The fadeaway as the best shot in basketball.

[Eugene]

I read an article, a long time ago, on hoopstv.com. It used the symphonic orchestra as an analogy to describe the different skills in basketball. It compared the crossover to the woodwinds, the dunk to the drums, and the pass to the strings. It was a well-written and interesting article.

It does not, however, have very much to do with what I'm going to talk about. It provided no inspiration for this essay other than the fact that basketball is the only sport that draws so much comparison to art.

No other sport draws such comparison to the arts, be it aural, visual, literary or otherwise. Football is not poetry in motion, nor is hockey like a symphony. Baseball is nothing like a fine painting, and as for golf, well, that's about as monotonic as a sport gets. Only basketball claims such artistic references.

Likewise, the best shot in basketball should be as aesthetically appealing as it is skillful and effective. No other shot embodies those characteristics as the fadeaway does.

The beauty of it lies in its apparent simplicity and the hidden complexity, behind the seemingly simple facade.

The fadeaway appears to be, quite literally, a jumpshot while falling backwards. There is so much more that the shot entails, however, which makes it so technically complex.

Done poorly, the fadeaway forces the shooter to overbalance in the wrong direction and shoot with more force from his arms than he should. The shot does not require the shooter to jump backwards to create distance. Jumping backwards takes away from the natural momentum of the shot and makes it less accurate.

The key, instead, lies in the transfer of weight.

Let us say, for example, the shooter catches the ball in the post. With his back to the basket, the shooter then chooses a pivot foot. Michael Jordan could pivot on either leg, which made him so potent in the post up. Combined with the fact that Michael Jordan had the deadliest fadeaway ever, made Jordan as effective in the post up as any of the great centers. But, I digress.

Once a pivot foot is established, let us say, in this case, as the left foot, the shooter then pivots on that foot. When he turns on the foot, he places all of his weight on the left foot. As he turns, he steps back and out, creating distance, but at the same time transferring his weight from his left foot to his right -- this provides the momentum that carries the shooter backwards and away from the defense. As he finishes his turn, the shooter jumps up, not backwards, to gain height and force behind his shot. Finally, the shooter releases the shot at the apex of his jump.

On the pivot, the shooter also does not turn completely to face the basket. As he turns, he steps out away from the basket, but when he actually leaves the floor, he's only one-thirds facing the basket. The rest of the turn comes in the air, where he squares his upper body to the basket and shoots the ball. If he were to turn fully on the ground, the defense has time to react and close the distance, rendering the shot ineffective.

This is where body control is so important. The shooter must be disciplined enough to maintain his balance in the air, complete the turn and completely square his upper body to the basket. Because the force generated by the upward jump and the consequent twist in the air, the actual release requires no more force than is used in a regular jumpshot.

I personally find it easier to pivot on my right foot when shooting a fadeaway because by the time I've turned and stepped back, my shooting hand is already closer to the basket. Because I've worked hard to be able to pivot either way, I use this general rule: feel for the defender's elbow on your back and turn to the side that you feel the elbow. If the elbow's on your left side, then pivot on the leg, and vice versa.

Getting back to the topic at hand, despite the difficulty of the shot, the fadeaway is one of the most effective shots in the shooter's arsenal. It creates the distance to get off the shot, and it also forces the defender to close out quickly when the shooter turns. At that point, the shooter can pump fake and lean it for the floater or the lay up (Michael Jordan was and still is a master at this).

And for all its deceptive complexity and effectiveness, the fadeaway is simply the most graceful shot in the game. It is the evening twilight to the crossover's lightning. It is the aurora borealis to the slam dunk's super nova. In the game's hectic chaos it is a sweet whisper. The fadeaway's beauty, its aesthetic beauty, is so exquisite because of its subtlety. Futhermore, there is no other shot as tantalizing as the fadeaway. The shot looks so precarious, at the same time so deadly and accurate.

For all of its technical complexity, its assasin's effectiveness, and its tantalizingly subtle beauty, the fadeaway defines in a single shot all that is good about basketball. The fadeaway is the best shot in the game of basketball.

After all, this is a forum, so feel free to agree/disagree and offer an argument.

All the best,

Eugene

[:digerati:]

I think the Open Shot is the best in Basketball

[MajaFiggaz_Early!]

I Prefere the dunk shot as the percentage is pretty damn high.

[beau_boy04]

I agree with you... the fadeaway jumper is the best and precious shot in the basketball... I love this shot who was mastered by the one and only MJ. That's why I started to practice this shot back in the days and I've got really good at it but when you don't keep practicing you loose it like everything else and that's why happened to me.

A dunk is not shot... it is a dunk

Peace out.

[.]

Best shot is a drive 2 the lane

[TheBob]

A drive to the lane isn't a shot, because you can drive to the lane and pull up for a jumper, take a floater, dunk, layup etc...

[Tyus Edney's Agent]

The best shot in basketball is the one that goes in.

[Eugene]

thanks for the input guys, but I thought I made the criteria pretty clear. Now, it's up to you to make a case for the best shot in basketball, according to the given requirements.

I look forward to your responses...

Eugene

[Brave Sir Rubin]

well...theoreticly, the fadeaway and the hook shot are the two best shots in the NBA, since, again, theoreticly...they cannot be blocked.....yet we've seen both blocked various times...

[T_McGrady]

Naw, the most beautiful shot is a Game-Winning Shot. Very exquisite.