Here's hoping Zavier Simpson gives the hook shot new life in the NBA.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored over 38K points in his NBA career while heavily relying on his hook shot. Nowadays though, you hardly see it used by the bigs; on occasion you'll see a "baby hook" by guys like Jokic or Horford. Sure, it's tough to master the technique and the game has changed quite a bit, with centers and power forwards raining 3's. But maybe the game can change again. How?
Enter. Zavier Simpson. Also known as "Captain Hook."
Baby Kareem
Simpson is a 6-foot guard with A+ handles, great defense, and 20/20 vision, as evidenced by his assist totals. He played at Michigan, where he led the team to the National Championship in 2018. During his time at Michigan he developed a solid hook shot, which is unusual for a guard to utilize, especially an undersized guard. He joined the OKC G-League team in 2021 and most recently signed a 10-day contract with the Thunder. With the G-League team, he's averaging 12.7 PPG and just over 6 APG.
Zavier Simpson has already employed his nifty hook shot and it works...really well. As an undersized guard in the NBA, or even college ball, you need to have a bag of tricks to succeed. He puts the arching shot up so quickly, wherever he wants, and it is nearly impossible to block for other guards and unsuspecting centers. Zavier has clearly shown that the hook can be a weapon. Will we see more players adding it to their arsenal? Kareem and I hope so!
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