Dallas Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo is one of the most tantalizing playmakers in the NBA because of his knack for making passes and ball fakes that make you question the laws of physics. But when he’s standing at the free throw line, he looks more like a deer caught in the headlights.
Rondo has a career 60.8% free throw percentage, an already-poor mark which has free-fallen this season to 31.3%. Now in Dallas, he is now working with Dirk Nowitzki’s longtime shooting coach, Holger Geschwindner, whom he hopes will help him solve what has so far been an unsolvable problem. But this might be a futile effort for the four-time All-Star, since history has shown that he hasn’t succeeded from the free throw line no matter what he has tried. Rondo’s Charity Stripe Club
Rondo is only one of 15 qualifying guards in league history with a career free throw percentage below 65%. To put Rondo’s troubles this year in perspective, only six guards in history have ever tried 75 free throws in a single season and made fewer than 50% of them (Rondo is on pace for about 80 attempts).
The most recent guard to struggle this much was Johnny High, who shot 46.3% from the line in the 1982-83 season for the Phoenix Suns. The worst shooting season on the list is by Alfred McGuire, who finished with a Shaq-like 43.6% for the New York Knicks in 1953-54. And yet Rondo will have to go some to even be this bad.
If Rondo does attempt 80 free throws this season, he’d need to shoot 16-of-19 in Dallas’s final 20 games to eclipse McGuire’s mark. It is therefore more likely than not that Rondo will finish the season with the worst free throw performance by a guard in NBA history. You’re Up Then You’re Down
Before this season, there was a fascinating trend occurring with Rajon Rondo’s free throws. Over the course of Rondo’s professional career, his percentage on his first attempt from the free throw line has been on a steady decline, but his second (or third) attempts were rapidly increasing.
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This type of differential is extremely unusual, considering that the average player is only about 5% better on their second attempt, according to a recent ESPN report. Rondo’s career differential is at 11.9%, and was over 20% during his two final full seasons with the Boston Celtics.
At the time these statistics were originally published on SB Nation’s CelticsBlog, it was speculated that Rondo simply needed the first attempt to warm up and get settled at the line, which is why he was so much more successful on subsequent attempts. Perhaps that was the case in the past. But all that has changed this season, as he is shooting just 20.7% on his second attempt. Rondo’s Madcap Modifications
Before looking at Rondo’s current season with Boston and Dallas, it’s important to glance at the historical changes he has made to both his free throw routine and form, which he revised virtually every season of his career going back to his college days at Kentucky.
Whether Rondo was walking up to the line, using a practice stroke, shifting his pace, or shaking his wrists, his form and routine were always changing. That is precisely the problem, since he has never given his routines enough time to etch into every fiber of his body to become natural. The problem is actually worse than that, however. The above is illuminating for changes in his free throw stroke from season to season, but Rondo has made several changes in his routine this season alone, explored below. Rondo’s Rollercoaster Routine
An Old-School Look: Opening Night to Nov 28 Rondo’s FT%: 32.1% (12 games, 9-of-28)
Rondo opened up the 2014-15 season by using a free throw stance with both feet on the line and ten toes pointed towards the rim. This is an “old school” method that most NBA players don’t use (even if they don’t realize it), but for the most part it only worked to keep Rondo’s elbow sticking out at an awkward angle.
While utilizing this stance in a tight game in late November against the Chicago Bulls, Rondo clanked two free throws off the side of the rim that would have given Boston the lead. After the game, Celtics fans and media members began to question him about why he was struggling so much.
“I’ve been looking at [the misses],” Rondo told the media. “I’m holding my follow-through, and a lot of my misses are the same, so I’ll get in the gym again tonight and continue to work.”
One Final Celtics Hurrah: Nov 30 to Dec 17 Rondo’s FT%: 37.5% (10 games, 3-of-8)
Rondo came back the next game with a slightly revised stance. Even though it was something that the majority of fans wouldn’t notice, by shifting his left foot back a few inches he made a positive change.
This subtle change was done to help keep his elbow aligned with his right hip. A shooter should always keep their “elbow in” as a means of shooting straight, which has been problematic for Rondo throughout his career. Here is a side-by-side image detailing the change:
But Rondo has never undergone more drastic changes to his free throw stance than he has in his short time with the Dallas Mavericks.
New City, New Stance, Same Old Results: Pre All-Star Break Rondo’s FT%: 26.3% (21 games, 5-of-19)
Rondo unveiled a brand new form the first chance he got with the Mavs, one that was unlike anything he had ever tried before.
Immediately upon arriving in Dallas, Rondo shifted his complete stance back a few inches from the free throw line, and turned his left hip away from the rim. To further illustrate just how different this is, here is his Rondo’s stance from the first month of the season compared to how it looked with Dallas: