NBA

NBA coach says new ball is ‘screwing’ with shooters: ‘They’re literally changing their shots because of the composition of the basketball’

Published by
Jason Simpson

In June of 2021, the NBA introduced a new game ball made by Wilson to be used for the 2021-22 season.

Apparently, a lot of players around the NBA are having a hard time adjusting to the new ball. It sounds like some players are going as far as “changing their shots” and “adding a little bit more arc to their shots” to try to deal with the change.

“There’s a lot of those guys out there that are having some issues with the grip on that new basketball,” Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix said during a podcast episode. “What I was told by one coach was that because the ball hits the rim differently and bounces differently, guys are adding a little bit more arc to their shots. They’re literally changing their shots because of the composition of the basketball and that’s been screwing around with some guys.”

Around the league, shooting numbers are down this season. Collectively, NBA players are shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The 2014-15 campaign was the last time the league-wide shooting percentage on field goals was lower than 45.1 percent. Even more alarmingly, the 1998-99 campaign was the last time the league-wide shooting percentage on 3-pointers was lower than 34.7 percent.

With 3-point shooting being such a crucial part of today’s NBA, this is certainly a very interesting development, and it’ll be worth monitoring for the remainder of the season. Perhaps players will eventually get used to the ball, which could cause the league-wide shooting percentages to shoot back up.

Jason Simpson

Jason is a copy writer and editor with experience covering professional sports and current events. He is excited about being a part of the Ahn Fire Digital team.

Published by
Jason Simpson

Recent Posts

Yankees part-owner disses LeBron then gets blasted by ex-NBA wing for maybe ‘dumbest tweet of 2024’

Folks will be hard-pressed to name any NBA players in the league right now who…

3 hours ago

Alex Caruso more than willing to sign extension with OKC Thunder: ‘Would be awesome’

Saturday marks the six-month anniversary of the trade that sent guard Alex Caruso from the…

22 hours ago

Draymond on whether NBA players ask him for LeBron’s phone number: ‘You can’t get ahold of Bron’

Some NBA players have seemingly turned to Golden State Warriors defensive ace Draymond Green for…

22 hours ago

Paul Pierce says LeBron, K.D. and Steph need to force others to take ASG seriously: ‘Kob was gon’ force you to play’

The NBA All-Star Game has drawn criticism in recent years for not being competitive enough.…

3 days ago

Magic Johnson says Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are like him and Larry Bird: ‘We changed the NBA…they changed the WNBA’

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird formed maybe the most iconic rivalry between two players in…

3 days ago

Ex-Pelicans star implies New Orleans wasn’t a good city for Zion to land in: ‘We go to New Orleans when we wanna eat good’

Former New Orleans Pelicans big man DeMarcus Cousins shared his thoughts on Pelicans star Zion…

3 days ago