(CRAFT)[A BIG SHOT IS JUST ANOTHER SHOT.]

People make a huge deal out of clutch shots. Thing is, it’s just one shot. If you make a thousand shots a day, it’s just one of a thousand. Once you’re hitting that many, what’s one more? That was my mentality from day one.

This particular shot was a game-tying three in the NBA Finals. I was going to get the ball on this play, no matter what. The defense could’ve tried to deny me, but it would not have mattered. I was going to do whatever I had to, in this moment, to come get it.

Once you have the rock, you always have to know who is guarding you. You have to not just know, but know—and I knew Rip Hamilton’s defensive strategy. Rip was very fundamentally sound and played you straight up. He didn’t do much out of the ordinary, which can be fine. Fundamentally sound, though, was not going to stop me.

So, I sized him up, kept all that information in mind, and made him do what I wanted him to do. I dragged the ball over to the wing, rocked him back, and rose up, knowing that he would only raise his arms to contest. At that point, it’s just about whether I make the shot or not.

As a team, our spacing was really good. Even if they wanted to help Rip, they would not have been able to. We would spread the floor and make sure any help defenders were a long way away. By the time they’d get over, my shot, which came off of a quick rocking motion, would’ve already been in the air.

The last thing you notice in the photo is the lift that I’m getting. That didn’t just happen overnight. It was late in the game, and it was the Finals, but I was able to get up because I was in shape. It’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference.