throws twice.
Paul Pierce is behind with 4,914 made free throws between 2000 and 2009. Working his way steadily to the foul line, Pierce would go on to become an NBA champion and MVP of the Finals with the Boston Celtics in the 2000s. In the 2000s, Pierce had six seasons with more than 500 crazy foul shots, including 2003 when he had the most in the NBA with 603.
2010s – James Harden (5,604 Free Throws)
By the conclusion of the decade, the three players who led the 2010s in free throws made were conference rivals, despite beginning the decade as colleagues. In the 2010s, James Harden’s whole game focused on getting to the free-throw line and tricking opponents into taking their feet off the floor on several three-pointers. During that period, Harden won three scoring titles and an MVP award. He led the NBA in free throw attempts six times and in made free throws five seasons in a row from 2015 to 2019. Harden’s theatrics have since subsided, but in the 2010s, his effort from the foul line was famous.
Sometimes the only thing a defender can do to stop Kevin Durant is to foul him. He led the NBA in made free throws five times between 2010 and 2014, but only in attempts once, which is mostly due to this. This can also be attributed to his four career instances of shooting 90.0% or higher from the foul line.
Russell Westbrook shot 80.0% from the free throw line and amassed the third-most free throws of the decade thanks to his tough and aggressive play. Along with Harden and Durant, Westbrook is another MVP and multiple-scoring champion who hit 4,336 free throws between 2010 and 2019. During the 2010s, he recorded 500 or more free throws three times, while never having led the NBA in makes.
2020s – Joel Embiid (2,302 FTM)
Now, let’s move on to the 2020s and the three players who have made the most free throws during the previous four or more seasons. Joel Embiid, a 7-footer with other offensive skills, has long been criticised for his pursuit of free throws, so no one will be startled to see him at the top for the time being. The current NBA MVP, Joel Embiid, led the league in made free throws once in 2021 and is now leading in 2023–2024. It has been a wise strategy for him, as he is presently on track to win his third consecutive scoring title. He has shot 83.9% from the free-throw line over the previous four years.
Another prominent player in the NBA today, Trae Young, has figured out several strategies to get his fair amount of work at the foul line. Young made 484 free throws in 2021, which led the NBA. In the two seasons that followed, he has made 500 or more. With 8.5 attempts per game since 2020, he is hitting 88.4% from the free throw line.
It is reasonable for opponents to want to send Giannis Antetokounmpo to the foul line. His subsequent difficulties are well known, going all the way back to his and the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship run. Since 2020, Giannis has led the NBA in attempts made from the foul line twice and is presently shooting 67.0% from there. He has only shot over 70.0% once.
