The Los Angeles Lakers and the charity line remain one of the most controversial relationships. For years, rival fans and analysts have pointed out this discrepancy as proof of favorable officiating and called foul calls the “Laker whistle,” given how often they’re blown in the purple and gold’s favor.
Fast forward to 2025-26, and these rumors still persist. However, head coach JJ Redick isn’t buying the narrative.
JJ Redick Defends the Lakers Amid Free Throw Scrutiny
LeBron James in 2024 told ESPN, “A lot of people, a lot of coaches, a lot of teams are like, ‘That’s all the Lakers do is get to the free throw line…It’s like this narrative…We have attackers. Yeah, we shoot the ball from the perimeter, but we’re not shooting 40 to 50 3s a game. We’re not that team. We don’t have the luxury of being that team. So, working it into the paint, that’s what we’re really good at.”
Following the scrutiny over the team’s high volume of trips to the stripe, Redick addressed the issue head-on, shifting the focus from the referees to the aggressive playstyle of their opponents.
After the Lakers’ dominant 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, Redick argued that the “high volume of free throws” stems from opponents’ desperate defense rather than any favoritism from officials, continuing the team’s pushback against the narrative.
“You know, people say ‘Lakers shoot a lot of FTs,’ that’s how teams guard us. They foul on every possession. That’s another team that fouls every possession,” said Redick.
He continued, “So you have to factor that in. You are tired and cranky, and you gotta play through stuff. I thought our guys managed it, and from the field goal percentage standpoint, we were over 50% for nearly the whole game. We just didn’t get a lot of threes up and didn’t make a lot of threes. And then we made five of our last seven, which really opened things up for us.”
JJ Redick on the narrative that the Lakers shoot a lot of Free Throws:
“You know, people say ‘Lakers shoot a lot of FTs’ that’s how teams guard us. They foul on every possession. That’s another team that fouls every possession” pic.twitter.com/wkuwRA60zP
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 28, 2026
Redick’s defense highlights the Lakers’ physical drivers and elite post threats, making them one of the most difficult teams to guard legally. This season, the Lakers have attempted an average of 26.0 free throws per game, converting 20.6 at a 76.5% efficiency.
Understanding the Lakers’ Free Throw Differential
The heart of the controversy lies in the differential, the gap between how many free throws a team takes versus how many they give up. The Lakers have attempted a total of 1,990 free throws, while their opponents have only 1,579 attempts against them.
Rival fans view this substantial +411 free-throw differential as evidence of biased officiating. The Lakers rank among the bottom five in the NBA for personal fouls per game, averaging 18.7 in 74 games.
Luka Doncic picked up a double technical in the Lakers’ latest match against the Nets, marking his 16th tech call of this season. Doncic will face a one-game suspension as per NBA rules.
The Lakers are currently the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 48-26 record and are in position for an automatic playoff berth. By avoiding reach-in fouls on defense and drawing contact-led fouls on offense, they are excelling despite league-wide frustration. JJ Redick’s stance remains firm: If teams want to stop the parade to the free-throw line, they simply have to stop fouling.
