basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

(and derivatives like

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

), a player may attempt to score a basket by leaping straight into the air, the elbow of the shooting hand cocked, ball in hand above the head, and lancing the ball in a high arc towards the basket for a jump shot (colloquially, a jumper). Although early critics thought the leap might lead to indecision in the air, the jump shot replaced the earlier, less quickly released ''

set shot A set shot in Australian rules football is a kick for goal in which the player can 'set' themselves, rather than have to quickly react during the play. A set shot occurs when a player has been awarded a free kick, or has taken a mark within ki ...

'', and eventually transformed the game because it is the easiest shot to make from a distance and more difficult for a defender to

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

. Variations on the simple jump shot include the " turnaround jumper" (facing away from the basket, then jumping and spinning towards it, shooting the ball in mid-air); the " fadeaway" (jumping ''away'' from the basket to create space); and the "leaning jumper" (jumping towards the basket to move away from a trailing defender). With the "

hook shot In basketball, a hook shot is a play in which the offensive player, usually turned perpendicular to the basket, gently throws the ball with a sweeping motion of the arm farther from the basket in an upward arc with a follow-through which ends ov ...

," a player is turned sideways with the shooting arm away from the basket outstretched so that with a sweep he can launch the ball over his head. Since a defender must leap to block a jumper, the shooter may use a pump fake to get the defender in the air at the wrong time and so have a clear shot. If the shooter leaps into the defender, a foul is called on the defensive player, whereas the shooter is awarded two or three free throws according to the value of a missed attempt, or a single free throw if he scores. Debate still continues as to who invented the jump shot. In the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

collegiate archives,

John Miller Cooper John Miller Cooper (1912 – September 18, 2010) was an American educator. He is also regarded as one of the early innovators of the basketball jump shot and as a pioneer in the field of biomechanics and human movement. Biography Early years C ...

, who played at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

in the 1930s, is recognized as the person to hoist the first jump shot. However, John Christgau, in ''The Origins of the Jump Shot'', makes a strong case that Ken Sailors did so in May 1934. Sailors went on to play for the University of Wyoming and was selected as MVP of their 1943 NCAA Championship team. Sailors also played for five different teams in the old American Basketball League. Other people that Christgau credits with the jump shot are Glen "Glenn" Roberts, Myer "Whitey" Skoog, John "Mouse" Gonzales, Bud Palmer, Davage "Dave" Minor, “Jumping”

Joe Fulks Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player, sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was posthumously enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball ...

Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...

, and

Belus Smawley Belus Van Smawley (March 20, 1918 – April 24, 2003) was an American basketball player and coach. A 6'1" guard/ forward from Rutherford County, North Carolina, Smawley was one of the first basketball players to regularly use the jump shot. Smawl ...

Hank Luisetti Angelo-Giuseppi "Hank" Luisetti (June 16, 1916 – December 17, 2002) was an American college men's basketball player. He is considered to be one of the great innovators of the sport. In an era that featured the traditional two-handed set shot, ...

is credited with popularizing the jump shot.The Forgotten Basketball Pioneer Who Made Stephen Curry Possible
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References

External links

*
BBC Sport: The jump shotHow To Shoot a Basketball Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jump Shot (Basketball) Basketball terminology Basketball strategy Jumping

Further reading

References

External links