A Sitdown With Shooting Coach Roger Galo

As far as NBA seasons go, 1979-80 was quite an eventful one. It marked the beginning of the Courtship of Rivals, where Larry Bird emerged as the Rookie of the Year and Magic Johnson a key cog in a championship machine. The season also housed George Gervin’s third of four scoring titles and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sixth and final MVP award.

But arguably even more important than any of that, 1979-80 was the season the NBA introduced the three-point line.

However, despite the luxury this line of demarcation provided – an extra point on a jumper simply for stepping a few feet back – the new privilege was seldomly redeemed. In its inaugural season, the three-ball was only hoisted up at a rate of two times per game – a far cry from the 35.2 attempts per game the league averaged this season.

*Shortened Three-Point Line

**Data Provided by Basketball Reference

In my recent conversation with shooting coach Roger Galo – creator of the Galo Method – he points out that, although we’ve seen a massive increase in shooting volume, we’ve seen an underwhelming improvement in efficiency. At least relative to our evolution in other facets of the game – such as the complexity of defensive coverages.

A quick glance at the data shows his observation holds true. Over the last forty-two years, league-wide three-point shooting averages have only increased by 7.4%. What’s more, that figure has scarcely changed since the turn of the century.

*Shortened Three-Point Line

**Data Provided by Basketball Reference

With such little movement in team efficiency across the last two decades, being a top-notch individual converter means more than ever.

“I sat down with an executive two years ago. He told me that now the analytics are of the kind where they can now attach a dollar amount to the player shooting X percent from the three-point line.” Galo tells Forbes. “[Based on that] they bump [their contract] four or five percentage points, and it equates to millions.”

One of the major keys to improving one’s jumper, Galo says, is to eliminate the number of variables in one’s shot (something his method seeks to do).

“I counted fifty-seven variables that exist on a traditional, conventional shooter that is trained in America. What if I can remove twelve of them? I’m going to make you a better shooter. What if I can remove twenty of them? I’m going to make you a better shooter.”

Galo proceeded to cite Lonzo Ball as one of the most prominent beneficiaries of variable removal in recent memory.

“Lonzo is the one that had the biggest move. Now, talk about the fifty-seven variables I mentioned before. That young man may have had sixty-five variables within his shot repertoire. Fred carved out a lot of them.”

Ball began his career as an unreliable shooter with funky mechanics – canning only 31.5% of the triples he attempted during his first two seasons. However, under the tutelage of Shooting Coach Fred Vinson, Ball transformed himself into a dead-eye sniper – draining 37.6% of his threes in his final two seasons in New Orleans.

His ascension netted him a four-year 80-million dollar deal with the Chicago Bulls this past offseason. He’s since rewarded Windy City patrons for their generosity by kicking his sweet shooting up yet another notch (42.3% from downtown this season).

Improved marksmanship not only comes in handy at the micro-level (through increased yearly stipend). But also at the macro-level, where increased reliance on three-point shooting can lead to greater longevity (greater longevity = more contracts signed through the course of one’s career).

Galo demonstrates this latter point through the lens of Stephen Curry and Allen Iverson.

Stephen Curry vs. Allen Iverson Shot Frequency (Career)

*Data Provided by Basketball Reference

By all accounts, Curry is the greatest shooter the game has ever seen (it should come as no surprise that his mechanics feature more tenets of the Galo Method than any other player in the league). And because of this, he is poised to be an impact contributor well into his late thirties.

Meanwhile, Iverson, a bashful warrior who spent most of his time jousting for layups around the paint and never developed a reliable three-point shot, was out of the league by the age of thirty-four (just one year older than Curry is right now).

Stephen Curry v. Allen Iverson Earnings (Career)

*Data Provided by Spotrac

Although much has changed with the salary cap since Iverson’s day (far more than what has changed with three-point efficiency), Curry’s 100-million (and counting) lead in career earnings should serve as a healthy incentive for players to bolster their three-point percentages.

It’s just like Galo said. It really does pay to be a shooter.