Will one-handed or underhand free throws ever catch on in the NBA?

Over the last month, San Antonio Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan hasturned heads by switching his free-throw approach. He abandoned histraditional form, opting to shoot one-handed instead.

Early in the season, Sochan was one of the worst free-throwshooters in the NBA, making just 45.8% of his attempts. Spurs headcoach Gregg Popovich and assistant Brett Brown pitched theone-handed idea to Sochan during a shootaround in late December,and he’s been shooting that way ever since.

Since making the switch on Dec. 19, Sochan has shot 77.2% fromthe line. And he’s clearly getting more comfortable shootingone-handed; over his last 16 games, he's shooting 83.3% from thecharity stripe.

Given how well this experiment has worked, could we see moreplayers try the one-handed approach going forward? It’s possible.When asked if he would recommend it to his peers, Sochan didn'thesitate.

“Yeah, why not? The thing is, if it’s working and it helps yourshot, why not do it?" Sochan told Basketball News. "When I starteddoing it, I feel like a lot of people were like, ‘Why are you doingthat?' or, ‘It looks weird.' Or, they’d ask, like, ‘How did you doit mentally?’ But I’m going to do anything [to improve] my game. Ifthat helps, I’m going to do it. And who cares if people laugh atyou? Who cares if there are critics who talk about it? It is whatit is at the end of the day. If it’s helping me, I’m going to doit.”

Jeremy Sochan is shooting one-handed freethrows after he has struggled at the line this season.Thoughts?pic.twitter.com/3cZyMBZm8K

Sochan deserves credit for being open-minded and trying this newapproach. Over the years, there are plenty of examples of playerswho have balked at the idea of adopting an unconventionalfree-throw routine out of fear of looking foolish.

For example, Rick Barry has offered to teach players his famousunderhand foul shot on numerous occasions, but nobody has beenwilling to take him up on it.

Over the course of Barry’s Hall-of-Fame career, the 12-timeAll-Star knocked down 5,713 free throws and shot 89.3% from theline. If you remove his ABA seasons and only count his NBA career,Barry shot 90.0% from the charity stripe. He’s known as one of theall-time great free-throw shooters, up there with Stephen Curry(90.9%), Steve Nash (90.4%) and Mark Price (90.4%).

While we have seen players tweak their shooting motion or switchfrom shooting left-handed to right-handed (like Tristan Thompson),players don't seem willing to try the underhand (or "granny style")shot.

“I told Rick Barry I’d rather shoot 0% than shoot underhand. I'mtoo cool for that,” Shaquille O’Neal famously said. In his biography,Shaq explained that his father told him “that’s a shot forsissies.”

Wilt Chamberlain, who famously struggled from the charitystripe, briefly switched to shooting underhand during the 1961-62season and saw his free-throw percentage jump from 50.4% to 61%.However, he abandoned the approach, explaining in his biographythat it made him "look silly" and "like a sissy." Over the final 11years of his NBA career, he shot 48.7% from the free-throwline.

Back in 2016, Rockets center Chinanu Onuaku used the underhandshot during his brief stint in Houston. After making the switch incollege, his free-throw percentage increased by 13% the followingseason. While his NBA career was short-lived (only appearing in sixgames), he never missed a free throw across his two seasons withHouston – shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.