Last season, Louisville center Chinanu Onuaku found a rather strange way to combat his struggles at the free throw line when he adopted the “granny shot,” where you throw ball from between your legs, underhanded. It worked pretty well for him and it looks like he could be bringing his unique look to the NBA.
Onuaku was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft last month and he is already looking to make an impact for the team. Last Friday, he entered the team’s summer league game against the Atlanta Hawks and showed off his strange shot at the foul line and he doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
“I really don’t care what people think,” Onuaku said. “As long as I get a bucket, I’m fine.”
If you have never seen Onuaku’s unique shot, check it out below.
https://youtu.be/39cEPAgfAsQ
During his freshman season at Louisville, Chinanu Onuaku shot an awful 46.7 percent from the free throw line. Ahead of his sophomore season last year, he took inspiration from NBA great Rick Barry and adopted the shot, which helped him improve to nearly 60 percent at the line.
Louisville and Rockets teammate Montrezl Harrell talked about how Onuaku tunes out the other players who are likely making fun of him for shooting the way he does. He also talked about how it seemed to work pretty well for him and it is only going to get better for him.
“A lot of guys probably feel like coming out here in this NBA setting, ‘I’m not gonna shoot that. I’m scared of guys laughing at me,’” Harrell said. “But he went to the free throw line, he stuck to his free throw routine and he shot it. He shot his shot.”
It is pretty safe to say that Onuaku is ready to take to the NBA court this season and he will be taking his unique routine at the free throw line with him.
