When Dwight Howard first entered the league with the Orlando Magic, he was not a terrible free-throw shooter (67.1 percent). Now, it's pretty much a 50-50 shot when he steps to the line.
Perhaps that's because he has gotten away from a routine that used to put his mind at ease.
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com published a piece Thursday that examines free throws and the Hack-a-Shaq technique.
Howard was among the NBA players interviewed, and the eight-time All-Star admits that he lets what other people say get into his head.
"Free-throw shooting is all mental," Howard said, per Haberstroh. "In practice, I don't miss. In warm-ups, I don't miss. When I get into a game, I hear people say, 'He's going to miss,' and it gets inside my head."
There are different things athletes can do to block out all of the negative noise. For Howard, he has (or had) a special way to try to focus at the line:
In Orlando early in his career, Howard said he hired a personal sports psychologist who used to work with Tiger Woods. He has also tried singing songs in his head to keep his mind off the task.
"I used to ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Kyle Newport
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