Gordon used three-pointers to destroy the Thunder twice, and Gordon tear off the "dunker" label? How did he practice his shooting?

This is Aaron Gordon's childhood diary. When he was determined to be a professional player, dunks were the first scene in his mind. After entering the league, "deducting the player" has always been the biggest label he left to fans.

However, in G1 and G3 of this year's Western Conference Semi-Finals, Gordon used 3 points to complete the key buzzer-beating and tie, and is quietly modifying the label of "dunk player". His three-pointers in the first three games were 9 of 15 shots, with a shooting percentage of up to 60%. How did he practice his shooting? In college, Gordon's shooting was notoriously bad, with a free throw percentage of 42.2%, and often made three-pointers. A former ESPN reporter wrote an article asserting that Gordon's free throws could never be higher than 62% in his career. This is mainly because the Gordon family's athletic genes are too strong. The father is a dual-player basketball and rugby player, and the mother is a quasi-professional ice hockey player. Since childhood, Gordon can walk sideways in campus basketball. In the end, Gordon was taken off by the Magic in the 2014 draft with a high pick in the No. 4 pick. In the Magic, Gordon met his shooting mentor Dave Love.

Love is a well-known full-time shooting coach in the industry. The most classic case is in the 2013-14 season. When he worked for the Cavaliers, Tristan Thompson, who was left-handed, changed from left-handed shooting to right-handed shooting, and his free throw shooting percentage increased from 60% to 69%, which also made Thompson the first player in NBA history to change his shooting habits but still set a career high. Then in the 2014 offseason, Love was poached by the Magic and the two sides cooperated until 2018.

Love helped Gordon change two main points, one is the position of his arm. Gordon's shooting during his college years, his upper body leaned forward very seriously, his arms extended the ball almost 1 meter away, and his upper and lower limbs were disconnected. After stretching his body, he seemed to be going backwards to the basket. After the gradual correction, Gordon's position of the ball is already located in his waist and abdomen, and his body can also be perpendicular to the ground when he jumps.

The second one is the bad habit of catching the ball. Gordon turned out that before taking action, he always opened his big hand and grabbed the ball tightly, causing the muscles of his fingers and wrists to be tense. Love asked him to close the distance between his thumb and index finger, reducing tension, and thus making it more relaxed to throw it out. "Dave Love is really a master in the shooting world," Gordon praised.

However, less than a month after the rookie season started, Gordon suffered a fracture in his left metatarsal bone, but he insisted on wearing protective boots, sitting in a wheelchair, and practicing shooting at the wall continuously. In the end, Gordon played 47 games in the rookie year, and his free throw shooting percentage reached 72.1%, an increase of 30% compared to college, and also shattered the assertion of the former ESPN reporter in one fell swoop.

However, compared to dunks, Gordon's shooting talent is indeed not enough. It took him three seasons and in the fourth year, he increased his three-point shooting percentage to more than 30% (33.6%) for the first time, barely passing the mid-range shooting level on the wing. In 2021, Gordon was traded to the Nuggets. He bought an old warehouse in a very inconspicuous industrial area in eastern Denver and renovated it into a two-story residence. In addition to satisfying sleep and diet, the most important thing is the half-court court containing the NBA-specification and the fitness equipment transported from his home in Orlando. Gordon moved in directly. He hoped not to waste his commuting time at the training hall, nor to worry about disturbing his neighbors, and he could do shooting training every day when he got up. Even during the offseason, he would invite Nuggets teammates to their homes to hold a mini training camp.

Gordon's efforts have finally paid off, and he can make more and more critical long shots in the Nuggets. For example, in early 2022, he defeated the Clippers in overtime with a three-pointer in the bottom corner. And in November 23, he hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the third quarter, and the Clippers also lost three-pointers in the end. This season, his three-point shooting percentage reached 43.6%, his first career gain of 40%, and his free throws reached 80% (81%) for the first time.

This year's Western Conference semi-finals, after G1 defeated the Thunder, Gordon sighed in an interview, "I have really practiced a lot of jump shots over the years, a lot! You can see that it is slowly mature!" After G3 defeated the Thunder again in overtime, Nuggets coach Adelman Jr. accepted a 10-minute interview, but no one in the media mentioned Gordon. Before leaving, Adelman said, "Don't forget, it was Gordon who hit the tie!"

This reminds me of the fact that Sakuragi Hanamichi in "Slam Dunk" fell in love with basketball at first, which also originated from Haruko asking him if he could dunk, but after going through hardships, the end of the story was that he used his shot to defeat Sanno Industry.