The "Granny" Free Throw: Barry’s Famous Oddity and 90% Touch
The underhand "granny" free throw is Barry's most visible tag. While everyone else fired one-handed from the shoulder, he cupped the ball with both hands and lofted it from below—the motion looked like holding a chamber pot, earning fans' "granny" jibe.
The form was ungainly but devastatingly effective. Barry's career free-throw rate was 90.6%, often leading the league, a freak among high-scoring forwards. He later begged young players to ignore looks and chase makes, yet almost nobody would surrender their pride to learn the style.
In a sense the "granny" shot was a microcosm of Barry's character: he never cared what others thought, only the result. That pragmatism ran through his whole career—from free throws to defensive reads, he was always the "effective first" school.
