Video: Pistons’ Singler goes trick shooting about town

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By Rob Mahoney

YouTube is the greatest thing that could have happened to the weird subculture of basketball trick shooters. It creates the illusion that the moment captured is a singular occurrence, so funny or charming or unbelievable that it demands to be seen.

In order to make a video like the one above, even a pro basketball player (and accurate shooter) like Pistons rookie Kyle Singler would miss a ton. But by using a rolling camera and a few quick snips, we’re able to see make after make without any regard for the droll repetition that went into creating the shots seen in the video.

This isn’t Singler’s first time down this bend; he churned out a few conceptually identical videos while at Duke, and the Pistons saw fit to put Singler’s trick shooting skills back to work for their own official YouTube channel. All of this is possible due to the magic of video editing — not because the shots shown are inauthentic in any way (the movement of the ball and general lack of mid-shot cuts suggest that these attempts are legit), but because watching all the practice shots behind the curtain spoils the finish. Trick shots are great fun, but amid the appreciation for Singler’s artistry, let’s give a nod to the streamlining of video production in general, a process that weeds out the vibe-killing repetition of these shooting displays and preserves their pure entertainment value.