It seems like superstitions are mainly seen in baseball, but that isn’t entirely true. Every sport has its fair share of superstitions.
If you look at a sport like basketball, free throws are a very superstitious act. When a player is fouled in the act of shooting, the player goes to line to take two or three free shots. If you watch the player closely, you can see that the player has a specific routine before letting go of the ball.
Dribbling is part of it. Some players will dribble once, or maybe seven times. The count is specific every single time.
Before the ball is in their hands, some players will make free throw motions with their hands like practicing, before the referee even gives them the ball. Some players will even pass the ball back to the ref to restart their ritual all over again.
The one constant thing with every player is that they always need to do this ritual for every shot, and if the ritual gets interrupted during the act, then they will start all over again.
The last crucial part of the free throw ritual is after the shot is made or missed. Take notice when the shot is over. The player will high five the other four teammates on the floor with him. That has become such a ritual that the player doesn’t even think when he does it.
I say that because there have a been a few instances during season when it’s a technical foul. A technical foul means the player gets to take free throws without the defense being able to grab a rebound on a missed shot. So the player’s teammates wouldn’t be near him in the paint. After his shot, he still puts his hands out to give high fives to the air.
It is quite a funny thing to watch if you can spot the rituals of a basketball player at the line.