Chapter 765 - 690: Fadeaway Jump Shot

Chapter 765: Chapter 690: Fadeaway Jump Shot

Lately, Chen Yu hadn’t had much time, so he had a long chat with Holger via video call.

They talked about Nowitzki’s development, Holger’s peculiar training methods, and his philosophies and insights on training.

Many of his ideas were very inspiring to Chen Yu.

’He’s a genius.’

’It might have something to do with his background.’

After his teacher introduced basketball to Germany, the sport developed differently than it did in the United States due to the different environment. This led to a distinct basketball philosophy.

He viewed basketball more as a regular sport and based his player training methods on that foundation, rather than following traditional approaches.

In short, his philosophy was fascinating.

Finally, when Chen Yu asked how to adjust Nowitzki’s game, Holger’s answer was to make adjustments based on Nowitzki’s specific characteristics.

He also mentioned another player.

Tracy McGrady!

He said that the ultimate goal in basketball is to shoot the ball and score.

Every skill is aimed at one thing: getting off a better shot against a defender.

Therefore, one shouldn’t be adding things; one should be subtracting them.

And even though he was far away in Germany, he had been keeping up with the NBA and watching Nowitzki’s games.

He believed that one person had mastered this "subtraction" approach: Tracy McGrady.

His shot was simple and direct. Facing a defender, he didn’t use excessive moves; he just pulled up and shot.

He considered this a highly efficient way of shooting.

And with this shooting style, Tracy McGrady had become a top-tier star with the potential to win a scoring title.

When it came to Tracy McGrady, Chen Yu was all too familiar.

Back in Orlando, it was Chen Yu who had brought Hardaway to the city to teach Tracy McGrady how to play.

He had also personally treated McGrady’s congenital scoliosis, maintaining his back every summer and allowing him to play healthily for so many years.

His jump shot was also something Chen Yu helped him fine-tune little by little every summer when he came to Phoenix.

And just as Holger said, Tracy McGrady’s jump shot had a very distinct personal style.

If one were to summarize it, Tracy McGrady’s jump shot had three main characteristics.

First was his final dribble before the shot. He would intentionally lower his dribble, keeping it at the lowest point of his crouch before takeoff. This allowed him to transition instantly from dribbling into his jump shot.

Then there was his jumping height.

He jumped high and had a high release point, but it wasn’t just about pure height. It depended on the opponent. He had a mismatch advantage, jumping higher than shorter players and releasing faster than taller ones.

Finally, there was the way he generated force. He extended his body as much as possible, using his core strength to keep his body in a stable, balanced state. This improved his shooting stability and also resulted in a higher release point.

Those were the three characteristics.

But this wasn’t Chen Yu’s summary; it was ESPN’s. They had even given this type of jump shot a name: the McGrady Jumper.

However, having personally helped Tracy McGrady with his training, Chen Yu knew it wasn’t actually that mysterious.

It was just an ordinary jump shot, but one that was combined with his personal attributes.

He was tall enough and had great flexibility, which elevated his release point and made his body look extended and graceful. That was all.

But if he had to pinpoint the essence of it, Chen Yu believed the core of Tracy McGrady’s jump shot was his ability to read the defender.

He would usually attack with the ball and then suddenly rise up for a shot. The defender couldn’t react in time to keep up, so he often made the shot, which made his jumper seem unique.

But the reason he could do this was fundamentally because he was reading the defender’s defensive approach.

He would read the defender’s stance—for example, whether the defender’s knees were bent or not.

He would choose to rise up and shoot the moment your knees weren’t bent.

At that point, for the defender to contest the shot, they had to go through the extra step of bending their knees again before jumping.

It might not seem like much, but that single step was enough to make the defender a beat slow.

Within the same amount of shooting space, this made Tracy McGrady’s jump shot look incredibly sharp. Often, before the defender could make a move, he had already jumped and shot the ball.

So, the foundation of this type of jump shot was still about creating an advantage.

Speaking of which, Chen Yu thought of another person.

Durant!

Last year, Durant had made it all the way to the Finals, and a large part of that was thanks to his shooting.

His height and his wingspan gave him a natural advantage.

So unlike Tracy McGrady, he didn’t need to create an advantage; he already had one.

As a result, his jump shot was even more threatening and harder to defend.

Drawing an analogy, Chen Yu also had to consider how to help Nowitzki create his own advantage.

’Just shoot it!’

An idea gradually formed in Chen Yu’s mind.

On the next non-game day, Nowitzki reported to the training center on time as usual.

"Chen, is it the same old routine today?"

Nowitzki asked after finishing his warm-up.

The trainer who was supposed to guard him was already ready.

Chen Yu shook his head. "No, you don’t need to practice the turn-around post move today. Just hold the ball, get to your spots, and shoot it in your own way."

Nowitzki was taken aback for a moment, but he didn’t ask why and went directly onto the court.

The trainer, Elvis Gray, stood in front of him.

He was 6’11" with an excellent wingspan. Back in ’93, he had entered the draft but wasn’t selected. He had no choice but to return to his university and become an assistant coach responsible for training inside players. He later joined Chen Yu’s company for the salary.

The reason he went undrafted was because his low-post skills were terrible. He had the body and defense, but not much else, and he had suffered a major injury in college.

But he had a knack for training players and possessed a wealth of defensive experience.

Nowitzki caught the ball and, under pressure from Gray, subconsciously turned to post up.

From the sidelines, Chen Yu immediately blew his whistle and shouted through a megaphone, "Dirk, no post-ups! Face the basket! No dribbling! Just catch and shoot directly!"

Nowitzki understood immediately. He reset his position, holding the ball at his waist and lowering his body. He used his upper body to create space, then pulled up directly for a jump shot.

There was a slight fadeaway to it.

But Gray’s defensive experience was rich; he anticipated the shot and jumped at almost the same time to contest it.

The shot went in.

He was a top-tier star, after all. He still had his touch.

"Good, keep going!"

Chen Yu shouted from the equipment station.

Beside him, Nelson asked curiously, "Chen, is this going to work?"

During the meeting this morning, Chen Yu had suddenly announced a change to Nowitzki’s training plan, effectively scrapping the previous post-turnaround training in favor of direct shooting.

They had been practicing it for so long, and the team had put in a lot of effort. To suddenly scrap it and start over meant all their previous work would be for nothing.

Moreover, Chen Yu hadn’t explained the purpose of the exercise. Just facing the basket and shooting... It almost seemed as if Chen Yu himself didn’t know what skill they were supposed to be practicing.

"We’ll know if it works once we try it."

For now, it was all about recording the data.

Then, through countless shots, without setting any boundaries for Nowitzki, they would find the most comfortable and suitable shooting form for him.

It was like the old saying: what suits you best is what’s best.

And just like that, this data recording continued for nearly half a month.

In the conference room.

Chen Yu used a PowerPoint presentation to show some pictures of Nowitzki’s shots. "Three key points," he said, "release point, the arc of the ball, and the fadeaway."

"A fadeaway jumper?"

Nelson and the others present exchanged a look.

Chen Yu nodded and continued, "You’ve all seen the data we’ve collected. The fadeaway jumper is the shooting method that best suits Dirk, combines best with his physical characteristics, and is most conducive to creating an advantage."

"It’s also his most efficient shooting method."

Chen Yu added.

Holger’s philosophy was all about subtraction.

After subtracting everything else, the most suitable shooting method turned out to be the fadeaway jumper.