A new study published on fan behavior this week revealed that the common practice of waving objects behind the basket to distract free throw shooters has succeeded only three times in the NBAs 67-year history. It doesnt matter if the objects are inflatable plastic noodles, signs that say Miss It, or cardboard cutouts of playerswaving them around almost never has any effect on the free throw shooter whatsoever, said the studys lead author Andrew Townsend, noting that the only three times the strategy worked were St. Louis Hawks point guard Jack McMahons second missed free throw against the Celtics on March 2, 1957; Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins first missed free throw in Game 2 of the 1980 Eastern Conference Finals; and Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Princes fourth failed attempt against the Chicago Bulls on January 6, 2007. These are professional athletes were talking about. They know how to deal with this stuff. Theyre not going to miss just because youre frantically shaking something. The study did confirm, however, that shouting brick just before a free throw causes players accuracy to drop by 20 to 30 percentage points. 