When it comes to getting to the free-throw line, Philadelphia 76ers superstar James Harden is probably the player most basketball fans would associate with it first. But it might surprise a lot of folks to know that Miami Heat do-it-all guard Jimmy Butler actually sports a higher free-throw rate in his time so far in South Beach than in any season of Harden in the NBA, as pointed out by Reddit user FermatsLastAccount.
Since being traded to the Heat from the Sixers, Jimmy Butler has recorded a 60.8 percent free-throw rate. Harden, on the other hand, had a career-high of 59.2 percent rate in terms of getting to the foul line back in the 2012-13 season when was still the alpha for the Houston Rockets. Harden, however, has his offensive bag predicated much more on taking 3-pointers than Butler, who isn't as 3-point dependent as the other guards in the NBA. Harden has a 46 percent 3-point attempt rate in his career, while Butler only has a 19.3 percent 3-point attempt rate. That wide gap is a great explanation for the difference in free-throw rates between Jimmy Butler and James Harden.
In the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Jimmy Butler continues to use the free-throw line as a weapon. In Game 6 of the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, Butler's free throws nearly clinched the win for the Heat, as he drilled all three of his attempts from the charity stripe in the clutch to give Miami a one-point lead before Derrick Williams performed a miracle on the other side of the floor.
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