Kevin Durant's "Shimmie-Shake" While Shooting a FT Is Unique and Effective

If you have ever been to an Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game, you probably wondered what superstar forward Kevin Durant was doing when he makes several little "shimmie-shakes" prior to launching a free-throw attempt. 

Durant's little "shimmie-shake" is similar to what former Boston Celtics star Antoine Walker used to do after he made a spectacular dunk or when he was fouled, made the shot, and had a chance for a three-point-play. 

Walker took a little heat from his critics for "hotdogging" when he did it, because he would usually look up and either howl or scream after making the basket. But nevertheless, it still made the Boston Celtics sort of fun to watch during those "down" years when they weren't winning as many games as they are now. 

Former NY Knicks great Mark Jackson was one of the first players ever seen doing the "shimmie-shake." But Durant has taken it to another level.  

Durant has a style of his own and this is how his "shimmie-shake" goes down: Durant takes the ball from the official, eyes the basket, takes a deep knee bend, aims at the basket, does his little "shimmie-shake" and then launches the free-throw. 

All you hear after that is "swish" from the sound of the net as the ball goes through it because Durant hardly ever misses a shot from the free-throw line. 

To see this for the first time will sort of freak you out, but as the old saying goes "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Durant's little "shimmie-shake" is a unique ritual that he does every time he attempts a free-throw and it has to go down as one of the most unique pre-shot routines in the game today. 

The only thing in recent memory that has been anywhere close to this is when former Miami Heat enigma, Harold "Baby Jordan" Minor took it several steps farther. 

Minor would take the ball from the official, dribble three times, take the ball around his back twice and then through his legs, take a deep knee bend, aim at the basket, and then shoot his free throw.

Doing all of this prior to shooting a free-throw might have seemed excessive, but Minor shot a good percentage from the free-throw line by engaging in this sort of pre-shot routine just like Durant.     

Durant has used this little "shimmie-shake" to shoot at a 90% clip from the free-throw line the past two seasons, so Thunder fans say "keep it up, KD." Durant also has a unique little dance that he does prior to the pre-game announcement of the starting line-ups.  

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the hip-hop culture, you probably don't understand what he is doing, let alone why he is doing it, but it all has a meaning and it is a ritual that has made Kevin Durant (the person), different from any other superstar in the league. 

Oklahoma City Thunder fans know Kevin Durant to be very humble away from the basketball court and most of them love him as a person more than as a basketball player because of his philanthropic involvement in the community and his down-to-earth nature. 

Players like Durant don't come around very often, so Thunder fans know that they are witnessing something that is not only very unique, but also very rare in the NBA. 

Kevin Durant is not only a great basketball player, but he is uniquely innovative and considered one of the coolest players in the league with his short hip-hop dance move during player introductions and his "shimmie-shake" at the free-throw line.