Can An NBA Player Become a Better Passer?

[Smoking With Cigarettes]

Im assuming your question is has any guys gone from subpar to average to elite without flashing the obvious potential? No obvious players come to mind and the only one I can really think of is Gary Harris for charted development, but even that is a reach because Gary went from athletic shooter to all around SG so hes no CP3, but a capable backup PG if need be.

As for why no one seeks out passers, Im guessing most players associate their playmaking with chemistry so they just work with their teammates as opposed to a Kidd, Nash, Jax, Stockton, etc

 

[Professor Emeritus]

As for why no one seeks out passers, Im guessing most players associate their playmaking with chemistry so they just work with their teammates as opposed to a Kidd, Nash, Jax, Stockton, etc

It's also hard as hell to work on passing in a vacuum. You can do exercises in the gym to improve your accuracy at certain passing angles (Jason Williams was famous for those and I used to do them too until my behind-the-back passes were dead accurate with both hands), but real passing skill can only happen in the context of actual gameplay, and it takes a lot of reps to develop. No retired all-time great is going to go to the gym to play five-on-five with you for months as you develop your court vision.

 

[Smoking With Cigarettes]

It's also hard as hell to work on passing in a vacuum. You can do exercises in the gym to improve your accuracy at certain passing angles (Jason Williams was famous for those and I used to do them too until my behind-the-back passes were dead accurate with both hands), but real passing skill can only happen in the context of actual gameplay, and it takes a lot of reps to develop. No retired all-time great is going to go to the gym to play five-on-five with you for months as you develop your court vision.

I also feel like some dudes are just born with that natural court vision and they just hone it until they're elite. Passing is truly an underappreciated art

 

[MJ Truth]

I can't think of anyone who entered the league as a bad passer and became a much better one. However, I've seen guys like Kawhi and J.Kidd come in the league as bad shooters and become good shooters.

I notice a lot of dudes work with Kobe and Hakeem in the offseason to become better scorers but nobody works with John Stockton, White Chocolate or Mark Jackson to become better passers.

From bad passer to great passer? Rarely see it. But you OFTEN see guys become BETTER passers. Particularly big men who learn how to navigate double teams. And plenty of guys who had good court vision improved as passers naturally throughout their career.

 

[G.O.A.T Squad Spokesman]

So it's easier to reach someone how to be a good shooter/scorer than it is to teach someone to be a good passer right?

 

[///Vega+++]

LBJ has always been a natural when it comes to passing. Durant has improved but can do more. Kawhi too I guess.
I think it depends more on the team's style of play. A player in a team like GS/SA is most likely going to have better passing stats compared to another in a team where iso play is preponderant regardless of their respective skills.

 

[MJ Truth]

So it's easier to reach someone how to be a good shooter/scorer than it is to teach someone to be a good passer right?

Absolutely. And that's mainly because shooting is something you can improve on all by yourself with repetition in an empty gym. Improving as a passer requires a lot more, mostly game reps, cognizance in game situations, improvements in court awareness (which is really all that it's about), and film study and understanding of angles, etc. One is a you thing, the other is more of a team thing. Plus there's the mental block a lot of players have of simply not trusting their teammates as much as they trust themselves. Being a great passer requires a certain mentality that isn't really that natural for the human psyche IMO. This may just be something that I'm overstating because of personal experience, but as someone who has coached boys and girls at the high school/AAU level, it's easier to get girls to trust their teammates, and I think it's biological factors, but that could be way off base.

 

[G.O.A.T Squad Spokesman]

Absolutely. And that's mainly because shooting is something you can improve on all by yourself with repetition in an empty gym. Improving as a passer requires a lot more, mostly game reps, cognizance in game situations, improvements in court awareness (which is really all that it's about), and film study and understanding of angles, etc. One is a you thing, the other is more of a team thing. Plus there's the mental block a lot of players have of simply not trusting their teammates as much as they trust themselves. Being a great passer requires a certain mentality that isn't really that natural for the human psyche IMO. This may just be something that I'm overstating because of personal experience, but as someone who has coached boys and girls at the high school/AAU level, it's easier to get girls to trust their teammates, and I think it's biological factors, but that could be way off base.

I agree. Which is why I find myself the only guy that actually enjoys passing the ball when I play pickup games. That seems to be rare nowdays.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

So it's easier to reach someone how to be a good shooter/scorer than it is to teach someone to be a good passer right?

To a degree, because great shooting is in large part a muscle memory skill while great passing requires much more thought. But you're still setting a high bar I think - it's not like many guys have come into the league with no potential to shoot and then become great shooters. LeBron is often put up as a guy who added that part of the game, and even he had a strong jumper in high school (37% three-point shooter on their short line one year) and still only improved to be an "above-average" shooter, not a "great" one.

I agree. Which is why I find myself the only guy that actually enjoys passing the ball when I play pickup games. That seems to be rare nowdays.

It definitely depends on the context. TBH it was easier to find passing appreciated in the college gyms I played on than on the streets. I remember this one kid who would get mad at me if I set a pick for him and didn't roll to the hoop afterwards because he wanted to feed me, and I remember 3-on-2 fast breaks where all three would touch the ball. But a lot of street games would just be a long series of isos.

No one remembers how Ice Cube used to f around and get a triple-double on the hood courts.