IStock Photo 7680177 © garymilner

Everyone should love free throws; who doesn't love free stuff? There's nothing more gratifying than chowing down on free food, nothing more harmonious than free music—and yet nothing more frustrating than free throws in basketball.

In most contact sports, there are few opportunities to score or advance the ball without facing some type of physical resistance. But should a defender, in basketball, strike you in a way deemed inappropriate by a whistle-adorned intermediary, you may be in a situation to score with nobody running at you. Simply stand 15 feet away from the hoop, with your peers and foes standing motionless, and throw the ball in the air.

What a gift! And what a curse.

Most NBA professionals can sink these freebies with regularity. But not all. During the 2008-09 season, players had a 1 in 1.3 (77%) chance of draining it for a single point. And not to stereotype the different positions (also known as being “size-ist”), but the smaller a player is—and hence farther away from the basket—the more he tends to capitalize on the things in life that are free:

• Point guards made 1 in 1.25 free throws (80%).
• Shooting guards made 1 in 1.26 free throws (79.36%).
• Small forwards made 1 in 1.32 free throws (75.76%).
• Power forwards made 1 in 1.38 free throws (72.46%).
• Centers made 1 in 1.5 free throws (66.67%).

Which brings us to Shaquille O'Neal. The future Hall of Fame center is one of the worst free throw shooters of not only his generation, but also your father's (Wilt Chamberlain has a slightly worse career foul shot percentage). Ben Wallace and Reggie Evans are other contemporary big men who have trouble converting these free points, but the most notorious offender is Andris Biedriņš of the Golden State Warriors. Through March 23, the 6-foot-11-inch Latvian center had made 4 of 25 attempts this year (16 percent), which will be the single worst season in the NBA if, as expected, he doesn't return to action this season after abdominal surgery. The numbers don't do it justice—you really need to see him actually shooting.

A seven-foot basketball player can post up, box out, and utterly dominate the game. Most of his points come via bullying his huge body through single defenders and double teams. This may explain why the experience of watching missed free throws is so cathartic, and why we might even root for these players to never perfect their shot.

Any layman might be able to convert 50 percent of his free throws. NBA forwards and guards are bigger, faster, and can actually dunk, but it's entirely possible that when it comes to free throws—a vital facet of basketball, one that can win or lose a game—you might actually be better at it than that 300-pound multimillionaire.