In his Lockdown Lowdown, skills coach Gary Maitland reveals the secrets behind the NBA's most iconic shots and moves. Here he analyses the sweet jump shot of Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Klay Thompson.
Thompson's accuracy and consistency from long-range is the centrepiece of an elite offensive game that makes him one of the NBA's biggest scoring threats, especially from three-point range. Whether it is hitting an NBA record 14 three-pointers in a single game, scoring 37 points in a single quarter or scoring more than 50 points in less than 30 minutes (twice), Thompson's scoring feats are the stuff of NBA legend.
Coach Maitland explains how Klay combines footwork, shot release, follow-through and landing to perfection to make his jump shot one of the NBA's most dangerous offensive weapons.
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With Klay Thompson, we are witnessing one of the greatest shooters of our time, arguably one of the greatest shooters of all time.
To understand what makes Thompson so successful with his shooting, we need to look at the key principles that allow him to efficiently score the ball from long range.
For Klay to shoot so effectively, he needs to have a wide base when he takes off. That wide base means he is stable and on balance so there is no room for any bumps that could push him off that straight line that will guide his shot to the basket.
After he has jumped, it's important he lands with a wide landing so he remains on balance throughout his shot and there is no drifting forwards or backwards. That means his shot will track on track, being straight and going into the basket.
Another key element to Klay's shot is that he is able to get his hand underneath the ball and in the middle before he shoots it. (The effort he puts into the shot is) being pushed straight through the middle of the ball, ensuring there is no inward push or outward drift.
As the ball is being pushed up he holds a nice high follow-through with his elbow going above his eyebrow so that the ball creates a fantastic arc which will allow a great drop angle for the ball to swish through the basket.
Let's piece those elements together. We've got the wide base, the vertical jump, hand underneath the ball in the middle, pushing it up, getting the elbow above the eyebrow on the release, fingers pointing towards the basket and a wide base for the landing.
In order for Thompson to be successful, he has to be able to master the art of shooting with movement, use of the dribble and cutting away from the ball so that, even though defenders aren't going to allow him easy shots, he is still able to create a shot for himself and be effective for his team.
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Coach Maitland demonstrate Thompson's elite shooting stroke.