Jump shot (basketball)

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A jump shot being taken at the FIBA EuroCup Women Finals in 2005.

In basketball (and derivatives like netball), a jump shot is an attempt to score a basket by jumping, usually straight up, and in mid-jump, propelling the ball in an arc into the basket. It is accomplished by the player bringing his or her elbow up until it is aligned with the hoop, then sent towards the hoop in a high arc. It is considered the easiest shot to make from a distance. The purposes of the jump are to make it more difficult for the defender to block, and to put more power behind the shot. It is also usually accomplished with one hand by the NBA players. It is the most effective in open play but can prove to be hard when there is a taller player in front of you.

The jump shot originated in the United States with players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the NBA's early days, most players attempted field goals with both feet planted on the ground, a technique now known as a "set shot". Paul Arizin, a Philadelphia Warriors player in the early 1950s, was the first to perfect the jump shot.^[1] Over time, many players starting copying his jump shot, and it has become the most prevalent technique for shooting from the field. Glen Roberts was the first person to put the "jump shot" in effect.

Today, the jump shot has many varieties, such as the "turnaround jumper" (facing away from the basket, then jumping and spinning towards it, shooting the ball in mid-air), the "fadeaway" (jumping away from the basket to create space) or the "leaning jumper" (jumping towards the basket to move away from a trailing defender).

Because a defender often has to jump to block a jump shot, an offensive player can try to get his defender in the air at the wrong time by using a pump fake.