KD’s potentially historic season at the free throw line

Royce beat me to it though with a tweet. Drat!

@Chas
haha cause kd is soo bad he is only going to be the youngest scoring champ, most free throws at over 88%

@andrew
I havn't found what he said now but listen to this from before the draft: http://www.blingcheese.com/video-83/kevin+durant.htm
Good for a laugh.

@DSMok1
thats true. i guess im just trying to make KD look even better by eliminating as many other people as possible

f5alcon :@DSMok1

why use p36 numbers? still not pace adjusted

'cuz they don't have pace adjusted numbers in the BB-Ref season finder (probably because they don't have pace numbers for before about 1980).

Those poor basterds...

The Lakers, that is. Have you seen what Durant does when someone challenges him?

@f5alcon

Possibly to adjust for minutes played, some guys (Oscar for example) played 43+ minutes a game routinely in the 60's..

@DSMok1
why use p36 numbers? still not pace adjusted

@Anonymous
Cowherd is an idiot. Obviously he must know better than the countless players/analysts who love KD. Or all the stat guys who numbers agree with what everyone else believes- he's a beast. Whether it be Hollinger's PER or the adjusted +/- stuff. So basically, only Cowherd knows the the truth that KD is mediocre. Whatever.
Love Kevin's response though.

"I'll start with one that's 50 percent correct. During the preseason I said that the Thunder would miss the playoffs this year but would make it next year. Obviously the Thunder will be in the playoffs this year, but seriously, no one outside of Oklahoma City was saying anything positive about the team before the season began. Just think if they acquire a legit big man in the offseason to play in the middle. This is a very young team who may not realize its potential for three to four more years. If I had to pick a team for next year to have a turnaround like the Thunder, I'd probably go with the Sacramento Kings."

http://www.rotowire.com/basketball/features/minutes.htm (probably members only)

sorry, i mean "had sex with 25,000 women"

wilt chamberlain hit 25,000 free throws one season

Notice how they're all Hall of Famers?

This sums it up: players that EVER averaged over 8 FT/36min and 85% FT over a season:

Jerry West (Twice)
Michael Jordan
Adrian Dantley
Oscar Robertson
Rick Barry
Dolph Schayes

AND Kevin Durant this season.

Short list!

Here's the link to that: http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=10L5f

I was wondering that too. If it's Oklahoma and it's Cowherd then there's no telling what kind of smack he was saying.

Anyone know what Cowherd was running his mouth about today that dealt with KD?
KevinDurant35
Im a work in progress Mr.Cowherd...thanks for your criticsm! Ima continue to work my hardest to get better! Believe that

@Boots

840 by Jerry West. The game was much faster in the 60's though. The modern record is Michael Jordan 1986-1987, but the league was also faster then too..

We're about league average pace right now. A quick (rough.. so take it with a grain of salt) adjustment for 1986-1987 pace, and KD would average about 9.69 FTM a game, or ~794 for the season. Still less than Michael Jordan that year (833), but it shows you how frequently he's getting to the line..

@Boots

840 on 977 attempts, 2nd is 835 on 1366 attempts. even to get 977 attempts Kd would have to attempt 2 more per game, thats tough, even for KD, unless he gets lots of superstar calls, so its probably an unbreakable record, shaq is the only active player with more then 900 attempts in a season, dwight howard and shaq the only ones with more then 850. For KD to break the record shooting his current percentage he would need to have 940 FTA

A fantasy league I am in has a counting category of FTs made and FT%. Let me just say I am way ahead of everyone else (KD + Maggette + K. Mart...I have over 500 more FTs than 2nd place and 81% FT avg). I was well aware of the ridiculous number of free throws he has been making this year, but did not know it could be historic.

What is the record for FTs made in a year?

nobody has ever made more then 700 FT with less then 843 attempts. Durant could do it with under 800 attempts. No active player has made 700 FTs in a season, kobe has the most at 696 on 819 attempts.

At the very least, he'll probably have the highest percentage ever for someone who made 700 free throws in a season. The list of those guys is very short too.. especially since the merger when the game slowed down. Nobody's made 700 free throws in a season since 1989.

KD's unique in a lot of ways but the frequency he gets to the line and the frequency he makes them is nuts.

Daaaaaaaaaaaang.