The Golden State Warriors have made an impressive 6-1 start to the 2024-25 NBA season, but the franchise still has some key areas for improvement following the first seven games.
The Warriors have far exceeded expectations in many aspects, currently ranking second in defense, fourth in offense and first in overall net rating despite some injury concerns over recent games.
Free throw shooting is becoming a concern for the Warriors
Golden State are seventh in field-goal percentage and fourth in three-point percentage so far, yet the same can't be said for their dismal free throw shooting. The Warriors currently rank dead last in free throw percentage, having made just 71.4% of their shots from the charity stripe.
Eight teams are above 80% in free throw shooting, led by the Sacramento Kings at 83.5%. Golden State weren't a great free throw shooting team last season either, though their 78% (ranked 17th) was far more palatable than it is currently.
There is an important bit of context here though. Superstar guard Stephen Curry -- the greatest free throw shooter in the history of the game -- has missed three of the seven games, and is currently averaging just 25.8 minutes. As a result the 2x MVP is averaging just four free-throw attempts so far, the least of any season since his fourth year in 2012-13.
Once Curry returns to full fitness, you can expect him to take a larger portion of Golden State's free throw attempts, and therefore the team's free throw percentage should rise. However, that won't completely fix the issue.
The Warriors have lost an elite free throw shooter in each of the last two years -- Jordan Poole in the June 2023 trade with the Washington Wizards, and Klay Thompson who departed for the Dallas Mavericks this July.
Outside Curry and in-form guard Buddy Hield (currently 85.7% on free throws this season), Golden State have a team of shaky shooters from the line. No one is deplorable to the point where an opposing coach is likely to try the hack-a-shaq tactic, but nor do they inspire much confidence when they head to the line.
Andrew Wiggins is currently shooting 73.7% from the line, while Draymond Green, Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis are each making two of every three free throws. Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney and Kyle Anderson are each between 60-66%, with Brandin Podziemski and De'Anthony Melton both at 50%.
Poor free throw shooting nearly cost the Warriors in Saturday's overtime win against the Houston Rockets, having missed 18 attempts including quite a few late in regulation. They also missed eight (14-of-22) in their only loss of the season against the L.A Clippers in their home opener.
The one positive is that Golden State are 13th in free throw attempts, up from 27th last season. While that is a genuine reason for optimism, the Warriors need to start taking advantage before it does come back to truly cost them.