The NBA, minus free throws.
Every final score, recalculated without points from the line. When that changes the winner, it’s a flip.
- 0
- Games
- 0
- Flips
- Points from free throws
- 0
- Free throws missed
Live now
Season stats
How much free throws shape the standings, season by season.
Where the points came from
Standings with and without free throws
Regular season. Swing is how many more games a team wins without free throws.
Most reliant on free throws
Share of points scored at the line
Least reliant
Share of points scored at the line
Season comparison
Every season in the database
About LeMickey
The NBA, recalculated without free throws.
Free throws decide a lot of games. A team can get outplayed for most of the night, spend the fourth quarter at the line, and walk away with the win. We wanted to know how often that actually happens, so we built a site that takes every NBA score and removes the points scored at the free throw line.
Everything else stays the same. Every two and every three counts. The only thing that changes is that free throws are worth zero.
How it works
Start with the final
We take the official final score for every team in every game.
Subtract free throws
We remove every made free throw, including and-ones, technicals, and flagrants. Missed free throws were already worth nothing.
See who really won
Whoever has more points left is the LeMickey winner. If that’s not the team that won the real game, it’s a flip.
An example
Bucks at Wizards, October 21, 2026
Washington won by 12. But they made 32 free throws to Milwaukee’s 19. Take those away and the Bucks win by one. That’s a flip.
By the numbers
Every game in the database
Questions
What counts as a flip?
A game where the team that won the real game would lose without free throws. If the score would be tied without free throws, we mark it as tied instead of flipped.
Do you count overtime?
Yes. We use the final score, overtime included. If a game only went to overtime because of free throws, that still counts as the real result.
How often is it updated?
During games, the Live section on the Scores page refreshes every 30 seconds. Finished games are added to the full history and stats every morning.
Where does the data come from?
Live scores come from ESPN. Full box scores come from ESPN through SportsDataverse, an open sports data project. We check that every game adds up: twos, threes, and free throws have to equal the final score.
How far back does it go?
Every regular season, play-in, playoff, and NBA Cup game since the 2023-24 season, plus everything this season.
Is this affiliated with the NBA?
No. LeMickey is an independent fan project.