'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Shooting is the essence of the game. Best players of the game can put the ball in the basket from all over the court. However, what separates the very best shooters from the rest is their shooting form. For every Chauncey Billups, there was a Tayshaun Prince with one ugly shooting form. The perfect form does not work for everyone, but some just not aesthetically pleasing. Watching Klay Thompson or Stephen Curry knock down shot after shot with the perfect form is awesome, but these players make the jump shot a bizarre experience.
Chinanu Onuaku brought back Rick Barry's legendary grandma's style under-hand shooting form. Even if he had the same free-throw accuracy as the legend, that ugly underhanded shot would still get no love.
Following are the top 5 current players with the weirdest shooting form:
#5 Markelle Fultz
The free-throw is supposed to be the easiest shot considering it's an uncontested shot, whose distraction might only come from the fans. Fultz's free-throw struggles have become such a problem that the Sixers organization has become concerned. Fultz has no rhythm building up to a smooth release. After spinning the ball, he holds it up and breaks the motion as he pushes it forward without much confidence.
It’s strange that a point guard, known for his scoring while in college, suddenly changes his form for the worst after going pro. So why make the change?
For one part, he blamed the right shoulder soreness he was suffering from, which is okay. On to the strange part - where he claims that he’s just trying to do other things to make free throws. While he shoots like Shaquille O’Neal is his shooting coach, he should be careful not to be exploited by the “Hack-A-Shaq strategy” during the season.
#4 Lonzo Ball
The most fascinating shooting form in the NBA starts with a gather from the left hip and travels up to the left side of the forehead with the right arm stretched across the torso at some angle then the ball is slung toward the rim. Ball took that unorthodox shooting form and made it a major success with clutch shot after clutch shot through high school and college.
Unlike other players, he shoots the ball with an unprecedented accuracy. His form might have given NBA scouts something to mull over before deciding to draft him, but again, the effectiveness ultimately outweighed whether it looks pretty or not. Teams need results and for him as well, aesthetics don’t really matter when the ball goes in with such accuracy. Ball’s best weapon is devastatingly effective; however, it remains to be seen whether it can be neutralized by smarter, experienced defenders.
#3 Tony Allen
Watching Tony Allen shoot free-throws and jumpers is pretty horrifying, considering he’s a shooting guard. It's a good thing that he spends most of his time in the league harassing players with his mad defense. At least we finally realize why he never develops an aesthetic jumper.
Allen flings the ball from behind his head, which forces him to stretch out his left hand as his guiding hand when he shoots, which makes him a very inaccurate shooter. In a pace-and-space shooting league, Allen prefers to drive and slash to rim rather than stand beyond the arc and hoist long-range jumpers.
The hitch in his jump-shot ensures an unbalanced release leading to many missed jumpers. No wonder defenders allow him space to take mid-range jumpers and 3-point shots because the result is bricks.
#2 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist tucks his elbow in such a way that he has to shoot the ball from his side as opposed to facing the rim. The resulting unbalanced shot is always a low percentage shot considering he has not mastered his unorthodox shot like the likes of Lonzo Ball. His vision of the rim seems to be blocked by the guiding hand.
His weak jumper coupled with three injury-ravaged seasons have slowed his development into the two-way player that he was projected to be during the 2012 NBA draft. He might need Chip Engelland, the shooting doctor for the San Antonio Spurs. He transformed Tony Parker’s jump shot into a respected weapon.
#1 Joakim Noah
Besides being the heart and soul of his team (while in Chicago), he also possesses one of the most awkward shooting forms in the NBA. Noah basically passes to the rim with both hands. He shoots an arrow to the rim with no arc whatsoever. His hands have no roles, both are the shooting and guiding hands, giving the ball a sidespin instead of a backspin.
Overall, his hustle points more than makeup for his lack of shooting. Joakim Noah’s two-handed sidewinder has helped him earn his way to two NBA All-Star Games. Noah seems to take much pride in his ugly shot by saying that his shot is so ugly that it’s demoralizing to opponents.
