Among the many things Lonzo Ball is known for, his jumper is likely the most recognizable aspect of him and his game. Though he’s made changes to it this season that has led to huge dividends, it’s still a remarkably unique shot that immediately made him stand out.
Considering how much boasting LaVar Ball has done about his sons, it is surprising that he allowed his eldest son to progress as far as he did with a jumper that was so unorthodox. That was the very topic of conversation in LaVar’s recent appearance on the Road Trippin’ podcast with Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Allie Cliffton.
Jefferson brought up Lonzo’s awkward jumper that eventually had to be changed and asked why LaVar allowed him to play with it for so long, which led to an interesting explanation.
“Lonzo started on the right side and then somehow he started doing the stepback and it went to the left and he was knocking that stepback down. So he’s doing this on the left side and he’s being productive. My thing is this. Do you want a guy who has perfect form and missing every shot or do you want a guy who is shooting raggedy as hell but makes shots. Here’s the thing I always told my boys: Perfect your shot. Your shot is the best shot however you perfect your shot. If you’re doing it with the repetitions and that thing is successful going in, leave it at that. Lonzo put it back on the other side and now he’s making some other shots. But as for the reason, if you have somebody believe in you and you shoot a certain way man and that ball going in, they’re not going to say nothing.”
LaVar does make a fair point in that not all jumpers must look the same. Simply watching a quarter or even a few minutes of an NBA basketball game will confirm that.
However, there is a large gap between relatively subtle differences in jumpers in the NBA and the jumper Lonzo entered with. Similarly, the jumper LaMelo is going to enter the league with will also need changes to it in order for him to become a consistent shooter from range.
The shots are almost certainly a byproduct of LaVar forcing his kids to shoot from long range at a young age before they were physically strong enough. Both had elongated motions that worked more as slingshot motions than jumpers.
Regardless, for all the positives Ball did for his sons in getting them to the league, it came at the price of both Lonzo and LaMelo needing to change a fundamental part of their game.