If you’ve ever watched or played basketball before, then you’ve seen all kinds of free throw shots and warmups. Each player has an individual style that works for them that they’ve practiced over and over again.
One aspect of a free throw shot that a lot of people have questions on is jumping. Many NBA players are not seen jumping when taking their foul shots, which begs the question, is it legal to jump during a free throw shot?
Yes, it is legal to jump during a free throw shot. The NBA official rulebook contains all the league’s regulations and subsequent penalties for failure to abide by them. Specifically, Rule 9 outlines everything a player must do in order to take a legal free throw shot. This includes the following:
Shooter’s Free Throw Rules
- The shooter must take the free throw shot above the foul line and below the top half of the free throw circle
- The shot must be made within 10 seconds of the player receiving the ball from the referee
- The shooter may not cross the confines mentioned in the first bullet until the ball touches the rim, backboard, or the free throw ends (ex. If another player grabs it, or it airballs and hits the floor)
- The shooter may not intentionally fake the free throw shot attempt
So long that the shooter follows these guidelines above, then the free throw is considered legal.
Why Don’t NBA Players Jump During Free Throws?
The simple answer is that more variation causes less consistency, and jumping adds an unnecessary factor that players have to control when shooting. This may seem counterintuitive because basketball players jump almost all the time when taking a layup, mid-range, or a long-range shot. So why do they jump for these shots, but not free throws? They do this for a couple of reasons:
Why Players Jump When Taking Non-Free Throw Shots
- Jumping allows a player to put more power behind the ball, which is important when a lot of their energy is focused on getting around their opponents and dribbling the ball
- It gives them a better view of the basket as opposed to being on the ground, which is important when playing against opponents that are of equal or larger size.
- It gives players a little more time to assess the situation and subsequently prepare their shot
During a free throw, no players are blocking your line of sight to the basket, nor are they able to block / distract players in any way. Secondly, the players are given 10 seconds to prepare their free throw shot, allowing them to get in their preferred stance and even practice their form. Lastly, the free throw line is close enough to where almost any NBA player does not need to get extra power from jumping.
Free throws are the most isolated and least disrupted shot that you can get during a basketball game. The only factor that we can consider a distraction would be the crowd, but they are behind basket and can only yell and / or move their bodies.
Given this, players are solely focused on using their upper body to shoot and are leaving out anything that can cause inconsistency with their shots.