Knicks' Mitchell Robinson is Making Brutal Free Throw History

Even with his well-documented struggles at the free-throw line, Mitchell Robinson is shooting his way to historic levels of ineptitude. The New York Knicks big man made two of his foul shots against the Toronto Raptors, which actually upped his percentage on the season by 2.4%. It’s gotten so bad that the always polite Mike Breen even voiced his displeasure.

“There’s zero arc on his shot. It has no chance to go in. I just wonder what the Knicks shooting coach is telling him,” the forever voice of the Knicks quipped during the NBA Cup quarterfinal against Toronto.

Robinson Making Awful History

The lowest single-season free-throw percentage in league history was set by Ben Wallace in 2001, when he shot 33.6% from the charity stripe. The Hall of Fame center also owns the lowest career free-throw percentage in NBA history at 41.4%. Robinson has made 5 of his 21 attempts this season, good for a paltry 20%.

Since Robinson shot 60% during his rookie campaign, his free-throw percentage has declined every year, except for last year when he connected on 13 of just 19 attempts (68%) after missing 65 games. During his career, the eight-year veteran has made 383 of 749 (51%) free-throws.

With the help of his trainer Marcell Scott in Louisianna this summer, Robinson reworked his free throw form and routine. To simplify things, the 27-year-old cut from three dribbles to one and shifted his stance to the right with consideration that his shots typically veer left.

“Feel like it helps — when you take three [dribbles], you got more time to think about it, as opposed to one, then load up, and go right into it,” Robinson told Stefan Bondy of the NY Post during the pre-season. “It’s kind of easier than just going 1, 2, 3."

Nov 14, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) warms up before a game against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Prior to the 2016-17 season, the NBA took measures to help deter the “Hack-a-Shaq” strategy by banning intentional fouling in the final two minutes of all quarters. But that didn’t stop opposing coaches during the playoffs last spring to intentionally foul Robinson off the court. The Madison Square Garden faithful tried encouraging the longest tenured Knick with loud cheers, but he converted on 18 of 55 (32.7%) tries.

Robinson Grows NBA Tradition of Big Men

When Robinson is on the court, he’s a difference maker. The seven-foot center brings rim protection, is agile enough to switch onto wings during pick-and-rolls and has become one of the league’s great offensive rebounding forces. But the woeful free-throw returns are keeping him on the bench during crunch time.

Big men are traditionally below average free throw shooters as it’s not a necessity for them to develop any kind of shooting form to begin with. Big men also generally have bigger hands, so the ball is relatively smaller for them and it’s harder to be precise.

DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Russell and Dwight Howard are all among the top eight worst free-throw shooters all-time with career percentages below 60%.

Centers tend to focus on their post abilities, rebounding and defense more than shooting mechanics. Many big men grow up with significant physical advantages in high school and college so they are programmed to stay in the paint and never develop a good shooting form or the muscle memory needed to shoot free throws.

Journeyman center Mason Plumlee, who is right-handed, began shooting free-throws lefty a few years back and found more success. In recent times, no player has been willing to take a page from Rick Barry’s playbook and shoot granny style. The Hall of Famer who made shooting free-throws underhanded famous even offered to help Robinson during the height of his struggles against Boston in the spring.

Not all big men are bad free throw shooters. Yao Ming shot 83%. Patrick Ewing connected on 74% of his tries. Chris Bosh shot 80%. Heck, Robinson’s seven-foot teammate, Karl-Anthony Towns, is at 84% from the line for his career. Meanwhile, European bigs such as Nikola Jokic, Dirk Nowitzki, Arvydas Sabonis and the Gasol brothers are all north of 75% for their careers.

Free throw shooting is the only isolated play in the sport where you’re standing in front of a packed arena with everyone watching you shoot what should be a freebee. There's no defender and no clock. Yet a surprising amount of pressure.

Free throw struggles can be a mental battle and Robinson is losing that battle at a historic rate.

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