Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry is averaging 28.1 PPG this season, which ranks 5th in the NBA. Doing so on just 5.0 free throw attempts per game, Curry is 28th in the NBA in this category.
To put this into perspective, the top-three players in points per game this season are also the top-three in free throw attempts per game. Luka Doncic leads the league in scoring, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is second, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is third. Antetokounmpo leads the league in free throw attempts per game, Doncic is second, and Gilgeous-Alexander is third.
This is not uncommon, nor is it indicative of those players being solely reliant on trips to the free throw line, but it does make Curry’s place on the points per game leaderboard that much more impressive.
When asked after Thursday night’s game vs. the Los Angeles Lakers about his lack of free throw attempts, Curry said he’s never been a foul baiter:
“I’ve never been a foul baiter or worried about selling calls,” Curry said. “I haven’t really obsessed over – I’ve made jokes like, ‘I got two free throws today.’ Let out a nice little yell, just being sarcastic, but mostly there’s been like two or three possessions in the last three games where you know that should’ve been a foul, then you get distracted by arguing with the ref. I’ve been trying to not even engage in that… You can’t control whether you get there or not.”
Curry shot just two free throws vs. the Lakers, but still finished with 32 points and a win.
