Wikipedia Being Stupid Again

Another case of lies, damn lies and statistics over at Wikipedia, the font of all made up shit.

I wanted to quickly look up who are the most accurate NBA free throw shooters. Problem, two sites give completely different lists. That's right, completely different.

Basketball Reference.com say the top four are:-

1. Steve Nash 90.43%
2. Mark Price 90.39%
3. Stephen Curry 90.09%
4. Rick Barry 89.98%

Wikipedia say the top four are:-

1. Chauncy Billups 89.4%
2. Reggie Miller 88.8%
3. Kevin Durant 88.2%
4. Dirk Nowitzki 87.9%

(bold is an active player in the NBA)

What's going on? Well it looks like the guys at Wikipedia have set some kind of arbitrary benchmark. You know, the players on their list seem to have more free throws made in total. It looks like players have to have 4,000 baskets or thereabouts.

Why is this stupid? It's stupid because this kind of thinking does not recognise roles played, the era of the game, and such. Back in Rick Barry's day the game was much rougher, you didn't get to go to the line as often, and if you did you were likely hurt. 

In the modern era, someone like Steph Curry makes his basket, gets fouled and steps to the line for the extra one. Many players today miss that basket and get two or three extras each game as the officials call fouls more often. Get the idea?

By setting the bar too high, they erase so much history. It's a bloody disgrace. In future I'll be relying on Basketball Reference.

I can see why academics don't approve of Wikipedia. You can't trust it.