Search “Cam Payne shooting form” on social media, and also you’ll tumble right into a rabbit gap of unrelenting jokes.
“Cam Payne’s shot always looks like he’s shooting a bow and arrow,” quipped Knicks fan Rebecca Chasen.
“Cam Payne form scornful,” added one other, NyabINGY.
After which there’s Knicks superfan Kazeem, whose publish on X (previously Twitter) would possibly simply take the crown: “Cam Payne shoots like [former Yankee] Chuck Knoblauch getting up to bat.”
Cam Payne has seen all of it.
Each meme, each jab, each inventive metaphor. And he’ll admit it — each critique about his unorthodox capturing mechanics might be honest.
However there’s one obvious omission.
Name it awkward. Name it ugly. Name it something you need.
Simply don’t overlook to name it money.
As a result of that’s precisely what Payne has been to start out his first season with the Knicks: cash within the financial institution.
His unconventional soar shot, the one followers hate to see go up however love to observe go in, helps supercharge the Knicks’ second unit for a league-best offense.
And Payne, unbothered by the chatter, is leaning into the absurdity of all of it.
Payne, who joined the Knicks on a one-year veteran’s minimal deal final offseason, is off to top-of-the-line capturing begins of his profession. His quirky type has been a trusted companion since he first picked up a basketball, and whereas it attracts loads of side-eyes, Payne doesn’t thoughts defending it — particularly when most of his critics doubtless shoot with their proper hand.
“I mean, there’s a lot of right-handers whose shots look crazy,” Payne mentioned with a smile. “But there’s nothing to say because everybody’s right-handed.”
Payne’s humorousness, one of many greatest on a Knicks crew equally wealthy in expertise and character, retains him grounded. He is aware of his shot “defies physics,” as one fan put it. And he is aware of his mechanics — a lefty who brings the ball to the suitable facet of his physique, dips, and vaults the ball from his brow — are something however textbook.
“He’s been shooting that way since I’ve seen him play. That’s his shot,” mentioned Josh Hart. “If it goes in, it goes in. There’s no pictures on a box score or anything like that, so that’s his shot and he shoots it with confidence. He’s shooting a career-high, so don’t change anything.”
Payne’s response to the doubters is on the stat sheet.
He’s hitting 44.1% of his three-pointers by 17 video games, on tempo to exceed his career-best 44% in 2021 with the Phoenix Suns. He’s made two or extra threes in 10 of these video games, with highlights like a 5-of-6 outing in a November win in opposition to the Washington Wizards. Even his head coach, Tom Thibodeau, has been impressed.
“He shoots a lot, and he’s always had that scoring component, so he’s put a lot of time in it,” Thibodeau mentioned. “And everybody’s different, so I think he’s an expert of his shot. He plays fast, so he mixes in getting easy baskets, and I think he gets into rhythm that way.”
Payne credit his distinctive capturing type for creating a bonus. Defenders, already thrown off by the rarity of left-handed shooters, wrestle much more together with his launch level.
“Honestly, with how I shoot, [the defender] be on my left side, but I shoot on my right,” Payne mentioned. “So I kind of shoot my regular shot. I don’t see the contest until after it’s gone. So I kind of see straight rim. It’s cool.”
Payne is averaging 8.2 factors per recreation off the bench this season, giving the Knicks a gentle veteran presence. His skill to stretch the ground with confidence has made him a key piece of the rotation, and he’s pleased to maintain doing what works.
“Just being left-handed in general, it’s different,” Payne mentioned. “A lot of people come in, and everything is right hand, right hand, right hand. So with me, I’m kind of unique being left-handed. A lot of people don’t guard that every night, so that’s kind of how I get my shots off: just being left-handed. Thank God.”
It is probably not fairly, however Payne’s shot is a factor of magnificence the place it counts most: on the scoreboard.
Name it no matter you need — ugly, unorthodox, and even scornful — however simply be sure to name it money.
