Ben Wallace Has the NBA’s Lowest Career FT% With 1,000+ Attempts
Ben Wallace shot 41.4% on 2,679 career free throws. Compare career and single-season lows, and see why attempt minimums change the answer.
Ben Wallace has the worst career free-throw percentage in NBA history among players with at least 1,000 regular-season free-throw attempts: 41.4%. He made 1,109 of 2,679 attempts across 1,088 games. StatMuse’s explicitly filtered career leaderboard places him last, and NBA.com’s career statistics confirm his percentage.
The minimum matters. Without one, players who missed every free throw in a tiny sample can finish at 0%. That is a lower percentage, but it answers a different question from sustained shooting over a long career.
What Wallace’s 41.4% measures
Free-throw percentage is the share of attempts a player makes:
FT% = free throws made ÷ free throws attempted × 100
That matches the NBA’s statistical definition. Using Wallace’s career totals from ESPN:
1,109 ÷ 2,679 × 100 = 41.396%, rounded to 41.4%.
He missed 1,570 free throws—about 59 misses for every 100 attempts. This is a percentage calculated from all his attempts, not a simple average of his individual season percentages. A season with 300 attempts carries more weight than one with 20.
The 1,000-attempt cutoff here is an explicit comparison filter, not a claim that every NBA record table uses that eligibility rule. It also means attempts, not makes or misses.
Career and single-season answers differ
There is no useful single “worst percentage” answer unless the time span and sample minimum are specified. These regular-season comparisons show how the answer changes:
| Comparison | Player | Free throws made/attempted | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career, minimum 1,000 attempts | Ben Wallace | 1,109/2,679 | 41.4% |
| Season, minimum 100 attempts | Ian Mahinmi, 2014–15 | 31/102 | 30.4% |
| Season, minimum 200 attempts | Ben Wallace, 2000–01 | 80/238 | 33.6% |
Rankings checked October 14, 2026, using StatMuse’s career, 100-attempt season and 200-attempt season filters. Shot totals are corroborated by ESPN’s Wallace and Mahinmi records.
Mahinmi’s 30.4% is lower than Wallace’s 33.6%, but his 102 attempts do not meet the stricter 200-attempt minimum. Raising the cutoff removes him; it does not change either player’s percentage.
The same issue applies to careers. Jerome Lane shot 37.9%, lower than Wallace, but made 159 of just 420 career attempts. He therefore falls outside the 1,000-attempt comparison. Basketball-Reference’s career totals document that distinction.
Why the number matters—and what it leaves out
Using Wallace’s career rate as the make probability for each attempt, two free throws yield about 0.83 expected points: 2 × 0.414. A hypothetical 80% shooter yields 1.60 points from the same two attempts. That gap helps explain the appeal of intentionally sending a poor shooter to the line, though it is not a complete strategy calculation: rebounds, foul consequences, clock and score still matter.
Nor does a low FT% measure a player’s overall value. In 2003–04, Wallace averaged 12.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while shooting 49.0% at the line, according to NBA.com. His role supplied value that free-throw accuracy alone cannot describe.
For calibration beyond record extremes, see what counts as a good free-throw percentage.