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The Oklahoma City Thunder have been the right atop the league as one of the best scoring and rebounding teams, which has garnered them fourth place in the Western Conference, but beyond getting more opportunities as the outright best offensive rebounding team in the league, OKC has gotten hold of a few extra possessions thanks to learning the craft of the jump ball.
Steven Adams, the most loyal learner, has reaped the benefits of such an useful tactic.
“We’d like to get the ball to start and try to get off to a good start. So, we emphasize [jump balls],” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said, according to Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript. “Steven, I think, understands the importance of trying to get up and win the tip.”
Adams has won 71 percent of his jump balls, despite standing only at 6-foot-11 and not necessarily the most athletic of centers in the league. Yet what he makes up in size and athletic ability, he's made up with fundamentals and his sheer will of being a student of the game, paying attention to each referee's way of tossing the ball up.
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“All I’m looking for is just how they mask it, really, because it’s the first one to the ball,” Adams said. “You don’t have to jump super high. You just have to get there before anyone.”
While most have watched film of players they'll go against, Adams was not only studying his opponents, but also the officials and how they called the game, picking up even on their jump-ball intricacies.
“Ken Mauer, you just remember how he throws the ball. Most of them bring it up. Some just toss it up,” Adams added. “But he steps back and then he tosses the ball.”
These controlled tips have gotten the Thunder a possession much more often than their opponents — a bit that never sees the stat sheet, but is just as valued for a team tuning into playoff shape.
