He partly made up for his low percentage by getting to the line a lot. Also, the difference between 42% (his career average) and 45% (a fairly acceptable FG%, if not great) at 25 FGA/G = about a half a FGM. It got a bit overblown at the time when people complained his FG% wasn't as high as Kobe's (although Kobe's percentage has been much maligned since then). Also, 2002-2004 may have been the best era for defense in NBA history (not necessarily the best era for defenders, but defense as a team concept, the combination of rules and size/athleticism of the players favored defense more than any other era. Now, his percentage was still bad in 2005, when they slashed teams' ability to play defense (by eliminating all hand checking and allowing moving screens), it did tick up slightly for his last few years in Philly (to about 44%).