Since Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the NBA, the main topic surrounding him seems to be "What if... What will happen? "What if he added muscle to his skinny body?" What if his possession ability is comparable to that of a point guard? What if he could improve his passing ability? What if he could hit jump shots in a row during the game?
Although Alphabet Brother was named one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, despite winning the Defensive Player of the Year award, and despite his NBA championship and individual coronation MVP for the Milwaukee Bucks last season, the question of "what if" remains.
One question he hasn't answered yet is about his jump shot.
The Finals MVP shot just 30.3 percent from three-point range and 68.5 percent from the free throws last year, making opposing defenders desperately want him to shoot outside the box away from the basket. When he gets too close to the basket, opponents will send him to the free throw line without fear. But what would happen "if" he changed all that?
During the first four years of his NBA career, he spared no effort to improve his game in every way, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. In recent years, he has also improved his overall scoring and organizational level, but has not evolved in terms of shooting. Considering the progress of the first five games of the season, there are signs that everything will change.
After a short offseason, there were only 68 days from the Timers beat the Phoenix Suns in the final on July 22 to the start of training camp on September 28. Alphabet Brother went straight into the shooting lab to perfect his jump shot skills.
In the first five games of the season (which, to be sure, is a small sample size, and the final result could be greatly affected by outliers), Alphabet Brother used 3.4 three-point attempts to shoot a 35.3 percent three-point shooting rate and a 73.5 percent free-throw shooting percentage close to the league average with 3.4 three-point attempts per game. He is also more confident than ever to adopt (and complete) a mid-range jumper.
It was clear that his range of attacks had expanded from the early inside of the penalty area to outside the paint.
As for which shooting method is most beneficial to the shooter, there is a great deal of controversy between the shooter and the shooting coach: after releasing the ball, the eyes are fixed on the basket, or the ball is stared until the ball is scored. Proponents of the latter view will tell you that they gain valuable information by observing the trajectory of the ball, which will help them with subsequent shots.
However, most coaches will teach you to focus on the basket early and stay that way throughout the shoot. This helps stabilize your head and prevents your head from being tilted backwards during shooting.
One of alphabet brothers' biggest struggles at the free throw line and jump shots over the past few years has been his head tilted too far back. We saw a lot of extra swings in his head in his jump shot, and this shooting posture caused a lot of problems.
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Alphabet Brother's head position/stability is very different in this year's free throw and jump shot.
The picture on the left is his head from last year (you'll notice how far it is, the position of his chin relative to his toes), compared to this year's head position (pictured right).
The general requirement is that when you are ready to shoot, make a shooting move, the chin is above the toes. The best way to make sure this happens is to put your eyes in front of the basket when you catch the ball and shoot the ball. Alphabet Brother has already watched the basket ahead of time this season and has received good returns in the first five games.
He also made some other changes, such as making a "V" shape with his arm and ball (that is, putting away the shooting elbow), better placing the ball in his hand, and so on. These are very subtle shot details that we can delve into. However, his head position is the most obvious positive change in his shooting so far this year.
He wasn't perfect in any way. No matter how well he did, there were still many times when he would throw his head back. Because this is a habit that has been formed over the years, 68 days is unlikely to change completely.
If you observe The Alphabet Brother's shot, pay attention to his head position when he makes a shot at the free throw line or from the box. You should be able to see if he leans backwards at a distance or not to throw into the relationship.
Given Alphabet Brother's legendary career and what he has already achieved, it's easy to overlook that he's under 27. Small changes like this (hopefully) will accumulate and make meaningful changes in his jump shot.
In the long run, this change will help Alphabet Brother gradually become a shooter with a shooting percentage that is at the league average. That may seem like a very low standard, but if he can do that, then the opponent will be in a dilemma when defending him. Perhaps, when it comes to how to defend alphabet brothers, we will soon ask the opposing defender the question of "what if", rather than just throwing the question to the "Greek monster" Giannis Antetokounmpo.