Cameron Payne’s ‘ugly’ jump shot helps fuel league-best Knicks offense: ‘At the end of the day, it goes in’

Search “Cam Payne shooting form” on social media, and you’ll tumble into a rabbit hole of unrelenting jokes.

“Cam Payne’s shot always looks like he’s shooting a bow and arrow,” quipped Knicks fan Rebecca Chasen.

“Cam Payne form scornful,” added another, NyabINGY.

And then there’s Knicks superfan Kazeem, whose post on X (formerly Twitter) might just take the crown: “Cam Payne shoots like [former Yankee] Chuck Knoblauch getting up to bat.”

Cam Payne has seen it all.

Every meme, every jab, every creative metaphor. And he’ll admit it — every critique about his unorthodox shooting mechanics is probably fair.

But there’s one glaring omission.

Call it awkward. Call it ugly. Call it anything you want.

Just don’t forget to call it cash.

Because that’s exactly what Payne has been to start his first season with the Knicks: money in the bank.

His unconventional jump shot, the one fans hate to see go up but love to watch go in, is helping supercharge the Knicks’ second unit for a league-best offense.

And Payne, unbothered by the chatter, is leaning into the absurdity of it all.

“You wanna talk about my shot? At the end of the day, it goes in. So that’s the biggest thing,” Payne told The Daily News. “I work on, I guess, an ugly shot. That’s cool. If it keeps going in, I’ll take an ugly shot 10 times out of 10 over a good-looking shot that doesn’t go in. So it’s all good. People are gonna have something to say. That’s the nature of it in the NBA.”

Payne, who joined the Knicks on a one-year veteran’s minimum deal last offseason, is off to one of the best shooting starts of his career. His quirky form has been a trusted companion since he first picked up a basketball, and while it draws plenty of side-eyes, Payne doesn’t mind defending it — especially when most of his critics likely shoot with their right hand.

“I mean, there’s a lot of right-handers whose shots look crazy,” Payne said with a grin. “But there’s nothing to say because everybody’s right-handed.”

Payne’s sense of humor, one of the biggest on a Knicks team equally rich in talent and personality, keeps him grounded. He knows his shot “defies physics,” as one fan put it. And he knows his mechanics — a lefty who brings the ball to the right side of his body, dips, and vaults the ball from his forehead — are anything but textbook.

“He’s been shooting that way since I’ve seen him play. That’s his shot,” said Josh Hart. “If it goes in, it goes in. There’s no pictures on a box score or anything like that, so that’s his shot and he shoots it with confidence. He’s shooting a career-high, so don’t change anything.”

Payne’s response to the doubters is on the stat sheet.

He’s hitting 44.1% of his three-pointers through 17 games, on pace to exceed his career-best 44% in 2021 with the Phoenix Suns. He’s made two or more threes in 10 of those games, with highlights like a 5-of-6 outing in a November win against the Washington Wizards. Even his head coach, Tom Thibodeau, has been impressed.

“He shoots a lot, and he’s always had that scoring component, so he’s put a lot of time in it,” Thibodeau said. “And everybody’s different, so I think he’s an expert of his shot. He plays fast, so he mixes in getting easy baskets, and I think he gets into rhythm that way.”

Payne credits his unique shooting form for creating an advantage. Defenders, already thrown off by the rarity of left-handed shooters, struggle even more with his release point.

“Honestly, with how I shoot, [the defender] be on my left side, but I shoot on my right,” Payne said. “So I kind of shoot my regular shot. I don’t see the contest until after it’s gone. So I kind of see straight rim. It’s cool.”

Payne is averaging 8.2 points per game off the bench this season, giving the Knicks a steady veteran presence. His ability to stretch the floor with confidence has made him a key piece of the rotation, and he’s happy to keep doing what works.

“Just being left-handed in general, it’s different,” Payne said. “A lot of people come in, and everything is right hand, right hand, right hand. So with me, I’m kind of unique being left-handed. A lot of people don’t guard that every night, so that’s kind of how I get my shots off: just being left-handed. Thank God.”

It may not be pretty, but Payne’s shot is a thing of beauty where it counts most: on the scoreboard.

Call it whatever you want — ugly, unorthodox, or even scornful — but just make sure you call it cash.