Five Shots At Greatness

A basketball player with a good mid-range and outside jumper, good driving skills, and a good post game is considered a pretty complete player. However, a player that develops five more great shots can truly become virtually unstoppable and on his way to becoming a basketball legend.

The five great shots that could lead to a player’s basketball legendary status are the fade-away jumper, the clockwise turnaround jumper, the clockwise 360 degree jumper, the slam-bam put back, and the dipsy-doodle-ice cream soda.

Firstly, the fade-away jumper is one of the shots that were used by Michael Jordan on his way to total basketball dominance of the NBA. The offensive player drives toward the basket and suddenly stops right in front of the defensive player. Instead of jumping straight up or toward the defensive player, the offensive player jumps backwards approximately 3-5 feet. This maneuver changes both the defensive block and offensive shot angles. In addition, it is more conducive to better shot touch because of the backward movement and the lack of forward body momentum.

Secondly, the clockwise turnaround jumper is done by backing the defensive player down into the paint. Instead of rotating the traditional counter-clockwise direction, the offensive play rotates clockwise. This maneuver throws the defensive player off- balance because most defensive players block shots by reaching across their bodies. When an offensive player rotates clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, a moment of defensive uncertainty that results allows a player to get off a clean shot at the basket.

Thirdly, the clockwise 360 degree jumper sets up similar to the fade-away jumper. The offensive player drives toward the defensive player, stops quickly, and jumps. While jumping, the player rotates his body 360 degrees clockwise. The defensive players intends to block the impending shot by reaching across his body; however, the dominant arm of the offensive player is no longer where it should be, because it has rotated away from the defensive block maneuver. Instead, the defensive player winds up on the side of the offensive player with his dominant blocking arm completely out position. The player has a clean shot at the basket. It is important that the offensive player completely rotates his head before he completes the rotation of his body, similar to that of a dance pirouette. The quick head rotation helps the player find the basket.

Fourthly, the slam bam-put back shot is done off of an offensive rebound. The offensive player quickly secures the rebound and pogo-sticks or quick jumps back up toward the basket. With his dominant hand, the player puts a right to left spin on the basketball. When the basketball glance off of the backboard the ball’s spin reverses to left to right and the ball goes quickly into the basket.

Lastly, the dipsy-doodle-ice cream soda shot is one where the offensive player drives toward the basket and takes to the air. While airborne, the player continuously pumps his arms sideways and up and down in an effort to avoid the hands of the defensive players. The key to successfully completing this shot is to know where the open shot area is. A player doesn’t have to see the basket to launch the shot; he just needs to know that this open area has a clear trajectory to the basket. Good players can pick out the open area before they go airborne. Great players cannot only pick an open area before going airborne, but like a good jazz musician changing note to match the flow of his band mate, they can quickly change the location of that area if he sees that the original area suddenly becomes unavailable.

These five aforementioned shots are not essential to become a good player. However, if you want to become a basketball legend it is necessary to have them in your arsenal.