The Granny Shot

Growing up in Bostonland in the 1970s, I was a rabid Celtics fan (still am—though a little less since Larry retired!). Lately, I’ve been watching Celtic City, the Max documentary on the history of the franchise. The early episodes spend a lot of time on Bill Russell, the man with eleven championships. Russell was a legendary talent and human being.

As singular as Russell was, much of his NBA story is wrapped up in his rivalry with Wilt Chamberlain. Despite Wilt’s physical dominance, he went 4–8 against Russell in the Finals. I wonder—how much of that was because of Wilt’s brutal free throw shooting?

Wilt was 7’1”, 275 pounds, and steamrolled most of his competition (yes, even Russell at times). But his one glaring weakness was at the stripe: career free throw percentage of 51%, and just 47% in the playoffs. Yikes. At one point, though, Wilt tried something different. Under the guidance of teammate Rick Barry—one of the best free throw shooters ever—he switched to the underhanded style. And it worked. In his legendary 100-point game, he went 28 for 32 from the line.

And then… he stopped. Went back to clanking them the usual way. Why? Because he felt shooting underhanded made him look like a “sissy.” Despite clear evidence that it helped him succeed, Wilt abandoned it to protect his image. Winning mattered. But looking “masculine” mattered more.

Interestingly, this exact dynamic was dramatized in Kate Hudson’s new series, Running Point. A struggling rookie can’t shoot free throws and adopts the underhanded technique to great success. Razzed by teammates, he ditches the unconventional—but effective—technique for the “safe,” ineffective one. Only when the team’s star makes the bold move to go underhanded in support of the rookie does he return to it. Sound familiar?

When I hear stories like this, I picture Yoda whispering, “The Force is strong with this one.” Except here, it’s not the Force—it’s the conditioning. The deeply ingrained beliefs about what’s “appropriate” for men and women. These norms create a fear of stepping outside the lines. Why? Because the approval—or disapproval—of others is an unbelievably powerful motivator.

I think this story highlights how silly it all is, doesn’t it? Wilt gave up a proven method that made him better because it didn’t look “masculine” enough. And the irony? Women don’t even shoot underhanded. If anything, it’s most associated with old folks—it’s literally called the “granny shot.”

Imagine how freeing it would be to shake off these rigid cultural gender models. Who knows—maybe Wilt would’ve beaten the Celtics more often if he’d stuck with it.

Then again… now that I think about it, I’m just fine with Wilt choosing clanging over courage.