The Point Forward’s All-Jumper team

Reporting on the business of the NBA is interesting and fun, but sometimes you miss the game — the competition, the style, the strategy. And so we decided to take a look at some of the things we miss most about the league, starting today with my Point Forward All-Jumper team.

It’s just what it sounds like: a team composed of players who have the best jump shots. Some of these are obviously beautiful and textbook in form. Others are not, but have caught my eye for whatever reason. The goal was to create an NBA-style roster of point guards, wings and bigs, and the criteria were entirely subjective. Here we go:

STARTERS

• STEVE NASH, PG, Phoenix Suns (team captain, MVP)

Steve Nash (Jennifer Stewart/US PRESSWIRE)

The next guy on this list would probably be the most popular choice for “best jumper in the league,” but I’m going with Nash, who may well be the greatest shooter to ever play in the NBA. Nash’s mechanical consistency is amazing when you consider the variety of shots he takes in every game — spot-up threes, off-the-dribble threes, pull-up jumpers in the lane, forward leaners, fadeaways, runners and jumpers that come after a few urgent pivots near the elbow.

And yet, every time, you see that same release: right elbow under the ball, sticking out forward just a little bit, with a release point just above Nash’s head and slightly to his right. It’s almost robotic, the NBA’s ultimate expression of order within chaos. All these years later, I am still surprised when Nash misses.

Herb Magee, legendary Philadelphia-area shooting coach: “He’s in my top five. His release — I’d call it perfect. Just a beautiful shot.”

• RAY ALLEN, SG, Boston Celtics (charter member)

Ray Allen (Mark L. Baer/US PRESSWIRE)

Just look at these photos and appreciate both the consistency and the fact that Walter Ray’s wind-up is so different from Nash’s. His right elbow sometimes points out to the side instead of fixing itself directly below the ball, and his release point is over the center of his head rather than to one side.

But as with Nash, it’s the same every time, regardless of whether Allen has just run full speed across the entire court or caught a pass while facing the top of the arc and then pivoted and jumped all in one motion. I’m not sure anyone gets the ball from below-the-waist to above-the-head more quickly, and Allen’s ability to square himself in a single beat is incredible — the product of endless repetition.

Magee: “I’d put him at the to very top of the list. His right elbow sometimes points out a little, as you say, but at the time of the release, it’s right where it should be. I cut pictures of Ray out of various publications to show guys I teach.”

• DIRK NOWITZKI, PF, Dallas Mavericks (charter member)

Dirk Nowitzki (AP)

No player in history has combined the conventional and unconventional like Nowitzki. Give him an open three, and he’ll use a quiet jumper any coach would ask a student to replicate. Then he’ll unleash a fading, one-footed bank shot where his body is leaning back at almost a 45-degree angle, and if you try to replicate that, you’ll embarrass yourself. It is the most viscerally glorious shot in basketball.

Magee: “The rotation on his shot, if you watch it, is the same every single time. If you had a camera with a fast enough shutter speed to catch every rotation of the ball on a three-pointer, it would be the same number every time. He’s unbelievable.”

• KYLE KORVER, SF, Chicago Bulls

Kyle Korver (Dennis Wierzbicki/US PRESSWIRE)

You could argue whether Korver could really be classified as a small forward, since he’ll rarely defend good wing players, even in Chicago lineups where it’s hard to really say whether he or Ronnie Brewer is the “real” small forward. But he has to have a place in this starting lineup, if only because he might be the only shooter who completes the gather-and-release process more quickly than Allen while retaining perfect mechanics every time.

Magee: “Watch Kyle’s guide hand [i.e. his left hand] and you’ll see it stays in almost the same position during and after the shot as it was before the release. That’s what we teach.”

• MARC GASOL, C, Memphis Grizzlies

Marc Gasol (Derick E. Hingle/US PRESSWIRE)

This is where things start to get a bit idiosyncratic. Gasol’s got the soft touch of a smaller man, and his shot, which barely includes even a mini-hop, looks like an effortless wrist flick. If he catches a pass from his right, he’ll swing the ball through his midsection with the same exaggerated motion he uses on his rip move in the post. He also likes to have his feet together, which can give the illusion that he’s almost sliding backward if he has to move one foot back in order to get them together.

BENCH

Carlos Boozer (Icon SMI)

• Carlos Boozer, PF, Chicago Bulls

A ridiculous shot for a ridiculous player. Boozer has the deep knee bend and the unique motion in which he brings the ball up right under his chin before whipping it back behind the right side of his head for the release. Add in lots of lean, crazy arc and the unpredictable positioning of his feet — plus a scream if the situation demands one — and you’ve got a unique flavor.

• Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors

Nash’s true heir, in terms of both accuracy and ability to maintain that robot-perfect elbow-under-the-ball form on threes and on tricky shots taken in crowds near the foul line. Toss in a quick release and what seems like a disproportionate number of swishes, and Curry is a no-brainer.

• Chris Paul, PG, New Orleans Hornets

This makes three point guards, but Paul has developed into such a smooth shooter that he must be on this roster. Where Korver and Allen look alarmingly fast, Paul is all liquid, with the bend-rise-release sequence appearing as one unified process rather than a series of movements. He’s got a stylish fadeaway on mid-range shots, complete with big leg kickout and major lean-back, and he goes from dribbling to fading for a jumper faster than anyone.

• Paul Millsap, PF, Utah Jazz

Millsap has such a soft touch, and he can vary the arc of his shot depending on what is required. His right elbow comes way out in front of the ball, giving the feel of a catapult-type motion, and his left hand ends up very close to his right hand after the release. That might violate Magee’s rule above, but it’s a cool look.

• Mike Miller, G-F, Miami Heat

So perfect it’s almost boring, and Miller loses points as a member of the Heat, since he really only gets to show off his wide-open spot-up form. 

• Rashard Lewis, F, Washington Wizards

If your TV went all blurry, so that you could only make out uniform colors and vague bodily forms, you’d still know when it was Lewis shooting the ball. The entire motion is absurd — the deep gather, well below the waist; the release, with Lewis holding the ball above his head as both his elbows point out to his sides; and the follow-through, which can involve an extra little snap or shake of the wrist (flair!) before his arms drop to either side of his body.

It’s both smooth and violent, and all his own.

• Eric Gordon, SG, Los Angeles Clippers

I won’t be able to prove it until someone in the public domain develops a Swish Ratio, but I’d bet good money Gordon has an unusually high number of long-range swishes. Stylistically, Gordon releases the ball from farther in front of his face than most elite shooters and extends his right arm out in a long follow-through, giving the (false) impression that his shot is a simple flick of the wrist.

• Luis Scola, PF, Houston Rockets

I have no firm idea why I feel compelled to have Scola on this list. Maybe it’s because he keeps the ball so high, rarely letting it drop below his chest, even when he needs to gather it (and if he catches a pass above his head, it might stay there for the shot). It could be that Scola, despite appearing sort of slow, can actually stop on a dime and square his body to the rim pretty quickly on a pick-and-pop. It could be the Gasol-style lack of any real jump, or that Scola sometimes also looks as if he’s sliding backward as he releases the ball. Maybe it’s just the floppy hair.

But it’s most likely because Scola’s form is so consistent, and the results are so good.

• Jason Terry, SG, Dallas Mavericks

I think I’ve figured why I enjoy Terry’s shot so much, other than what I can only assume is  high Swish Ratio: 1) Maybe it’s an illusion, but there appears to be a more aggressive two-footed hop in Terry’s spot-up jumper than you’d find with most guys; 2) His left arm parallels his right arm almost exactly, so that both are pointing at the rim on his follow-through. That might be not be technically correct, but it gives JET’s shot a smooth, unified feel.

• Matt Bonner, F-C, San Antonio Spurs

I did not want to load this list up with “ugly” jump shots, mostly because they’re ugly, but also because it would be such an ironic and “blogger-like” thing to do. But Bonner’s forward-lurching, all-righty delivery somehow transcends ugly, and not just because his shots go in so often. Like Millsap, Bonner has the kind of release where his shooting elbow isn’t just under the ball, but rather bent so far back that the ball is actually well behind it. That gives his shot the feel and look of a sling shot.