Am I Overthinking?

[crosscountry55]

Originally Posted by Rich

Why would the shot having a chance to go in affect whether free throws are awarded?

It doesn't.

But looking at it from a rules logic standpoint, I can understand how it may not seem to make sense. In other words, shot is released entirely cleanly, and after that the airborne shooter is fouled. A foul in the act of shooting/tapping ostensibly affects said shot/tap. So the fact that an airborne shooter is considered to be in the act of shooting is counterintuitive.

But this caveat is written into the rules for a reason, and that is to protect the airborne shooter, sort of like protecting a defenseless receiver in football. The rule discourages contact on defenseless shooters by penalizing it just as though the contact were on the shot/tap itself.