John Wall Explains How He Fixed His Jumpshot

After enlisting the help of a trainer and a shooting specialist last summer, John Wall worked the kinks out of his jumper. The results this season have been rather impressive. Wall explains what he did to develop a J that’s becoming increasingly wet. Per the WaPo: “A naturally explosive player, Wall used his speed and athleticism to give him an advantage in nearly everything he did on the court, except when he left the ground to shoot a jumper. Wall elevated in slow motion, as if he had taken is finger off the fast forward button. He would lean, kick out his leg or hesitate, which led to a hitch in his release. ‘If I shot it, I shot like I was a lights out shooter, fadeaway, no follow through,’ Wall said, shaking his head, as he discussed his career-high 47-point game on Monday in the Wizards’ 107-94 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Wall mixed in some fadeaways, and step-back fallaways against Memphis once he established a decent groove. But the reason he made 10 or his 13 field goals from the perimeter on his career night is because of the lessons he learned while working with trainer Rob McClanaghan and former Wizards shooting coach and New York Knicks assistant Dave Hopla last summer. McClanaghan advised Wall to go straight up and down and follow through, while Hopla did the same while getting him to remove his guide hand from the ball sooner. ‘Main thing for me is using speed and shooting on the way up,’ Wall said. ‘I used to shoot on the way down and if you want to become a better shooter, it doesn’t work that way.’ Before developing a workout program for Wall, McClanaghan watched film of the former No. 1 overall pick and noticed how teams would roll under screens and back off, daring him to take a jump shot. […] ‘Just confidence,’ Wall said. ‘If I miss a couple, I don’t get down on myself. Teams are going to go under the screen to see if I could make them and after I made a few they had to change how they were guarding me.'”