Warriors hit abhorrent five-year low that belies otherwise strong start

Despite ranking dead last in free throw percentage, the Golden State Warriors had moved to a 10-2 record through 12 games ahead of Monday's meeting with the L.A. Clippers at Intuit Dome.

But the Warriors poor free throw shooting finally caught up with them against the Clippers, going 9-of-19 in a game they lost 102-99. In contrast the Clippers went 16-of-18 from the line, making seven more despite one less attempt.

The Warriors have hit an NBA five-year low with their free throw shooting

Golden State have now dropped below 70% from the charity stripe this season, with Monday's game widening the gap between themselves and the 29th-ranked Milwaukee Bucks to nearly 2%. The Warriors are nearly 13% worse from the line than the top-ranked Sacramento Kings, while the reigning champion Boston Celtics are second.

Golden State aren't just the worst free throw shooting team in the league though. Their 69.7% is worse than any team currently in the last five years -- you'd have to go back to the 2019-20 season where the New York Knicks shot 69.4% at the line.

A lot has happened since then. That was the season the Warriors were ravaged by injury and finished with a league-worst 15-50 record. They've won another championship since and have a pair of eliminations in the Play-In Tournament.

Only two teams in the previous eight seasons have shot worse from the free throw line than Golden State are currently. Talking after Monday's game, Steve Kerr mentioned it as an issue but not one that he and the coaching staff really emphasize.

"Our free throws obviously hurt us but as a coach we don't really focus on that. We focus on turnovers in the first-half," Kerr said while conceding his players need to work on it. "Our guys got to get in the gym, get in a rhythm, get their confidence from the line for sure.” (via Anthony Slater)

So, can the Warriors actually turn around their free throw shooting woes? The answer is yes but perhaps not as quickly as fans would like. It's Golden State's young players that are the obvious culprits right now, with the trio of Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis going 2-of-9 from the line against the Clippers.

Kuminga averages the equal-most free throw attempts on the team, yet is at just 60.7% after being at 74.6% last season. Podziemski is at exactly 60%, though his free throw shooting was also an issue during his rookie year where he shot 63%. The same can be said for Jackson-Davis who is at 54.5% after being at 56.1% last season.

It's fair to assume young players will improve and that trio will each increase their free throw percentages, but at the same time that simply hasn't been the case from last season to the first 13 games of this one.

Aside from Stephen Curry (the greatest free throw shooter of all-time), Buddy Hield and Lindy Waters III -- the latter two of which barely get to the line -- the Warriors have a roster of very average free throw shooters. While the team should rise back above that 70%, don't be surprised if they're still towards the bottom of the league in free throw percentage by the completion of the season.