The jump shot totally transformed the game of basketball. In fact, legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian believes the jump shot has been the most important innovation in the game in decades. Technology writer Patrick Lefler goes ever further, writing that the jump shot is the most important innovation in basketball since it was created in 1891.
Pre-Jump Shot
During the first 50 years or so after its invention, basketball was a slow-paced game. Players tossed up set shots at the basket while keeping both feet on the ground. "The idea of players jumping and shooting at the same time was just unheard of," writes Lefner. It was thought that the only way to shoot accurately was to keep both feet on the floor, as players did for free throws.
Inventors
No one is certain who invented the jump shot. In his book "The Origins of the Jump Shot," author John Christgau writes about eight players "who shook up the world of basketball." Kenny Sailors may be the best known of the eight, and his storybook basketball career is remarkable. Living in poverty on a small farm on the Wyoming prairie during the Depression, he began playing basketball against his older brother Bud, shooting at hoop they nailed to the side of the farm's windmill. The 6-foot-5 Bud was was both older and taller than Kenny. Tired of having all of his shots blocked, Kenny started jumping as he shot. He became an ace jump shooter, and helped lead the University of Wyoming team to the NCAA Championship in 1943. In the process, he became the first player to shoot jump shots in Madison Square Garden.
Impact
As coach Tarkanian writes, the jump shot became the most important offensive weapon in the game. Even great defensive players have trouble stopping jump shooters, which is mainly why scoring is so much higher in the modern game. Tarkanian states that jump shots usually account for more points in a game that all other shots put together, and that jump shots can be taken by any player from any angle, either from a standing start or on the move in any direction. The flexibility of the jump shot is what makes it so difficult to defend.
Disruptive Innovation
Lefler compares the jump shot to the type of disruptive innovation from companies such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook that transformed the tech industry. The creation of the jump shot shares characteristics with disruptive innovations in several ways. First, the jump shot transformed the way coaches and players viewed shooting. Then others refined the jump shot with additions such as the turnaround jump shot. Second, early adopters of the jump shot created a huge competitive advantage for themselves. The unheralded University of Wyoming team, with the only jump shooter in the tournament, won its only NCCA Championship. Third, the jump shot disrupted and replaced the existing model -- the set-shot disappeared almost overnight.
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