A jump shot is a shot released while the shooter is in the air, typically from mid-range or beyond the three-point line.
The jump shot is the foundational skill of the modern game. The shooter leaves the floor, often off a dribble or a screen, and releases the ball at the top of the jump, over the reach of a defender. It sounds obvious now, but the shot was once an innovation: players originally shot flat footed with two hands, and the one handed jumper that spread through the 1940s and 1950s multiplied the sport's scoring possibilities.
Every great scorer's jump shot becomes a signature. The high release of a Dirk Nowitzki one legged fadeaway, the quick trigger of a catch and shoot specialist, and the pull up jumper off the dribble are all dialects of the same shot, and defences are organized almost entirely around contesting it without fouling.
In the record book the jump shot is invisible as a category, folded into field goals, which is why its history is told through players rather than totals. On quiz pages it appears constantly in plainer language, as the shot type inside questions about scoring records, famous game winners, and the evolution of offence from the set shot era to the spacing era.
In use"She rose over the closeout and buried the jump shot at the elbow."