Chris Paul
Chris Paul Getty Images

KEY POINTS

  • The art of the midrange shot is slowly fading away in the NBA
  • Chris Paul has made a career in the midrange area
  • Paul's mastery of the midrange steered the Suns to the Western Conference Finals

In today’s NBA, the midrange shot has been traded for the three-point shot.

It has been said many times over in the basketball community that the midrange shot is the area of great scorers.

Due to the supposed efficiency that comes with the three-pointer, many have shied away from the midrange in this era. DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are some of them, but a few players are still scoring in bunches from this area.

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are easily two of the best in shooting midrange. Arguably, only one player from the old guard remains and he has made a mastery of it.

After a convincing sweep of the Denver Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns are back in the Western Conference Finals all thanks to Chris Paul's elbow jumpers.

“It’s important to me,” Paul said after Game 4 against the Nuggets. “Some years ago, I played with the [Los Angeles] Clippers. The whole league went to this drop defense. I was like ‘that’s what you’re gonna give up? I’ll try to perfect it.'”

And he did perfect it.

Take a look at his shot chart from the 2014-2015 season.

To date, Paul still owns this area. But he rarely goes to his shot early in the game as he still is a facilitator by heart.

With an opportunity to put away the series and get some much-needed rest, "CP3" decided to go for it early in the game en route to a 37-point outing on 12/17 field goal attempts from his sweet spot.

The art of the midrange shot seems to have been lost among younger generations as, ironically, the Steve Nash-led Suns teams of the 2000s popularized volume shooting from deep and making it look easy.

This idea was then put into overdrive by the Golden State Warriors led by Steph Curry and Klay Thompson that led to multiple championships.

Stephen Curry vs. Chris Paul
Nov 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Reuters/Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

No matter how you look at it, Paul is one of the greatest point guards of all time and he’s made a living off opposing teams who would dare to let him shoot from the right elbow.

All Paul needs now is a championship ring to top off a storied career.

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