The Los Angeles Clippers are currently one of the hottest teams in the NBA with the second-best record in the league. With a great offensive efficiency and stellar defense, there isn’t much more fans could ask for.
However, if there was one thing they would like to see a little more is better free-throw shooting from big man DeAndre Jordan, who has become infamous for his poor performance at the line.
With a 42.5 career percentage from the free-throw line, Jordan is one of the worst free throw shooters the NBA has ever seen.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Clippers have explored using virtual reality to help Jordan in this area.
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The Clippers aren’t the first organization to use virtual reality with a big man. The Detroit Pistons have used it with Andre Drummond.
You put on a headset and watch yourself make free throws. There is the option to either choose a first-person view, where you can hear the basketball hitting the court as it is dribbled and then see the ball go over your head and into the hoop or you can choose a third-person perspective and watch your technique from various angles.
According to Drummond, the transition into working with virtual reality technology was not easy.
“The first couple days or weeks, it was hell for me,” Drummond told Pistons.com in September. “It was hard. It was doing something new. I was doing something new. I’ve never done virtual reality in my life and to really accept the fact that I needed help with that part of my game was tough just to give in. When I finally gave in to training my brain to focus on one thing, it kind of worked out for me.”
Watching yourself make the same shot over and over again helps your brain remember what your body should do and allows that motion become second nature.
The Clippers are hoping that this will happen with Jordan, making him a better free throw shooter and overall better basketball player.