Why was the league average in FT% from 1994-1999 the worst ever since the merger?

[1987_Lakers]

Pretty random, but just found this stat odd. In that 6 season span from '94-'99 the league average FT% was under 74%, worse than any other decade in NBA history excluding the 60's.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_stats_per_game.html

[TheCorporation]

Meanwhile
2017
2018
2019

are all in the top 6 all time :lol

The low skilled era of the 90s strikes again

[1987_Lakers]

Also interesting how offensive rebounding numbers have declined since the 80's. 30-33 ORB% in the 80's-90's, to under 25 ORB% today, that stat has declined little by little every year. Has to be coaches emphasizing players to forget the offensive rebound and just run back on D to prevent a fast break basket.

[TheCorporation]

Also interesting how offensive rebounding numbers have declined since the 80's. 30-33 ORB% in the 80's-90's, to under 25 ORB% today, that stat has declined little by little every year. Has to be coaches emphasizing players to forget the offensive rebound and just run back on D to prevent a fast break basket.

Increased athleticism and better passing will keep the defense more honest no doubt :cheers:

[FreezingTsmoove]

Shaq

[TheCorporation]

Shaq
:lol :lol

[NBAGOAT]

I kind of hope oreb comes back. The main way we could see some teams be successful without trotting out like 4 floor spacers. Most coaches believe in going back in transition but it’s not definitive in the analytics community that the offense you get from crashing the boards isn’t worth the defense you give up

[Im so nba'd out]

OP i dont know, but from 1994-1999 im not counting any of those rings anymore.

so anyone who won rings during that time are officially stripped of all championship titles.


Official New Rule

[Uncle Drew]

OP i dont know, but from 1994-1999 im not counting any of those rings anymore.

so anyone who won rings during that time are officially stripped of all championship titles.


Official New Rule
Why just stripped of the championships though? It seems a lot more appropriate to just completely wipe these guys off the history books. The NBA now officially exists for 68 years.

[ArbitraryWater]

Least Talent

[sbw19]

Two main factors. Lots of scoring big men, and not necessarily because their FT% wasn't comfortably higher or equal to league averages like perimeter scorers traditionally are either. Teams had to have lots of garbage bigmen to guard them who weren't good FT shooters either, compounding the effect.

The other factor was the expansion of the league at the same time. No explanation needed here.

[Trollsmasher]

weakest era

[Gileraracer]

Lebron shot 8% below that "weak era" average last year :roll:

[iamgine]

Pretty random, but just found this stat odd. In that 6 season span from '94-'99 the league average FT% was under 74%, worse than any other decade in NBA history excluding the 60's.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_stats_per_game.html
Comparing '92-'93 to '93-'94, it seems the FT shooting in '94 has gone downhill for a lot of high FTA players compared to those who increased their FT%.

Mutombo's FT% gone down by -10%
Barkley's by -6%
Manning..by -13%
Hakeem..by -6%
Malone..by -5%
Gilliam..by -8%
Harper..by -5%
Shaq..by -4% while attempting much more
etc.

Not to mention the introduction of high FTA low FT% guys like Chris Webber and Vin Baker in '93-'94.

Not sure why so many of the same players got significantly lower FT% in '94 than the season before though.

[Nikola_]

THere is an urban legend that NBA strecthed FT line for couple of inches to compensate for 3PT line

[FKAri]

THere is an urban legend that NBA strecthed FT line for couple of inches to compensate for 3PT line
This must be why Nick van Exel took his free throws from 18'

[FromDowntown]

Players like Steph Curry, James Harden and Kawhi are bringing the average up in recent years

[paksat]

meanwhile the league average for 3pt % was 35% in 1991 while it was what? 37% for this past season? with that being the ONLY shot anyone practices

yah, so much for that "more skilled" bs lie

[LAmbruh]

http://www.dynamicscience.com.au/tester/solutions1/chemistry/dilution/dilutionnew.gif

[FromDowntown]

http://www.dynamicscience.com.au/tester/solutions1/chemistry/dilution/dilutionnew.gif

That looks very diluted. Almost watered down if I do say so myself :confusedshrug:

[Showtime80']

LOL 87' this is really the sorriest attempt to demean an era!!! For context, here are FT shooting percentages for entire two decades:

FT% in the 90's=

75%

FT% in the 10's=

76%

WOOOOOWWWWW!!! A league with softer rules to enhance EVERY OFFENSIVE metric there is known to man and make perimeter players usage rates the highest they have EVER BEEN (they are historically better FT shooters than big men to boot) and supposedly the greatest "shooting" skills ever can only muster up 1 PERCENTAGE POINT more than the "unskilled" 90's?!?!?! HAHA.

Want to check out these categories from 1991 to 1993 (All Bulls titles), the REAL GOLDEN age of the NBA where they ARE ABOVE the current league in multiple areas while playing at a slower pace and NO ARTIFICAL SOFT offensive player friendly rules to generate more offense:

FG%
FTA (big advantage for 90's)
Offensive Rbs (big advantage for 90's)
Steals
Blocks
Assists

Basically the league had to create the eFG% stat to reward the modern day snooze fest monotonous uncreative 3 point chucking that has become the norm and even after all the advantages current offensive players have and 85% of 3 pointers being OPEN they can still only muster up a paltry 36% from deep!!!

The present league is WWE levels of joke, that's why past players and fans that watched the league before 2000 give NO RESPECT to the current incarnation.

[1987_Lakers]

meanwhile the league average for 3pt % was 35% in 1991

Do you even bother providing real stats? It was 32% in 1991.

2000 was the first year where the league average went up to 35%. (I'm not including averages for the short 3 point seasons)

[Showtime80']

League shot 34% from 3 in 1993, 2% points below the current league where they only practice 3's and layups and have the most offensive friendly rules EVER in existence.

[guy]

Also interesting how offensive rebounding numbers have declined since the 80's. 30-33 ORB% in the 80's-90's, to under 25 ORB% today, that stat has declined little by little every year. Has to be coaches emphasizing players to forget the offensive rebound and just run back on D to prevent a fast break basket.

Doubt that. Probably has more to do with offensive players being further away from the basket and more space from the defense so not as much contention from them for a defensive rebounder.

[Showtime80']

Thanks for the simple logic guy, who would've thought 5-out small ball offensive setups would yield lower offensive rebounds, right 87'?

Serious question for 87', do you not see how the NBA manipulated all of this offensive BS virtually panicking after the 2003 and 2004 seasons where the Finals had the lowest scoring and TV viewers in history?

The Spurs and Pistons won titles scoring in the low 90's basing their systems on team defense while individual marque PERIMETER offensive players like Kobe, Carter, McGrady, Iverson, Nash, Nowitzky, Webber, Allen, Francis and Davis to name a few were left in the dust?!?!

The NBA made sure it came up with this BS for the 2005 season:

"New rules were introduced to curtail hand-checking, clarify blocking fouls and call defensive three seconds to open up the game"

Unknowingly the NBA KILLED OFFENSIVE VARIETY with that rule alteration thus ensuring that perimeter offense would be the end all be all going forward and clearing the path for the 3 chuck-fest you see today.

Vince McMahon should be the NBA commissioner, not dildo head pushover David Silver!

[scuzzy]

crazy, and this was during the era they used a WNBA three point line

[1987_Lakers]

The funny part is, I made this thread because I was legitimately interested/curious about the low ft% in the mid-late 90's. The MJ and 90's stans get all defensive and triggered.

[90sgoat]

Because centers got way more FTs as percentage of total free throws.

Wing players get waaaaay more free throws today, in absolute numbers and relative to all total free throws.

Pretty simple stuff really.

[TheCorporation]

crazy, and this was during the era they used a WNBA three point line

:lol lol


Them 90s boys were shooting 3s at modern freethrow distance

TheJordanEra

:lol