Shawn Marion was a solid player – but his jump shot really messed a lot of people up
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One group of people who definitely hated Shawn Marion and his jump shot is probably the NBA 2k developers. While everybody else had jumpers that could be tracked, this man really had a quickdraw Hall of Fame badge on, right from the start. His nickname was “The Matrix”, aptly so because it was mind bending to see how there was absolutely no travel.
People while learning basketball have been taught to play chest passes, as a fundamental part of passing. Marion took it a step further and decided to shoot from there. Kevin Hart had a famous line in one of his comedy shows, in which he says “Say it with your chest!”. Shawn took that line to heart, and decided to shoot from the chest.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. A saying that fits perfectly with the jump action, because a career 33.1 3pt% is nothing to scoff at. That puts him higher than the legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. It was an effective weapon in his arsenal, because no one could really understand what was going on, to defend it well enough.
Shawn Marion and his broken jumper helped Dirk Nowitzki win a title in 2011
The 2011 championship run can be heralded as one of the best title runs in the recent past. That team beat defending championship Kobe Bryant, the Big three of Miami, all with solid role players and a terminator named Dirk Nowitzki. With players like Marion, Jason Terry and J.J Barea in the roster, everybody played their roles well to make sure team performance beat individual brilliance.
Marion was the third highest scorer in the playoffs, only behind Dirk and Jason. Players like Joakim Noah and Anthony Mason were criticized for their shots, but they all scored points in bunches. Lonzo Ball too was made fun of for his shot, but he’s fixed it since then.
The moral for every player out there is to stick with what works for them. Unless it is a terrible movement that may injure your in the long run, stick with what makes you tick.
