ESP – Calderon’s pursuit of history at the free throw line
MEADOWLANDS (NBA) – Spain’s Jose Calderon could have ended up being haunted by his miss at the free throw line with 19 seconds remaining against Argentina in the semi-finals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship. By making just one of two, Calderon only gave his country a ...
View Calderon talking about free-throws
MEADOWLANDS (NBA) – Spain’s Jose Calderon could have ended up being haunted by his miss at the free throw line with 19 seconds remaining against Argentina in the semi-finals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship.
By making just one of two, Calderon only gave his country a 75-74 lead and that left 2004 Olympic champions Argentina plenty of time to score.
As it was, Argentina's Manu Ginobili dribbled the ball up the floor, knifed his way into the lane and with time running down, he passed to Andres Nocioni in the right corner.
Calderon and Spain breathed a sigh of relief as Nocioni, who had an open look, only drew iron.
The Spanish then thrashed Greece in the title game to capture gold for the proudest moment in their basketball history.
Missing free throws isn’t something that Calderon has done in a very long time.
The 27-year-old point guard has been so prolific that he is chasing history in the NBA.
Calderon made all three of his attempts in the Raptors win over Sacramento on Sunday which meant he has drilled 86 straight foul shots dating to last season.
It is the second-longest streak in NBA history behind Micheal Williams, who made 97 straight in 1993 for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
That streak will be put to the test on Wednesday night when Toronto visit New Jersey.
In case you were wondering, Calderon made all five of his free throw attempts at last summer’s Olympics.
When asked about the streak, Calderon chose to speak only about Toronto’s performances on the floor. They have been struggling this season, and the absence of Calderon from some of their games hasn’t helped.
He had missed 10 of 11 games with the sore right hamstring that kept him out of the Olympic semi-final and final for Spain, but returned and played well in victories over Chicago and Sacramento.
"The important thing is that I feel good and that we won two consecutive games,” he said.
“We are taking the right decisions on the court and you can see that.”
FIBA