NBA Draft Notebook: Every 2015 Lottery Prospect's Signature Move

Every NBA player has a signature move he can lean on for offense. In some cases, these moves become part of a player's identity. We'll always remember Allen Iverson's killer crossover, Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Shake, Tim Duncan's bank shot and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's sky hook.

While most prospects are still at the early stages of their development, we've seen enough of them to identify each of their current and projected signature moves. 

Based on frequency, effectiveness and memorability, I broke down the signature moves of the prospects expected to compete for a spot in the 2015 NBA draft lottery. 

Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky, 6'11", PF/C, Freshman

Signature Move: Over-the-shoulder hook

Towns did most of his damage in the paint despite possessing a fairly basic post game. However, the one or two moves he could go to became a lot tougher to defend toward the end of the year. 

He mostly operates with his back to the basket (43 percent of his touches, per DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony), where he simply lowers his shoulder, rams it into his defender (to create separation), rips through with the ball and finishes over that shoulder using a one-handed shot. 

This move was unstoppable for Towns during his 25-point game against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. 

With the strength to play through contact, length (7'3" wingspan) that's difficult to challenge and touch around the basket, the over-the-shoulder hook will make him a tough cover down low for any big man moving forward. 

Jahlil Okafor, Duke, 6'11", C, Freshman

Signature Move: The back down

The most appealing and potentially valuable strength of Okafor's is his ability to consistently create high-percentage shots against a set defense. And most of them come with his back to the basket. 

With his massive 270-pound frame, Okafor typically uses his shoulder to back down his defender until he is close enough to jump stop and separate into a hook, push shot or layup.

It also helps that he can grip a ball like an orange. Okafor can make it look like he's playing pop-a-shot at a fair when effortlessly tossing it in from the lane. 

When we look back 20 years from now, we'll end up remembering Okafor for his back-to-the-basket effectiveness.

D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State, 6'5", PG/SG, Freshman

Signature Move: Stop-and-pop jumper

Russell was an offensive machine at Ohio State, where he averaged 19.3 points, hit 95 threes and shot 41.1 percent from deep. His biggest weapon: the pull-up jumper. 

Russell can stop on a dime, rise and fire before a defender can get up to challenge. It makes him a threat from any spot and in every situation, whether it's in transition, off a ball screen or one-on-one.

He knocked down 44 percent of his shots off the dribble, according to DraftExpress (via Synergy Sports Technology).

Given the rim protection in today's NBA, being able to pull up for a jumper before traffic is a must-have shot in the arsenal for a guard. And it just happens to be Russell's specialty. 

Mario Hezonja, Croatia, 6'8", SG/SF, 1995

Signature Move: Step-back jumper 

Hezonja's opportunities have been limited over the past two years, but his signature move is fairly well-documented. Hezonja has a silky-smooth step-back jumper out to three-point range. 

He puts his defender on his heels by taking a power dribble forward before hopping backward to create enough separation for him to rise up for a balanced, straight up-and-down jumper.

On the downside, it's not the highest-percentage shot, but it's one every NBA scoring wing must become proficient with in the half court. With 6'8" size, a beautiful stroke and unbreakable confidence, expect Hezonja to create plenty of highlights with his step-back jumper in the pros.

Emmanuel Mudiay, China, 6'5", PG, 1996

Signature Move: Hesitation dribble

Mudiay's reputation as a playmaker stems from his ability to beat defenders off the bounce. He often uses a mean hesitation dribble to blow by and get into the lane. 

With a tight handle, Mudiay has an ability to change speeds that makes him difficult to stay in front of. He's a nightmare to contain off ball screens or in space. 

Mudiay likes to "rock his defender to sleep" before exploding out of nowhere. He can accelerate from a stop in a blink of an eye.

Being 6'5", 200 pounds for a ball-handler makes it even tougher for defenders to keep Mudiay from getting to his spots on the floor. 

Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky, 7'0", C, Junior

Signature Move: Cutting/Rolling for catch-and-finish

Cauley-Stein doesn't project as a player coaches will feature in the post, given his limited one-on-one skills, but his ridiculous blend of size, athleticism and coordination translates to easy buckets around the rim. Cauley-Stein's signature move offensively is simply slipping to the hoop off screens or guard penetrations for catch-and-finishes.

He shot 68.3 percent at the rim in the half court, per Hoop-Math.com. Cauley-Stein is ultimately a can't-miss target in the drive-and-dump and drive-and-lob games.

Justise Winslow, Duke, 6'6", SF, Freshman

Signature Move: Slash

Though not an advanced ball-handler or shot-creator in the half court, Winslow is most effective offensively attacking open lanes. His signature move: slashing from the wing, where he uses his first step, athleticism, strength and body control to get to the rim and finish off one foot.

Winslow had 60 made field goals at the rim in the half court his freshman year, per Hoop-Math.com, which was more than double the totals the other top NCAA wings put up.

Justise Winslow, Duke	60
Stanley Johnson, Arizona	29
Kelly Oubre, Kansas	19

Myles Turner, Texas, 6'11", C, Freshman

Signature Move: Over-the-shoulder fallaway jumper

Unlike most centers, Turner's bread-and-butter shot is usually taken outside the paint. When he isn't stretching the floor behind the arc, Turner operates mostly around the elbows, where he can catch, turn and shoot over any defender.  

His signature move is to turn over his right shoulder and fall back for a jumper, which isn't an easy shot. Turner was actually somewhat inconsistent when it came to knocking them down, but he's more than capable. And he showed no problem getting them off.

DraftExpress' Derek Bodner touched on Turner's numbers and tendencies regarding his go-to shot:

"

According to Synergy Sports Technology, Turner posts up on roughly 40 percent of his half-court field goal attempts, a sizable number for a freshman big. Upon further inspection, though, a very significant portion of those, especially over his right shoulder, are turnaround jump shots out of the post, which he finds mixed results with.

"

Cameron Payne, Murray State, 6'2", PG, Sophomore

Signature Move: Floater

Payne is super crafty off the dribble. Though a lack of strength and explosiveness limits him as a finisher around the basket, it's also forced him to master the art of the floater. 

Payne has terrific body control and touch off one foot out to the free-throw line. He took a whopping three floaters per game and sunk an impressive 47 percent of them, per DraftExpress.

The floater is an important shot for ball-handlers in the NBA. Coaches and instructors put the players through runner and floater drills at the combine. Look for Payne's signature shot in college to carry right over to the next level.

Kristaps Porzingis, Latvia, 7'1", PF, 1995

Signature Move: Shooting off screens

With great versatility, Porzingis doesn't quite have one obvious signature move. But if there is one that should ultimately help differentiate him from other bigs, it's his ability to free himself with movement and knock down a catch-and-shoot jumper. 

You won't find many 7'1" forwards who can run around the perimeter and shoot off a screen. Porzingis has a high, short, quick release out to the three-point arc. Considering he's just 220 pounds, expect Porzingis to spend a lot of time outside the paint looking for jump-shot opportunities in the pros.

Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin, 7'1", PF/C, Senior

Signature Move: Pick-and-pop

Kaminsky flashed a move or shot from just about every spot on the floor, but he'll ultimately have the chance to become one of the game's premier pick-and-pop players.

Kaminsky's jumper (41.6 percent from downtown) is as good as it gets for a 7-footer, and it will make him an offensive factor for years to come, regardless of how well his post game translates. 

What really makes Kaminsky dangerous is the threat he poses off the dribble. Not only does his three-ball bring opposing defensive anchors away from the rim, but he can exploit their slow foot speed by putting the ball on the floor. 

Look for the pick-and-pop to act as one of Kaminsky's primary avenues for offense in the NBA.

Devin Booker, Kentucky, 6'6", SG, Freshman

Signature Move: The spot-up

It's more of a signature shot than move, but Booker's game doesn't revolve around one-on-one action. He goes to work off the ball, where he can spread the floor as a shooter (41.1 percent from three) and knock down contested catch-and-shoot jumpers. 

Booker has excellent 6'6" size, and he shows textbook balance, mechanics and elevation on his jumper, which looks the same whenever he lets it fly.

Stanley Johnson, Arizona, 6'7", SF, Freshman

Signature Move: Pull-up jumper/leaner

The best thing Johnson has going for himself offensively is a polished in-between game. We see so many guards or wings who can spot up or go hard to the rack, but struggle to score from the foul line to the arc. 

Johnson is at his best attacking a closeout or ball screen and shooting off the dribble, whether it's with the pull-up jumper (made an outstanding 49 percent of pull-ups off the dribble in the half court, per DraftExpress) or a leaner. 

Johnson's ability to generate offense in the mid-range should actually make him one of the more prepared rookies in the projected 2015 class. 

Sam Dekker, Wisconsin, 6'9", SF, Junior

Signature Move: The Drive

Dekker isn't much of a one-on-one player, but when a lane opens up, that's when he's able to shine. He's an opportunistic scorer. Though there is still room for him to tighten up his handle, Dekker can explode through gaps in line drives and finish over rim protection. 

His other signature might be the ability to throw out something/anything totally unexpected (shooting/dunking/handles/defense), but then struggle to reproduce it consistently.

Last Word:

Of all these signature moves, I'm picking Russell's pull-up jumper and Okafor's back-to-the-basket attack to become the most prolific. You get the impression we'll be seeing tons of highlights of them over the next decade.