1.Monday night, the New York Knicks' J.R. Smith airballed a free throw. Airballing a free throw is basically the basketball equivalent of stepping on a rake and hitting yourself in the face.
This is a dude who's shooting 79% from the stripe this season. He is not used to airballing free throws.
Coach Mike Woodson does not want to see J.R. Smith airballing free throws.
THIS GUY does not want to see Gus Johnson airballing free throws. (This guy!)
Carmelo Anthony thought it was HILARIOUS.
2.But worry not, J.R. — other basketball players have airballed free throws before you. Like DeAndre Jordan!
Oh, DeAndre. BACK...AND TO THE LEFT. BACK...AND TO THE LEFT.
3.Jordan's teammate Blake Griffin once airballed two free throws in a row, because he is an All-Star. Or maybe that's correlation, not casuation. What do I look like, a scientist?
4.There's the second one. Great form. Good form. I like his form.
5.Emeka Okafor also once airballed two free throws in a row.
6.Even though he no longer played for the Charlotte Bobcats at the time, we can almost certainly attribute these two airballs to his having once played for the Charlotte Bobcats.
7.Speaking of which! Here's a real-life Charlotte Bobcat, DeSagana Diop, airballing a free throw.
8.Dwight Howard loves airballing free throws. Here's one he airballed in crunch time against the Heat.
9.And here's another, against the Nets.
Dwight Howard thinks airballing free throws are funny, because Dwight Howard is the human equivalent of a knock-knock joke.
10.Rajon Rondo once airballed a free throw. Fun fact: this is actually the only time in his career the foul-averse Rondo has actually made it to the line. (Not a fact.)
11.Sometimes, players airball free throws AGAINST the Celtics, too! (See what I did there?) Here's Reggie Evans, who is distracted by Brian Scalabrine, happily airballing a free throw.
12.The true comfort, though, comes in the fact that even the greatest basketball player in the world airballs free throws.
13.Just a reminder that the LeBron times in Cleveland weren't all fun and games.
