NBA: 3 Players with highest free throw attempts in a single game

Free-Throws are considered to be the easiest way to score points in basketball. There is a reason for it because the free throws are attempted when the game stops and players have enough time to net them. The opposition does not put any pressure and only the one shooting can stop himself from making it.

Throughout the history of the NBA, we have seen some legendary players like Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal perform terribly from the free-throw line. The list of bad free throw shooters is traditionally filled with centres who dominate the league with their strength and height.

Because of their terrible free-throw shooting, fouling the opposition players' bad free throw shooter has become a norm in the NBA. This can heavily affect the momentum of the team and also the confidence of the shooter.

Let us look at the top three players who attempted the highest number of free throws in a single game in the NBA.

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#3 DeAndre Jordan - 34 attempts

DeAndre Jordan finished fifth-worst in free throw shooting last year

DeAndre Jordan is known for dominating the opponents in the paint and is a walking double-double. He is a 2-time consecutive rebounds leader (2014, 2015) and is widely acknowledged for his ability to catch lobs and jam them, apart from his defence.

Although Jordan plays beautifully inside the paint, the same cannot be said about his shooting skills from outside. Last season, he finished fifth worst in free throw shooting with 58 percent. However, this was way better than what he made in 2016-17 (48.0 percent).

During a regular season game in 2015 against the Portland Trail Blazers at home, the visitors used the Hack-A-Jordan strategy to intentionally foul Jordan and send him to the free throw line. He only netted 12 free throws after attempting 34 with a terrible free-throw shooting percentage of 35.3.

After all this, the Clippers still won the game, thanks to Jordan's 18 points and 24 rebounds. Even though he could not perform from the free throw line and the pressure was building, Jordan did not lose him calm and ensure the Clippers' win that night.

#2 Andre Drummond - 36 attempts

Andre Drummond is a terrible free-throw shooter

Andre Drummond is one of the most dominant players in the NBA. He is known for his insane rebounding ability and was the rebounding leader in 2016 and 2018. However, he is one of the worst, if not the worst shooter, be it from beyond the arc or from the free throw line.

Drummond shoots 15.8 percent from downtown and 42.4 percent from the free throw line. It is only understandable that he finds his name on this unpopular list.

In 2016, the Detroit Pistons were on the road to play against the Houston Rockets. He was fouled intentionally and visited the free-throw line 36 times and missed 23 of those attempts. Luckily for the Pistons, that did not stop them from winning this game by a very decent margin of 9 points. After the game, Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, "It didn't work."

#1 Dwight Howard - 39 attempts (2 times)

Dwight Howard holds the record for highest free throw attempts

This should not come as a surprise to anyone. It is Dwight Howard who holds the record for highest free throw attempts with 39. Also, it happened not once but twice. During the 2011-12 season, the Orlando Magic were up against the Golden State Warriors on the road.

Dwight, who is one of the worst free throw shooters in the history of the NBA had a forgettable game when the Warriors coach Mark Jackson had his players intentionally foul him very early in the first half.

This did not end there and got much worse in the second half and the Warriors used the Hack-A-Dwight to perfection in the second half. Howard went on to attempt 39 from the charity stripe breaking Chamberlain's record that has been in place for 50 years. After all this, the Magic still found a way to win the game.

The second time this happened was when Howard was with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2013. His former team, Orlando Magic fouled him intentionally and sent him to the free throw line 39 times. Irrespective of all this, Howard scored 39 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lift the Lakers over Magic.