Michael Porter Jr. names his prettiest forms in the league
The NBA is full of elite talent, especially when it comes to scoring the ball. Some players are known for their explosive athletic ability, while others have an impeccable shooting form.
In a recent interview with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks, Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. discussed which three players in the league have the prettiest shooting forms:
"I think Klay Thompson's shot is, like, picture-perfect. Like, balance, elbow straight. I like, obviously, how Steph shoots. We work out quite a bit together. And I just think his range. I admire shooting because there are two different ways guys shoot. Some guys shoot a push shot, and they can extend their range back, and that's the shooters like Trae Young or Damian Lillard or Steph.
"And then there's, like, jump shooters who shoot kind of like me, with a higher release point, like me, KD, Paul George. Jayson Tatum has a high release. So I admire shooting from different aspects of it. And then there's, like, different perks to both types of shooting. If you shoot, like, above, more of a jump shot, a guy can be your face, and you can just shoot."
Michael Porter Jr. continued:
"But then the guys who shoot more of that push shot, they can extend their range way back. So I appreciate all types of shooting. I think Damian Lillard, we saw it up close when he was given a 50 in the playoffs a couple of years ago. (Devin Booker) Book has an amazing shot. He was killing us this year for a couple of games. But, yeah, that's a few guys who I think are great shooters."
As the NBA game has become more jump-shot orientated, we've witnessed an evolution in the shooting skill of players in the NBA. Guards have developed quicker releases and often utilize push shots.
Wings incorporate step-backs and snatch-backs before flowing into their high-release jumpers. And bigs use their momentum to generate 3s with a methodical weight distribution into shot release.
Michael Porter Jr. believes he was part of the best AAU team ever
During the same interview with Taylor Rooks, Michael Porter Jr. discussed his AAU days, where he and Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young were teammates. He said:
“We were just dominant out there. We were smacking everybody, like really good teams. I honestly think we probably could go down as probably the best AAU team ever because we were smacking teams at Peach Jam by 30. ...
“Mokan, that program, out of Kansas City was one of the only EYBL teams that practices. … Those practices and all that is harder than college and the NBA combined.”
While Michael Porter Jr.'s statement regarding Mokan's practices may seem farfetched, the program did produce two elite NBA talents and put Porter Jr. on a path to an NBA championship. Regardless of whether Porter Jr. is stretching the truth a little or not, Mokan is clearly a high-level AAU program that helped develop some star-level players.
Hopefully, we will continue to see more talent come through that pipeline in the future.