Oklahoma City Thunder enforcer Steven Adams has a theory as to why Dwight Howard is so poor at the free throw line: it’s the Stickum.
Howard was caught using Stickum during Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, and when asked about it Monday, Adams couldn’t help himself.
Steven Adams on Dwight Howard stick-em: "Maybe that's why he misses free throws, mate." pic.twitter.com/5x2Y91PtuJ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 21, 2016
“Maybe that’s why he misses free throws, mate,” Adam said thoughtfully, before appearing to try to make a serious point. “I find it really hard to shoot – really grippy stuff, it just sticks to your hands. And I suck, really.
“I don’t know. I might try it out.”
What if Adams really is onto something? By his own admission, Howard has been using Stickum for about five years. That would mean somewhere around 2011. Howard wasn’t a good free throw shooter ever, but after consistently shooting around 59 percent every year through the 2010-11 season, his percentage dropped noticeably to 49 percent in 2011-12 and has never recovered, a marked difference. Maybe Adams – and the NBA coach who was being snarky as quoted here – is onto something…or maybe it’s just a silly coincidence. Hey, we can pretend.
