Russell Westbrook has been in the NBA since 2008, and in the time span his game has gone through many ups and downs. He came into a league known as bad shooter with supreme athleticism, became a great midrange shooter during his stint with Kevin Durant, and then his jumper completely fell off over the past 5 years. In that time span he never seemed to be actively trying change his jump shooting form, but after the hell he went through last season he apparently got a wake up call.
Russell Westbrook’s New Jump Shot Form Goes Viral Amidst Lakers Signing Dennis Schroder a Second Time
One of the major problems with Russell Westbrook’s jump shot was the fact that he jumped really high while also releasing his shot late. Anyone who plays basketball regularly knows that when you release your shot too late it leads to you either front rimming, or bricking off the back of the rim. That’s because it’s tough to control trajectory when gravity is pulling you down, which is many people double clutch shots that released late.
Most great shooters in the NBA release the ball at the height of their jump, or on the way up. For example Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield are perfect examples of a players who release the ball while they are still elevating, which leads to them having the beautiful high arc on most of their shots. In footage posted by Chris Brickley on TikTok, Russell Westbrook’s new jump shooting form seems to employ this technique of releasing the ball while he’s still elevating. In addition it appears he is also trying not to jump as high when he shoots. Based on the footage the new technique seems to be working, because he was knocking down almost everything from outside the arc. However, it was practice setting, so you can’t really judge until you see it work during an actual game.
The footage of Russell Westbrook’s new shooting form comes amidst the news that Lakers signed Dennis Schroder to a veteran minimum deal for one year, which is ironic considering one season ago he turned down an $80 Million contract extension. Schroder had a strong showing at the FIBA Qualifiers, and was sparking interest from several teams.
Lakers point guard depth chart now includes Patrick Beverley, Westbrook, Dennis Schroder, and technically also Lebron James. This has people wondering once again if Lakers are planning to trade Westbrook very soon.
Could the video of Russell Westbrook’s new jump shot form increase his trade value? Only time will tell.