What Keyser Soze Taught Me About Pump Fakes
Verbal Kint sat across from Agent Kujan in a tiny San Pedro, California office with a corkboard, a cup of coffee, and a simple task: make Kujan believe his story. So that’s what he did. He told Kujan one of the most fascinating and compelling stories about friendship, loss, betrayal, and even the devil himself. Did he ever pick beans in Guatemala? No way. Or sing in a barbershop quartet? Ne’er. But he made Kujan believe, he made us believe, and when his left foot changes from a struggling gimp into a crisp, clean gait, you instantly know that you have been hit with the ultimate plot twist, a genuine fake out!
Verbal’s performance can teach us everything we need to know about executing a great pump fake. It’s not feasible to have an unexpected plot twist in the third act without telling a compelling story in the first two.
The first key is knowing the plot twist you aim to set up. In the case of the pump fake, you are trying to set up the twist of not shooting the basketball. This means you need to sell to the defender that you will shoot the basketball. It sounds straightforward, and honestly, it is, but it takes timing and confidence to master the subtleties of this dance. Any player who can grasp the following process can make executing an Oscar-worthy pump fake look seamless.
Set The Scene:
Getting someone to bite on a pump fake is impossible if you never start it. The first and most crucial step to a great pump fake is how you catch the ball; the catch begins the whole process. It sounds rather rudimentary: catch the ball. Not complicated. But if we can take anything away from Verbal’s performance for Agent Kujan, it’s that the devil is in the details! How you catch the ball is everything; do you have good energy? Are you confident? Do you have high-quality shot prep footwork going into your shot? The answers to these questions set the scene for your defender and put you in a position to execute a third-act plot twist that would make Verbal proud.
Shot prep footwork is all about doing the work before the ball gets to you. For those unfamiliar with the concept, here is a simple example: You would be flustered and stressed if you tried to do your homework while the teacher checked it. But, if you do your homework at home the night before, you’re calm, cool, and collected. This is essentially good vs bad shot prep footwork.
Doing the work early with your feet puts you in rhythm and on balance before the ball gets to you and increases the chances of making the shot. If your feet are stuck in the mud while the ball is on the way, the chances of being in rhythm or on balance when the ball gets to you are slim. Without rhythm and balance, the odds of making a ball into an 18-inch circle ten feet off the ground from twenty-five feet away decrease substantially.
The best shooters in the NBA have uncommonly good shot prep footwork; they are addicted to catching the ball in rhythm and on balance. This makes them phenomenal storytellers when it comes to pump-faking. It’s a chicken-or-egg-type situation that we will get to later.
Regarding the pump fake, the final step is the last micro detail to good shot prep footwork. No, it’s not a step in terms of a process but an actual step, like with your foot. Not getting the last foot down during the shot prep footwork process is the most common mistake players make when trying to “set the scene” in the pump fake. They rush it. They don’t have the patience to draw the defender in.
Rui Hachimura did not finish the last step of his shot prep footwork before starting the pump fake, making it impossible to execute a good storytelling pump fake.
Not putting the last foot down on the shot prep footwork would be the equivalent of Verbal lifting his coffee mug and saying to Kujan, “Ummm, I think the lawyer's name was Porcelain. Wait, no, it was Kobayashi”. Both are not overly believable ways to set a scene.
The Hook & Twist:
Now that the scene has been set, it’s time to bait the hook and catch an overzealous defender with a cruel plot twist!
The hook is all about rhythm; it takes a practiced cadence. It’s a dance. After the last foot of the shot prep has hit, it’s time for the actual shot process to begin. The process is a chain reaction of energy moving through the body from the floor to the shot. This transference of energy goes in a specific sequence - Feet, Hips, and then Hands. Since the shot process moves in this order, moving in the same order and with the same cadence is vital to creating a great storytelling pump fake.
The biggest threat to an uninspired “hook” is the final foot in the shot prep footwork. I can not stress enough how important it is to do your work early with your feet when it comes to creating a great storytelling pump fake. It is impossible to start the cadence of the shot without the final foot hitting the floor. Too often, a player will rush the whole pump fake action and start the shot cadence before the last foot of the shot prep has hit the floor. This does not create the intended advantage of a storytelling pump fake and rarely leads to a positive outcome.
Rui Hachimura starting his shot cadence before the final shot prep foot hits the ground.
The line I use most frequently with clients regarding baiting the hook/waiting to start the shot cadence till after the last shot prep foot has hit the floor is: “Fast isn’t always fast, and slow isn’t always slow.”
This is a story that you are trying to tell to the defender. It has to follow a clear and familiar cadence. By the time any player has reached the NBA level, they have likely closed out on hundreds of thousands of shots. When closing out to a player, the defender's mind is chunking information, not looking at one specific thing. So when the last foot of the shot prep does NOT hit the floor, and the cadence of the pump fake becomes dissimilar to an actual shot, their mind automatically knows to tell the body to stop. An in-rhythm and on-balance shot is no longer physically possible, so there is no need to worry about the shot anymore; we need to defend the drive.
Verbal drew Kujan in close; he made him comfortable, set the cadence to the conversation, And made him believe. By the time Kujan knew what hit him, Verbal had already strolled out the front door.
Here is a collection of some of my favorite storytelling pump fakes (deep cuts only). Pay attention to the last shot prep foot hitting the floor and their pump fakes cadence. Consistency is everything.
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THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG:
Is it possible to consistently pull off a quality storytelling pump fake if you are not a good shooter? NO. If you are not excited to shoot the ball when given a clean in-rhythm and on-balance opportunity, then no one will find your pump fake story compelling enough to bite on them consistently. Will you occasionally get someone to fall for the plot twist? Sure. But only sometimes. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
There are generally two types of closeout looks defenders will give to an offensive player:
“Dare You” - A short close to the shooter with low hips. The defender's primary objective is to guard the drive, not the shot. Think of this closeout as the defender essentially saying, “I Dare You To Shoot It!”
“Oh Shit” - A high hip run to the shooter. The primary objective of the defender is to contest/prevent the shot, not the drive. You can think of this closeout as the defender essentially saying, “Oh Shit! I got to get to the shooter!”
The situation is rather binary. If you cannot beat a “Dare You” closeout consistently by making shots, then you will not merit an “Oh Shit” closeout. So, the idea of effectively using a storytelling pump fake is somewhat of a pipe dream.
The first NBA client I ever worked with was Malik Beasley. Before working together in the 2017/18 season, he made 28 threes at 34.1%. During that season, the majority of closeouts he received were of the “Dare You” variety. Sometimes, he took the shot. Other times, he did not. But rarely were there storytelling pump fake opportunities because this is a binary situation - if you can not beat “Dare You” closeouts, you can not use storytelling pump fakes. This is the causality of the situation.
Malik shooting vs a “Dare You” closeout the season before working together.
Malik did not get the last foot down in his shot prep vs. a “Dare You” closeout the season before working together.
During the summer of 2018, Malik spent hundreds of hours changing the habits within his shot. The work paid dividends, resulting in 163 threes at 40.1% during the 2018/19 season. Because of the uptick in shooting, two specific actions related to closeouts happened for him during that season.
Malik became excited to see “Dare You” closeouts. This closeout became a golden opportunity for him and a mistake by the defense.
After enough made threes, a tipping point happened. Defenders became fearful of his shooting and were no longer willing to give him the standard “Dare You” closeout. They switched to “Oh Shit” closeouts. When this shift happened, he was afforded the chance to execute storytelling pump fakes with ease. Creating advantage opportunities for himself and his teammates.
^^Malik shooting vs a “Dare You” closeout during the 208/19 season - this type of closeout became a golden opportunity for him.
^^Malik executing a storytelling pump fake During the 2018/19 season.
^^Malik executing a great storytelling pump fake during the 2019/2020 season
In both of the storytelling pump fake clips above, there is minimal movement of the ball. The ball's movement is only helpful if it comes within the cadence of the shot process (Feet, Hips, and Hands). Outside of that cadence, it is more harmful than helpful to the story.
According to Synergy, Malik ranked in the 61st percentile amongst all NBA players on Spot-up opportunities during the 2017/18 season, scoring 1.022 Points Per Possession (PPP). During the 2018/19 season, he increased that number substantially to 1.275 PPP on Spot-up opportunities, moving him into the 94th percentile amongst all NBA players.
So maybe this isn’t a chicken or egg situation at all. There is a straightforward process and order to follow for success. First and most importantly, the player's shot must have good habits that evoke genuine confidence to see “Dare You” closeouts as golden opportunities to make in-rhythm and on-balance shots. Then, and only then, will they will earn the right to punish “Oh Shit” closeouts with Great Story Telling Pump Fakes.
Poof, He’s Gone:
Verbal Kint provided basketball players and coaches everywhere with the perfect roadmap to a great pump fake.
Step one: Have a compelling story to tell.
Step two: Use a smooth cadence—fast isn’t always fast, and slow isn’t always slow.
Finally, pay special attention to the details. The details will draw people in, narrow their focus, and set them up for an exciting plot twist. And like that, Poof, you’re gone!