The Sixers haven't had a guy like Kapono - a legitimate three-point threat - since they traded smooth-shooting Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz in December 2007.

Since that trade, the Sixers have been the NBA's worst three-point-shooting team.

Finding an outside shooter became paramount on the Sixers' to-do list. Finally, in June, they traded bruising power forward Reggie Evans to the Toronto Raptors for Kapono, who, at 45.4 percent, is tied with Steve Kerr for the highest career three-point percentage in NBA history.

The 28-year-old Kapono will make open shots, which is not as common as you'd think in today's NBA: It's a niche market.

Going back to his youth in Southern California, Kapono could always shoot; he grew up shooting. But it's the slight improvements - the tweaks here, the footwork there - that have aided him, first in high school, then at UCLA, and finally in the NBA.

Raising the shot

From his freshman year at Artesia (Calif.) High School until his fourth year in the NBA, Kapono worked out with Neil Olshey, then an assistant coach at Artesia, now the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers.

"Jason was this pudgy kid from the suburbs who could really shoot the ball," Olshey recalled. "I remember telling his parents, 'Wouldn't it be so great if he could someday go play at Princeton?' They laughed and said, 'He wants to play in the NBA.' "

Said Kapono: "I was a fat kid, playing baseball, skateboarding. . . . Neil thought I was going to be a GPA guy, one of those guys who's there to boost the overall GPA."

When he entered Artesia - a California prep basketball powerhouse - Kapono's release point was too low, making it too easily blocked.

Kapono attributes this youthful flaw to imitating guys like Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, and Michael Cooper. Despite not having the physical maturity, he found a way to reach the basket from those same distances: He pushed the ball from below his chin.

Olshey, immediately noticing this, set about correcting it.

"The first thing we tweaked was we raised his shot pocket," Olshey said. "He shot the ball from down by his chest and we recognized that because he doesn't have great elevation, he was going to struggle to get his shot off."

If you watch Kapono this season, you'll notice his release is well above his eyes.

Footwork

For Kapono, much of the work is done before even catching the basketball. There's a rhythm inside each shooter's head, and it's his job to catch on the correct beat, using fundamental footwork, the same way every time.

When Kapono jumped to the college level, to UCLA's top-10 program, the athleticism of his opponents increased; the amount of open, squared-to-the basket opportunities decreased.

To score, Kapono would need to shoot on the move: curling off screens, squaring in an instant, staying low as the pass came.