SAN FRANCISCO — If shooting is an art form, Chris Hines is the sculptor of the golden frame. Basketball craftsman. Stroke manager.
As an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves, he watches his latest masterpiece, Anthony Edwards' shooting, from the sideline.
“It's crazy right now. It sucks for me,” Hines said. As soon as it leaves his hands. ”
His students have no such problems.
“I feel like it happens every time, I'm not going to lie,” Edwards said Sunday from the visitors' locker room at Chase Center, flashing a smile that looked like a soda commercial.
Embedded in his braggadocio is evidence of his sophistication. To be clear, Edwards can sense when his form is off and a mistake is about to happen. But he has mastered his mechanics to a level that doesn't feel that often.
“Most of the time, when it leaves my hands, I think, 'Damn, that – that felt good.'” Because I've been working on it, dude. There's nothing interesting about it. I've been working on Treyball a lot. …I'm happy with the situation. ”
The hard work behind Edwards' talent shows in his persona. His charm suggests it would be easy to become a superstar, but his vastly improved shooting highlights an insane work ethic.
This art has functionality. Edwards left the Bay Area this week after splitting back-to-back games against the Golden State Warriors, making 103 3-pointers, the most in the NBA. His 241 attempts were just one shy of Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics. 3 seconds as of Tuesday morning. More than a quarter into the season, Edwards is one of the league's best 3-point shooters and a strong counter to his reputation for attacking the rim.
But don't overlook his sophisticated jumper aesthetic. Appreciate Edwards' artistry and Hines' engineering.
Perhaps it's overlooked because of Edwards' highlight dunks and viral quotes. However, he developed a very picturesque shot.
“Yeah,” Edwards said. “Super beautiful. Shout out to C. Hines.”
He is the third player in NBA history to hit 100 threes in his first 23 games.
special. 🐜 pic.twitter.com/S9JCNRq95s
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 9, 2024
The springs hidden in the legs are already attractive. He just floats, or time seems to slow down when he's in the air. As Edwards stands up in his jumper, it looks like something cool is about to happen. He has already developed a classically attractive midrange.
His jumper mechanics are cleaner. Efficient transition from pickup to release. Smooth. Easy. This is in contrast to the typical shot of a jumper, who reaches the top of his jump and then jumps awkwardly. Edwards worked on his form until it was one fluid movement, consistently reproduced and topped off with a portrait-worthy follow-through and snap of the net.
Ant-Man blazed a new path to expressing awe. One of the most appealing players in the league added even more sparkle of personality to his already rich personality.
“Not the prettiest,” he declared, nodding to Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. “They're wearing nice jumpers. It's not like they're trying to wear the prettiest jumper. Yes, it looks nice. But as long as it's in, it looks good.”
However, beauty comes at a price. In Edwards' case, it was paid for through a process that was as ruthless as it was methodical.
Hines and Edwards put it together as a long-term project. Like Edwards, his ability was obvious. Talent drips from him like Jheri curl juice. The past four years, as well as the next ten years, were dedicated to leveraging his global capabilities.
Edwards resisted at first. One day, he despises Hines, his torture teacher.
“He hated me,” Hines said with a proud smile. “From the beginning. He said, 'C. Hines, you're not going to change my game.' I'm not going to change your game. Let me tweak it, okay.”
Chris Hynes looks on as Anthony Edwards warms up before a game against the Phoenix Suns in November. Edwards praised Hines' improved shooting form. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Hines earned Edwards' trust by not changing the canvas and evaluating it. Edwards often asked what he couldn't do and how he needed to change. People steadily taught him how to draw his game. Hines instead asserted that Edwards only needs improvement, not rebuilding. They worked on building structure and putting shots together at the heart of the game that made him special.
Hines began by sorting out Edwards' strengths. his handle. His finishing package. his footwork. His touch at the rim. These were the basic elements of construction.
“He already had a pretty decent, solid, strong shot,” Hines said. “We just wanted to tighten everything around his shots. Little things. … How do you put things in your pockets? Is it clean? How do you find your shoelaces without looking for them? Little things of that nature. Things. It was really fun to watch the process as we strengthened all of those things.”
The shots are countless and constant, and time is too blurry to record. Photography is a delicate process. It's the feel and form. Technical and creative. Respecting universal laws while remaining true to the archer's uniqueness.
Hines worked on simplifying Edwards' shooting stroke. First, he needed to fix his habit of dropping the ball too low. Well, according to pure muscle memory, his process begins with the ball near the belly button.
Then they fixed his high release. Edwards had a good range of motion and lifted the ball from his thighs to the back of his head, creating ample opportunities to break up the result. The longer the form, the more difficult it is to replicate.
So by raising his starting point and moving his release point forward, his movements became more efficient.
Another thing Hines fixed was Edwards' habit of holding the ball close to his body, limiting his range of motion. Hines trained to keep his elbows in an L-shape rather than a V-shape to maintain power and flow. Hines instilled in Edwards the need to keep his elbow above his eyebrow at the top of his form.
Follow-through was also an important factor. Edwards now has a distinct wrist crack, as if he's dipping his hand into the rim. Gives the ball a strong spin and sends it flying into the net.
“We're in the gym four or five times a day just for filming,” Edwards said. “Just shooting. Just shooting. So I've been trying to perfect that, because when I came into the league, the important thing was, 'He can go downhill, but , he couldn't shoot.'' He can't shoot. He can't shoot. 'So I've been trying to erase that name from my name for a long time. It's still a slow process, but I feel like we're heading in the right direction. ”
Last month, Edwards sent Curry a voice message, trying to glean some off-the-ball wisdom from his Team USA buddy. This was after a summer of picking the brain of his favorite player, Durant.
The threat of Edwards' aggressive drives, which produced a montage of highlights, forced defenders to back him up and allow jumpers to prevent posters. His emergence as an MVP candidate has increased the number of double teams he faces.
So his next level of development is to become an off-the-ball threat. The rhythm from dribbling to shooting is very different with and without a rock. Maintaining the same form while catching or shooting requires repetition and precise drills.
Edwards said he wants to hit shots long enough to get defenders in the air with pump fakes and open up lanes for drives.
“To be able to score without the ball, you have to be able to shoot,” Edwards said. You know what I'm saying? Let them respect that. … Just being ready to take a shot on the catch makes him another threat on the offensive end. Because I want to catch and shoot and now everyone has to respect that. So if you can get me off the line, I can now get where I really want to go, which is downhill. ”
This requires thousands of shots and can take hours or years. Hines had no intention of rushing the process. He didn't skip a step and was intentional about mastering a skill before moving on to the next.
The pursuit of grandeur is the opposite of haste. By focusing on quality, masterpieces transcend time.
The player must want this. I really want it. At this level of improvement, struggle is inevitable. The amount of work Edwards has put in is evident when he pulls up the car. floating in the air. Fluid mechanics. Quite a rotation. Silky splash. His weakness became a work of art. You can tell by how it's assembled.
(Top illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic;Photo: Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
