Hank Luisetti's One-Handed Shot
December 1936. Stanford brings a new way to shoot to Madison Square Garden
In the 1930s, offense meant careful passing, faking and the two-handed set shot, taken with the feet planted. That was simply how the game was taught.
Hank Luisetti of Stanford University did something different. He would take a dribble or two, jump, and release the ball with one hand on the way up. On 30 December 1936, Stanford played Long Island University at Madison Square Garden in New York. LIU had won 43 games in a row. In front of more than 17,000 fans, Luisetti scored 15 points with his one-handed shots and Stanford won 45 to 31.
Many observers later named that night as the moment modern basketball was born. On 1 January 1938, against Duquesne, Luisetti became the first player to score 50 points in a game, and he was named national player of the year in 1937 and 1938.
What changed
Players no longer had to stop and set their feet to shoot. A quick one-handed shot on the move was harder to defend, and teams built around running and shooting on the go began to replace the slow, set-shot offenses.