With Clint Capela on the shelf, Houston Rockets rookie Chinanu Onuaku has been called up from the D-League to contribute. And he has brought the underhand free throw back to the NBA. Via the Score:
Onuaku started shooting that way at Louisville in college, and it brought him success. This feature from the Sporting News talked about the success he has had with it and the resistance that the form still faces, despite a sustained track record of success.
It has been working, to a degree, for Onuaku in the D-League as well.
Rockets' rookie Chinanu Onuaku shooting 67.4% on underhand FTs (all in the D-League btw) https://t.co/fA31A7gsYJ
— Chris Reichert (@Chris_Reichert) December 27, 2016
Onuaku's willingness to turn to this type of device to try and improve his form is admirable in its own right. If players like DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard got over themselves for how they look and tried this, it might actually improve their percentage, give them more points, and improve their teams. Pride about aesthetics in a professional setting is overrated.
Good on the rook, and hey, he made both.