- Aug 4, 2009
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- 2,300
RIP
Sailors, Credited with Inventing Jump Shot, Dies at Age 95
In a 2015 interview with CBS Sports' Brad Botkin, Sailors explained that he was motivated to develop the jump shot because his older brother, Bud, was 6'5" and repeatedly blocked his shots during their individual battles:
So one day, finally, I guess the good Lord just put it in my head that if I jumped up higher than [Bud], and if he didn't time everything just right and jump up with me, he couldn't block my shot. So that's what I did. I ran right up to him and jumped straight out of the dribble, and I shot it one-handed, because I found that I could get more height that way.
Sailors, Credited with Inventing Jump Shot, Dies at Age 95
In a 2015 interview with CBS Sports' Brad Botkin, Sailors explained that he was motivated to develop the jump shot because his older brother, Bud, was 6'5" and repeatedly blocked his shots during their individual battles:
So one day, finally, I guess the good Lord just put it in my head that if I jumped up higher than [Bud], and if he didn't time everything just right and jump up with me, he couldn't block my shot. So that's what I did. I ran right up to him and jumped straight out of the dribble, and I shot it one-handed, because I found that I could get more height that way.
