Jump Shot Basketball Art Painting artist John Robertson

Jump Shot NBA Golden State Warriors

Now, that is certainly not the problem I ever had when I played in pickup games at the gym.  I was not like one of those players on the Warriors that could meet the challenge at either end of the court.  I couldn’t even meet them half way.

The Basketball Jump Shot

ake for example my jump shot. As you can see from my sports art this player has a nice jump shot with a nice hand and arm extension above his head. It is suppose to be an easy shot to make from a distance but I could not do it very well from any distance. Frogs have a better jump shot. A Kangaroo Rat could jump higher than I could.

And, even if I could get off the ground I was easy to block – being short. And being short the only thing I can dunk is cookies into milk - and the only good move I had after that was dribbling – dribbling the milk out of my mouth.

This basketball art  painting of the jump shot made me think of the

Golden State Warriors

in the NBA Western Conference finals and there struggle a couple of times over the season and in the playoffs.  Even though a player might feel great and “in the groove” it can be very frustrating when your shots are not sinking through the net – or you become the bull’s eye for every other player on the other team because you are a great player like Curry. 

So, what are the Golden State Warriors suppose to do?

Back to basics to find a way to get him back in a groove - into different shifts and rotations and working them flawlessly and forgetting the physical discomfort.

Now, how is that for a bunch of platitudes with no real constructive thoughts?

I listen to the sports commentators and that is about all the obvious comments I ever hear.

"The Jump Shot" basketball sports art painting by artist John Robertson is 48" x 60" acrylic on unstretched canvas.

Basketball Magic Johnson Point Guard Why We Play Sports

WHY PLAY SPORTS

Magic Johnson Point Guard

Magic Johnson was the  “quarterback” on the Lakers basketball court -  the point guard - and the most important player on the team - and what most consider the best point guard ever,Some people have referred to Magic Johnson as the indisputable "Point God."   He was an absolutely great, all around player who probably sacrificed individual statistics for the greater good of the team - and in doing so, brought other teammates up to play at a higher level.  And, of course, won more games.  He is the one who led the team by trying to make the good decisions for the plays.  He generally handled the ball more than any other player on the court and passed the ball off to other players to lead them towards a goal. To have a great team is to have a leader who will work to have all contribute to it's success.  And without that great leadership in the "point guard" position few teams have had a high level of successful seasons.

Why Play Sports

 All of this leads me to the good reason of why it is important for people to play sports.  I did as a child and as an adult participated in sports into my sixties and still exercise regularly.  One of the things sports taught me was developing teamwork.  This is a way to learn how to help others, and thereby themselves, to work together towards a specific goal, (winning).  We see this problem of teamwork all the time in the major professional sports.  I think the best example of that is in the NBA where there are "star" players and "winning" teams.  I won’t point out the great players who played on losing teams but one of the downfalls of those teams was the fact that it really wasn’t a “team” but a bunch of individual players just “doing their thing.”   Most sports are a team effort.  And the same goes for life.  We are all in it together and participating in life as a joint venture with others makes for a more successful and fulfilling life.

Magic Johnson Highlights

Magic Johnson played in 12 All-Star games, won five NBA rings, three years the MVP awards and won most valuable player in three Finals.  His career Stats 19.5 points per game, 11.2 assists per game, 5.5 re-bounds per game and 1.9 steels per game.  Those 11.2 assists per game shows how much Magic was a team player.  At 6 feet 9 inches he dominated the point guard position.John Robertson Sports Artist image of a “Point Guard”  is 24” x 36” ink and acrylic on newsprint (Old Sporting News, magazines, books, etc) about the NBA and point guards.  Newsprint attached to ¾” stretched canvas.  To view sports paintings for sale please visit: John Robertson sports Paintings for sale and the sports prints available

Basketball paintings Shooting Guards NBA Sports art

WHY I PAINT SPORTS FIGURES

“Shooting Guard”  24” x 36” ink and acrylic on newsprint (Old Sporting News, magazines, books, etc) about the NBA and Shooting Guards.  Newsprint attached to ¾” stretched canvas.  To view paintings for sale please visit: John Robertson sports Paintings for sale.

There are these perfect little moments in any sport where, for the player, time stops.  And there nothing is their mind except the feeling of making that perfect play.  What I tried to do is capture that moment in this painting of a shooting guard.  His concentration is focused on the hoop.  There is nothing in his mind except for that feeling of making the shot.  He is not thinking, … “Did I jump high enough?  Are my hands extended high enough?  Am I holding the ball correctly?”  Those thoughts are all gone.  He left them on the practice court with the thousands and thousands of shots he has taken before.  There is no thought – only letting his instincts take over.

Something is very lyrical about a basketball player going up for a jump shot and the release and the follow-through, that is quite beautiful in it’s action.  It is like watching a baseball batter taking a swing at the perfect pitch and making a connection and watching a home-run hit ball, fly off the bat and see the follow-through of the batter’s swing. 

Any athlete has had those moments.  Even the most inept person playing a sport has those moments, when, for some odd reason one make the perfect shot or hit the perfect ball or makes the perfect catch.   It can be anything. 

For me it was in volleyball.  I played at a competitive level – well enough to have been asked to “try-outs” for the Olympics.  But I was not good enough to make it any farther than the try-outs.  I like to think that I lasted the whole day.  But, unfortunately after a few hours I was kindly asked to leave.  As the Paul Simon songs says about leaving your lover (In this case me leaving my serious love for the game of volleyball), “Slip out the back Jack.  Make a new Plan Stan.”   So I went back to playing on the beach and even without great success as a volleyball player I had a lot of those moments where an athlete is  “lost in action” – the perfect “dig”, the perfect “spike”,  etc. 

When the weekend athlete makes a really good play I don’t believe his feeling of success is any less greater than a professional making a great play.  I know it is nice to make the play in front of thousands of people and be paid highly for it but the real reason any athlete plays a sport (professional or amateur) is for those moments of success. That feeling you get when you make the perfect move.  It is like a drug that you want to take over and over – repeat that great action. 

Actually it is exactly why I paint.  I love the feeling I get when I make a mark on the canvas that I feel is just the right mark, just the right brush stroke.  And when I do, like an athlete making a good play,  I am lost in time.