Teams are shooting historically well on FTs vs. Wizards originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
There is a bit of an odd statistical trend maligning the Wizards at the moment and one they may not have a whole lot of control over.
Through two months of the 2022-23 season, teams are shooting the best free throw percentage in NBA history against the Wizards. Washington opponents are knocking down 81.6% of their free throws, the highest clip of all-time against any team in a single season.
Free throws, of course, are not plays that you can defend. That’s why they are called free. The crowd can do their part by making noise, sometimes aided by free sandwich giveaways, but ultimately it’s a controlled environment where an NBA player has 10 seconds to shoot from 15 feet.
Now, here’s where it gets really weird for the Wizards. Last season, they set an NBA record for opponent free throw percentage at 80.7. So, this is now two years in a row which, on one hand, would suggest it isn’t a coincidence, that there are some reasons why.
One of them would be simply that the NBA is getting better at shooting free throws. This season, the league average free throw percentage is 78.1, the highest in NBA history. The last four seasons have produced the four highest free throw percentages the league has ever seen.
While the Wizards had the highest opponent free throw percentage ever last season, there are four teams seeing higher percentages this year, with Washington being one of them. The Pacers (81.2%), Kings (81.2%) and Raptors (80.8%) are all essentially in the same boat. The Hawks (80.7%) and Suns (80.5%) are not far behind.
Basically, it is a yearslong trend in the NBA and the Wizards happen to be on the worst end of it. As for why that is the case, it’s hard to tell.
They don’t foul a lot compared to other teams, which keeps the sample size smaller than their peers. The Wizards are 10th in the NBA in fouls per game (19.9) and 12th in limiting free throws (23.0/g).
Maybe they are fouling the wrong players. Nets star Kevin Durant, for instance, is a perfect 22-of-22 from the line against the Wizards this season through three games. He shoots 92.2% on free throws, but then again the Wizards have not fouled him any more than he averages on the year (7.4/g).
Jaylen Brown of the Celtics is 14-for-14 against the Wizards, while his teammate Malcolm Brogdon is 12-for-12. Anthony Davis of the Lakers is 9-for-9 and so is Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers. There are also a bunch of players who have only missed a free throw or two across several games playing against Washington.
The Wizards’ home crowd is not to blame for it. Opponents against the Wizards shoot 79.5% on free throws at Capital One Arena, lower than their season average and the sixth-highest in the league for a team’s home games. Conversely, the Wizards are seeing opponents shoot the highest free throw percentage in road arenas this season (83.9).
The breakdown by quarters doesn’t offer any conclusions, either. Teams shoot above 80% against the Wizards in each frame.
There doesn’t seem to be an obvious rhyme or reason to it, but the Wizards are being affected by the disparity. They have struggled to generate their own free throws this season, ranking in the bottom third of the NBA in free throws made (17.0/g, 25th), attempts (22.4/g, 21st) and percentage (75.9, 23rd).
Perhaps the best thing the Wizards can do moving forward is not foul players who shoot high percentages from the line. Other than that, maybe a diversion of some sort would do the trick.
Basketball Reference’s Stathead was used for this research.
