one cool part about watching kobe bryant over the years was seeing how his move set evolved over time. the stories about him seeing a certain move, practicing it, then pulling it out in subsequent games just because he could - i believe them 100%, because in the first few years of his career, he'd try something new like every other game.
some of these moves remained in the bag as his career progressed, while others were let go of. the older, #24 kobe built his game around efficiency and precision (in terms of the number of physical movements used to get to his spots to score from them).
one move that held its spot in kobe's moves package was his running jumper. in fact, i think it's one of the few ones he used all the way from high school to his last year in the nba. here it is:
i always felt it was unique that he jumped off his right leg when going left with it. perhaps it's because he grew up in an age where jumping off the wrong foot (same hand same foot) wasn't popular yet, so he used the footwork you'd use for a left hand layup. most right-handed shooters jump off their left legs when fading to the left (dirk nowitzki's classic fadeaway, for example); kobe's way makes it so tough to square up in the air.
the increased level of difficulty does make it look cooler when it goes in though.
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