![]() ![]() ![]() He swings left, shoots right the 12-foot skyhook is good!" I can still hear the legendary Lakers announcer Chick Hearn describing the play: With the skyhook, defenders had a hard time preventing Kareem from getting a clean look at the rim. It was like following up Larry Holmes' jab with Mike Tyson's uppercut. In retrospect, it really wasn't fair to go from one of the best fast breaks ever unleashed on the NBA to a Plan B that consisted of the single most effective shot in the history of the sport. ![]() Whenever the Showtime Lakers couldn't get out on the fast break, Magic Johnson would simply hold up a fist, indicating it was time to get the ball to Kareem. Milwaukee Bucks announcer Eddie Doucette gave the shot its heavenly name during Abdul-Jabbar's early pro years with the Milwaukee Bucks, and it stuck as he moved on to Los Angeles and kept relying on the hook shot as the primary weapon for his assault on Wilt Chamberlain's all-time NBA scoring record. The NCAA banned the dunk when Abdul-Jabbar was at UCLA, so he used the hook to set scoring records and win 88 of his 90 collegiate varsity games. "So I learned to rely on it early, and it was always something that I could get off, even in traffic."Īs he practiced in the gyms and playgrounds of New York City, he extended his shooting range. "It was the only shot I could shoot that didn't get smashed back in my face," Abdul-Jabbar said. The greatest encouragement for Abdul-Jabbar to keep working on the hook was when he started playing in fifth grade and usually found himself going against kids who were older, just as tall and more physically developed than him. Louis Hawks, a reminder that the hook could be used effectively at all levels of the game. Abdul-Jabbar did see Hagan use the hook shot as a player for the St. But he did use the drill that was named for him and consisted of shooting a hook shot from the right side with the right hand, then a hook from the left side with the left hand and repeating while slowly moving further away from the basket. Abdul-Jabbar doesn't have memories of watching Mikan, the Minneapolis Laker who was the NBA's first dominant big man. We can thank George Mikan and Cliff Hagan for the origins of Abdul-Jabbar's hook shot. But in practices he taught Allen Iverson the crossover dribble move that Iverson used so effectively in the NBA. He was a reserve guard for the Georgetown Hoyas who played only 50 minutes in the 1995-96 season. ![]() In basketball, where talent eventually overrides everything else, victory belongs to the appropriators more than the innovators. Liza Minnelli had the first crack at "New York, New York," but Frank Sinatra's version is the one you mostly hear played at Yankees and Knicks games. But sometimes it's better to perfect things than do them first. It's not that Abdul-Jabbar created the skyhook. « Hook looks | Sweet Lew | Milwaukee's best | Wilt tilt | Dynamic duos | Kareem of the crop » His left leg is straight, the right knee comes up, the left arm extends out, the right arm rises up with the ball and finally the wrist flicks to add the backspin, the seams rotating as the ball arcs to the hoop and drops through the net. I've seen that rhythmic skyhook so many times it's burned in my head like an image left on a computer screen too long. In order to make something so simple seem so distinctive it has to be done over and over again, through solitary repetition and on stage when everyone's watching. It can be as simple as a single word: Marv Albert's "Yes!" It can be a familiar instrument like B.B. It can be an article of clothing, such as Abraham Lincoln's stovepipe hat or Tiger Woods' red Sunday shirts. They have a signature, an indelible stamp that signifies exactly who they are. The greatest of the great don't just have a style. Magic Johnson smiling James Worthy soaring for a dunk, the ball held straight above his head like the Statue of Liberty's torch Michael Jordan in the original Air Jordan poster, captured mid-flight, his arms and legs spread wide in a pose that became the logo worn on millions of high-tops. In retrospect, my wall was covered with athletes doing what defined them. The poster hung above my bedroom dresser, a painting lifelike in its details but abstract in concept, the head and shoulders of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leaning to the left as he tossed a hook shot against a backdrop of a cloud-spotted sky. ![]()
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