Steph Curry is the best three point shooter in the world. Thanks to his ridiculous and unprecedented feat accomplished behind the three point line this season (402 threes, and the next closest is at 286, held by…oh it’s Steph Curry again from a season before), everybody on the basketball court thinks they are freakin’ Steph and jacks up random 3s during a three-on-three game. Now instead of yelling “KOBE” whenever they take a fadeaway shot just outside the key, they’re yelling “CURRY!” as they launch from half court and air-ball.
One of the reasons Steph got that record is because he’s shooting the ball at such a long and unanticipated distance, that leaves his defenders helpless. A quick stroke under unexpected times creates the unthinkable shots.
I experienced this special formula first-hand tonight with street-baller Joe (assumed name). I liken Joe to Steph Curry because he too has a quick stroke, shoots the ball unexpectedly, and makes that shot which makes you go “huh?”.
For one, Joe doesn’t have a normal shot: he shoots a hook shot every single time. At first I thought he was toying with me and being disrespectful…then I quickly found out that that was his game: he jacks up threes with a hook shot. Unexpected, and most importantly, unblockable.
Another highlight is that Joe loves going to his sweet spot: the intersection of the baseline and the key, just within bounds and behind the backboard. He would run to his sweet spot and jacks up a hook shot over the backboard and into the hoop. It’s unguardable. A large part of that is attributed to the fact that no one chooses that as a go-to shot because quite frankly no one shoots from there, and even when NBA players do, it usually ends up on the highlight reel for some reason. Well, Joe does, and you can’t stop him. And he’s a human highlight reel.
All my 20+ years playing street basketball, I ain’t never seen a player like Joe before. I couldn’t guard him because I could not anticipate his shot. And even if I could guard him, he ends up making that ridiculous-looking hook shot, to which I end up laughing about it, which means Joe has already gotten into my head. It’s game-over once a player gets in your head.
Both Steph Curry and Joe made me realize something: it’s one thing to master fundamentals, it’s another to create a new way to play the game.
Let the games begin.
These are the views and opinions of the author, unaffiliated with any organizations. He would like to encourage you as a reader to interact with the text by making a comment, or by writing to him directly @ jonathancytong@gmail.com
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