What is the greatest weapon in NBA history?

[Not Me]

hehe it was just out of the blue

[Jeffx]

Hell yeah. No doubt Kareem's sky hook was the deadliest shot in NBA history and a thing of beauty to watch. In all my years of following Kareem, I never saw anyone block it(someone told me Artis Gilmore did, but I can't confirm it).

It's a question that a lot of analysts have raised over the years but you do have to wonder why few other big men have tried to emulate it. Obviously to say that any centre could make such devastating use of it as Kareem would be to sell his abilities short but being such a difficult shot to defend, you'd expect more post players to develop their own version of it.

I think one reason is the lack of traditional centers in the NBA these days. How many are there? I've seen Shaq use the baby hook, and Duncan has his version - who else? It's sad, because when done right, the hook shot is butter.

The only way to affect Kareem's hook was get to physical - bump him and move him out of his favorite spots on the court. Kareem always said Nate Thurmond was the best at defending him. Looking at the competition Kareem faced on a nightly basis makes you appreciate his skills more(Wilt, Thurmond, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Bill Walton, Dave Cowens, Bob Lanier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Darryl Dawkins, Moses Malone, Jack Sikma, Robert Parrish, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem, Bill Laimbeer , etc.)

[Jackal]

Three times eh Jeffx?

Yao should add it to his arsenal.

[NastyNacho2]

I would have to say the Salary Cap

[Jeffx]

Three times eh Jeffx?

Yao should add it to his arsenal.

Damn website went crazy on me.

Imagine Yao with a hook? Devastating!

[Sauru]

I would have to say the Salary Cap

are you insane?

[Lamrock]

I would have to say the Salary Cap

...What?

[jonthefon]

If Yao had even a fragment of Kareem's sky hook, he'd be utterly unstoppable at 7'6'. But he doesn't use the hook enough, and is soft, which is why Houston is coling at the bottom of the Southwest

[Sauru]

yao is allowed to dunk, and always has been, so he didnt have to develop the hook like kareem did. the best thing to ever happen to kareem was the ban on dunking

[Jeffx]

yao is allowed to dunk, and always has been, so he didnt have to develop the hook like kareem did. the best thing to ever happen to kareem was the ban on dunking

...and a brilliant basketball coach in John Wooden, who spent hours helping Kareem perfecting that shot.

If I was Yao, I'd seek out Kareem and pick his brain. Like jon said, Yao could be unstoppable if he wanted to.

[Sauru]

i fully agree that he could be near unstopable. what really confuses me is, everyone, and i mean everyone who knows anything about nba basketball knows how good the sky hook was, yet there is no one that has tried to copy it and do the same thing. it really makes me wonder how come such an amazing skill was never practiced by anyone. instead of standing there dunking all day trying to be like mike they should actually learn a go to move and become unguardable by any one single player

[Indy]

Yao actually does have a pretty nice hook. Obviously it is nowhere near the caliber of Kareem, but it is pretty good. I think the hook should be brought back to life. The only other guys who use it much at all are Darko Milicic and Andrew Bynum and I've seen Bynum use it much less this year.

[shadowgrin]

in wheelchair ball this includes grabbing wheels, sticking feet in spokes, pushing someone sideways who doesnt hae their hands on their wheels, hell even the "flop" was present; if a chair went down, a foul was called on somebody

I didn't know guys in wheelchairs could be such assholes.

The practice of lowering the shoulder to draw a light bump before completing a layup, especially when being chased down on a breakaway is deadly in the hands of the league's best slashers. Still, if it works they'd be foolish not to take advantage of it, no matter what labels you want to give to the strategy.

Long post. Just say Dwyane Wade and everybody will understand.

[Jeffx]

i fully agree that he could be near unstopable. what really confuses me is, everyone, and i mean everyone who knows anything about nba basketball knows how good the sky hook was, yet there is no one that has tried to copy it and do the same thing. it really makes me wonder how come such an amazing skill was never practiced by anyone. instead of standing there dunking all day trying to be like mike they should actually learn a go to move and become unguardable by any one single player

Well, it's like the mid-range jumper. How many players use it as part of their arsenal? Like the hook, if you're proficient with it, it can cause nightmares for the defense.

[Indy]

I actually do think Dwyane Wade's whistle may be the greatest weapon in todays game. Its amazing how many calls he continues to get. There was one in todays game where he charged into Dunleavy (no call) threw it up and the ball hit Dunleavy in the hands and they called a foul on Mike. Mike asked if it was a blocking foul (which it clearly wasn't) and they said that wasn't where the foul was, but it was afterwards on the shot. They called a foul on Mike for having the ball thrown at his hands... After that everyone was afraid to touch Wade everytime he got in to the lane and he finishes with 35.

[Andrew]

It's not just Wade though. Kobe and Arenas are two other players who initiate contact very well. If you're supporting the other team you hate to see it happen but if they're going to get the call, why not go for it?

i fully agree that he could be near unstopable. what really confuses me is, everyone, and i mean everyone who knows anything about nba basketball knows how good the sky hook was, yet there is no one that has tried to copy it and do the same thing. it really makes me wonder how come such an amazing skill was never practiced by anyone. instead of standing there dunking all day trying to be like mike they should actually learn a go to move and become unguardable by any one single player

I think you touched on it before. Obviously Kareem had the benefit of a great coach in John Wooden as Jeffx said, but the ban on dunking made it necessary to develop another effective weapon.

That said, let's not rule the dunk out of the post player's repetoire. We tend to think of the dunk as an art form thanks to the aerial exploits of Julius Erving, Michael Jordan and co but it remains the highest percentage shot in the game. If a seven foot player is right next to the hoop then there's no need to get fancy; just go up and put it down. Of course, the wider array of offensive weapons is essential since the dunk won't always be an option.

[Sauru]

i would never want my center to remove the dunk from his game, it is needed, but if all they can do is dunk it really limits thier game. just imagine if a guy as powerfull as shaq had a legit go to move besides banging into people til they fouled him or he dunked? i always thought every player needed a go to move, at any position.

also, i fully agree with you. nothing gets me more upset then when a player runs into the lane, charges into someone, and they are the one getting the foul shots. watching the lakers/cavs game really angered me. kobe was crying constantly after every shot cause all he wants to do is shoot free throws. at this rate the league should just force every player on the team to shoot 10 free throws and the team that makes the most wins, save us alot of wasted time with endless whistle blowing. in that same game i saw lebron catch a rebound and jump forward when he shot then look at the ref and only after he looked at the ref did they blow the whistle. few minutes later i see kobe take a bad shot and instantly yell as he shot the ball and he got sent to the line.

pretty much i think the ref needs to start holding thier whistles more. a player runs head first into a crowd of 3 players and does not even look for a normal shot, no call. thats should be the new nba slogan, where no calls happen

[BIG GREEN]

Yep...kobe wanted to rewarded for being kobe and not overcoming lebron's defense. Which is why he got the technical.

[Andrew]

i would never want my center to remove the dunk from his game, it is needed, but if all they can do is dunk it really limits thier game. just imagine if a guy as powerfull as shaq had a legit go to move besides banging into people til they fouled him or he dunked? i always thought every player needed a go to move, at any position.

No question and we're seeing that with Shaq now that time has taken its toll on his agility and ability to stay healthy. I remember when Shaq first came into the league, the cry was always that "All he does is dunk the ball!" but the bottom line is that for over a decade, Shaq was very effective doing his thing and scoring a lot of points by throwing down more dunks than anyone else in the league. Big men like Kareem, Olajuwon and Robinson were better equipped to tailor their games as they got older because they had a wider array of weapons that they could still utilise when their athleticism began to decline.

also, i fully agree with you. nothing gets me more upset then when a player runs into the lane, charges into someone, and they are the one getting the foul shots. watching the lakers/cavs game really angered me. kobe was crying constantly after every shot cause all he wants to do is shoot free throws. at this rate the league should just force every player on the team to shoot 10 free throws and the team that makes the most wins, save us alot of wasted time with endless whistle blowing. in that same game i saw lebron catch a rebound and jump forward when he shot then look at the ref and only after he looked at the ref did they blow the whistle. few minutes later i see kobe take a bad shot and instantly yell as he shot the ball and he got sent to the line.

I suppose in all fairness there's always been that "gamesmanship" when it comes to drawing fouls but with the way touch fouls are being called these days, particularly on the perimeter, it makes that strategy much more effective whereas once players would need to take it to the basket and brace themselves for the beating if they wanted to get the call. They're still doing that I suppose but when the offensive player drops their shoulder and initiates the contact it's a soft shooting foul call.

pretty much i think the ref needs to start holding thier whistles more. a player runs head first into a crowd of 3 players and does not even look for a normal shot, no call. thats should be the new nba slogan, where no calls happen

That's pretty much what it comes down to, a conscious decision not to give players that call. It could be argued that dropping the shoulder should warrant an automatic offensive foul but a non-call would be more effective since if the defender is moving or in the restricted area you've got to call a defensive foul on that play.

[shadowgrin]

I always cringe when I see the in the boxscores that a particular player has more FT attempts than FG attempts.
10 FG attempts as compared to 20 FT attempts is just ridiculous for a player who plays in the backcourt.