Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's Shiny New Jump Shot Is a Career Kickstarter

Halloween had nothing on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's jumper during the first few seasons of his NBA career. 

You could saunter through haunted house after haunted house, wander through dark, creepy corn mazes, watch The Exorcist with every light around you turned off and then tune into aCharlotte Hornets (then Bobcats) contest, and Kidd-Gilchrist's ugly shooting form would still be the scariest thing you witnessed.

It wouldn't be close, even if the corn stalks hid the forms of grim reapers, clowns and all sorts of evil beasts. Even the scariest bits of possession in the movie would just remind you of how Kidd-Gilchrist's elbow seemed to be controlled by a malevolent spirit. 

Ron Hoskins/Getty Images

But along with the name of the franchise, the Kentucky product's jumper has also changed, both dramatically and for the better. There's a certain buzz about Kidd-Gilchrist's new-and-improved shooting form, and not just because he now plays for the Hornets. 

During a season-opening victory in overtime against the Milwaukee Bucks, the former No. 2 pick put up quite the statistical line, though his output was still overshadowed by Kemba Walker's heroics after signing a new contract extension. Playing 34 minutes, Kidd-Gilchrist recorded 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks. 

Impressive, right? Well, it gets even better when you look at where those shots came from. 

NBA.com/stats

Yes, that's right. 

Kidd-Gilchrist actually took three jumpers during the 2014-15 season-opener and made two of them. Not only that, but his form looked significantly better after working with Mark Price throughout the summer. There was fluidity in his motion, and he looked for his own shot rather than acting like a deer in the headlights whenever he found himself possessing the ball with some space. 

The improvement was simply astounding, inspiring Bleacher Report's own Joel Cordes—an NBA assistant editor and noted Minnesota Timberwolves fan—to tell me, "If this mid-range stuff holds up during the next couple months, I'm kidnapping Mark Price (nicely, of course) and presenting him to [Ricky] Rubio as a Christmas gift."

We'd seen hints this was coming. During the offseason, there was one particular Instagram video that showcased his new-and-improved form, featuring him making a few baseline shots that found nothing but net: 

But during the opener, he looked even better still!

There's still a hitch at the top, but just think about the level of improvement and the amount of work that has gone into this change. Kidd-Gilchrist actually appeared to be a confident shooter, calling his own number and proving that's exactly what he should have done. Robby Kalland, writing for Hardwood Paroxysm, had nothing but positives to say about the new look after Wednesday night's outing: 

When you watch the above clip, you can see just how smooth of a stroke it is now. He would have never made that quick-dribble shot in previous years, because he couldn't. His footwork looks excellent, shuffling his feet to get them a shoulder-width apart and square to the hoop. His posture is much better, more vertical, and the clear difference is the elbow going straight up instead of bowing in.

It’s not a perfect jumper, but it's light years ahead of what he had been doing. On Wednesday night, Kidd-Gilchrist shot 75% from the field and had 17 points in 34 minutes as the Hornets came back to beat the Bucks in overtime. He won't shoot 75% this season — I'm pretty confident in saying that — but being even a minor offensive threat for the first time in his career, Kidd-Gilchrist's minutes should go up because there won't be such a drop-off in offensive production with him at the three.

Even if the form isn't perfect and doesn't exactly resemble Stephen Curry's quite yet

"I took a week off, and then I wanted to get back to work. So, I got started in April, and it was a long process that’s still not finished. I've been working with Mark Price, and it's been real good," the former Wildcat told Kalland during the preseason. "The biggest challenge? It's been everything, man. From my elbow to my feet. I worked on everything this summer, though. It wasn't just my shot, it was everything."

Speaking of everything, that's a rough approximation of what this changes. 

Kidd-Gilchrist now has a working offensive foundation at his disposal, one that will allow him to spend more time on the court. Even if he regresses significantly, the mere threat of having a jumper that can occasionally connect forces defenses to play him more honestly, allowing him and his defensive talents to spend a lot more time on the floor. 

It's tough to explain just how different this is than what we've seen during his first two years in the NBA, largely because it's an entirely new element to his game. During the 2013-14 season, this is what his season-long shot chart looked like: 

NBA.com/stats

As you can see, there isn't much concentration in the mid-range zones. Instead, those areas are littered with occasional misses, and it's obvious Kidd-Gilchrist did the vast majority of his limited scoring right around the basket. According to Basketball-Reference.com, he went a meager 29-of-103 (28.2 percent) from beyond 10 feet during the 2013-14 campaign. Additionally, many of those looks came late in the shot clock and out of necessity, as it was remarkably rare to see him actively create his own shot from outside the paint while staying in the natural flow of the Charlotte offense. 

He's on pace to shatter those marks. If he maintained the numbers he produced against the Bucks throughout every game of the 82-contest season, he'd finish the year shooting 164-of-246 from outside 10 feet, good for a scorching 66.7 percent. Obviously that won't happen, but this isn't about the specific numbers. 

No matter how much his shooting percentages dip after that stellar start, there's a new element to his game. It's one that opens up everything, making it easier for him to get to the rim. Hell, it even allows him to just spend more time on the court. The rest of his game gets all the more valuable, simply because the defense doesn't get to play five-on-four whenever he's spotting up on the perimeter. 

Plus, confidence in a jumper can fall into the realm of self-fulfilling prophecies. Early success will make Kidd-Gilchrist work harder on continuing to improve his form, then he'll see more improvement and believe in himself even more strongly in spite of any unavoidable bumps in the road. 

"He's not Dell Curry, and that's important for him to understand and us to understand. He's played one way his whole life. Mike has always caught it and said, 'I'll drive it or pass it.' Now he has more ability to shoot the ball," Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford said before the preseason began, via Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. "If he can get to that point where he makes some shots he'll have a much different career."

It's important to remember just how high Kidd-Gilchrist's ceiling once appeared to be.

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Coming out of Kentucky, he was picked directly behind Anthony Davis and widely viewed as a potential star. His offensive game needed plenty of development, but he was a bona fide defensive stopper who was nearly unbeatable in transition, getting to the rim and finishing at will. Few realized just how problematic the complete and utter lack of perimeter presence would be, as it's kept him from carving out a larger role in the Charlotte rotation. 

If the jumper sticks—and that remains an "if" at this point in the process—that ceiling is back in the picture. The 21-year-old small forward still has plenty of years left to build up a name for himself in the NBA, and it appears he may just be a late-blooming prospect. 

His jumper may not be terrifying at this point in his career, frightening neither opposing defenses nor the Hornets whenever he elevates and lets fly. Even while it remains mired in this middle ground, though, it should scare you from being too quick with the dreaded "bust" label.