Is it *possible* to be a near-perfect shooter?

[adarsh1]

Have you guys ever played NBA live 96? Hornacek and Stockton in that game for the Jazz were unstoppable. Wouldn't miss ever.

[Sedale Threatt]

Most NBA shooters can hit 70%+ in a gym without NBA defenses, and the good ones can hit in the 90% at times. The time a shooter is actually open is much smaller than it appears on tv.

That's true. I was at Key Arena back in '99 when the Bulls came in and watched BJ Armstrong shoot 3's for a good ten minutes and miss only a handful. It's a lot different when there's even a little bit of urgency to get a shot off.

The best shooters can stay relaxed in those tight situations and let all of the mechanics they constantly work to develop take control. The same can be said for good free-throw shooters. A guy like Kerr wouldn't look any different at the line in his driveway than he would in a playoff game in a clutch situation.

I watched Chris Mullin do the same thing before a game in Minneapolis back in the mid 90s. I'm sure I've embelished the memory with time, but I swear he must have made 15 or 20 in a row from the corner. I was really, really stoned a the time, and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Any time I've taken an NBA-range 3, it was an effort just to get the ball to the rim, let alone make it. Chris was stroking them like he was playing on a Pop-A-Shot.

///

I seem to recall reading an anedcote about how Peja Stojakovic would do a drill where he took 100 3s while working his way around the line, just like the 3-point contest. The coach who worked with him swore he once hit 87 out of 100. Judging by that story and the videos in this thread, it seems likely that the truly great shooters could all do something similar. You could never shoot like that against a live defense, but it's still amazing, and it illustrates that a lot of guys do put an incredible amount of time honing and maintaining their stroke.

[RJM]

Is it possible? Ask The Messiah, aka Jason Kapono.

[og15]

Most NBA shooters can hit 70%+ in a gym without NBA defenses, and the good ones can hit in the 90% at times. The time a shooter is actually open is much smaller than it appears on tv.

Let's not even go as far as NBA players. College guys can do the same thing in a gym by themselves. Actually I myself go to the gym and usually hit about 65% of my open three's (college) and 70-75% of my shots altogether, not put a defender in front of me, change it to game situations, and those percentages drop RAPIDLY.

[pillwenney]

Yup, as has been discussed, it's not the lack of actual shooting ability that keeps it from happening, it's the defense.

And the story I heard about Peja was something like 109 out of 113 once or something like that, which doesn't surprise me. I've always said that if he wasn't so affected by various forms of pressure (be it from the defense or the situation) that he would be seen as the greatest shooter ever.

[some_rand]

yup a have a friend who had worked on his shot since elementary school shots about 300 shots a day when he would practice. he didnt even make a college team but i one saw him hit 20+ 3s in a row. as people have said even college shooters can make around 70% when unguarded

[Serpo]

A player of Yao's size with Kapono's shooting ability should shooter an incredible high % but somebody like that doesn't exist.

[lukeridenour]

to be honest, i think the best 3 point shooters could shoot that in the gym on any given day. wouldnt even be surprised if they shot 80% from 3s out of 100 shots. but a 3 pointer in a calm relaxing workout at the gym is extremely different than on the b-ball court.

i remember arenas made like 70 3s with one hand right? this was out of 100 right? (please correct if im wrong but i know it was around this number.)

[kooldude]

A player of Yao's size with Kapono's shooting ability should shooter an incredible high % but somebody like that doesn't exist.

a player like Dirk?

[Serpo]

A player of Yao's size with Kapono's shooting ability should shooter an incredible high % but somebody like that doesn't exist.

a player like Dirk?

Well taller then Dirk ..

[tkb]

to be honest, i think the best 3 point shooters could shoot that in the gym on any given day. wouldnt even be surprised if they shot 80% from 3s out of 100 shots. but a 3 pointer in a calm relaxing workout at the gym is extremely different than on the b-ball court.

i remember arenas made like 70 3s with one hand right? this was out of 100 right? (please correct if im wrong but i know it was around this number.)

Yeah. If I remember correctly, he made 73 out 100 with only his right hand. This was from the college line though, but hugely impressive no less.

[eyejayem]

I think if Kobe, Lebron, and Dwight were on the same team and they had like Kerr or some lethal 3point shooter playing the point and he only took 3 threes a game only when wide open. I think they would most of the time make 2 and a couple times make 1 on avg. I think 60% would be obtained.

[Bgil]

Kind of off topic but do you guys think it would be interesting for the league to have former NBA players participate in the 3 point contest during all star weekend. The old timers could probably show the new guys a thing or two.

- Jason Kapono
- Dirk Nowitzki
- Damon Jones
- Ray Allen
- Kyle Korver

- Larry Bird
- Jeff Hornacek
- Dale Ellis
- Terry Porter
- Steve Kerr

Wouldn't be that interesting. The new guys would destroy them. When you don't play basketball for a while your shot is the first thing to go. For good shooters you start to loose accuracy on your shot after about 2-3 days of no shooting. A while back Kenny Smith was claiming he was the best 3 point shooter not in the NBA because he still practiced everyday. He and Kerr had a shootout and Kenny destroyed him. Kerr's shot looked horrible due to lack of proactice. Horrible by NBA standards that is. I'm sure he'd still light me up in the gym.

[Martin]

the nba used to be like europe and not play any defense but the nba also use to play like every night was Suns vs Suns.

I don't get what you are trying to say