MIAMI -- There isn't a lot of variety when it comes to warm-up routines NBA players use to get ready for a game. Get to an arena early and you'll see players all over the floor doing variations of the same shooting drills and post-up work. For big men, it's right-foot pivot, right shoulder turn followed by left-foot pivot, left shoot shoulder turn. Finish with contact. Spot-up jumpers. And don't forget your free throws.

Everything requires a certain amount of time, work and success on each drill. The perimeter players put in dribbling drills along with their outside shooting -- step-back jumpers, dribbling around screens, pull-up jumpers. Anywhere from 12- to 15-minute windows, along with stretching and reviewing some video on a laptop with a nearby assistant coach. Some pregame routines are more eye-catching than others.

NBA shooters typically have the more impressive warm-up routines, although that can be assistant coach contingent. The Philadelphia 76ers have a fun warm-up session because assistant coach Sean Rooks, a former 12-year NBA veteran, will talk trash to the young Sixers and let them know when he puts a hand up and they miss their shot. Walter McCarty brings a certain amount of joy to his work with Boston Celtics players.

However, it's the shooters who put on the best show. Stephen Curry, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Novak all have mesmerizing warm-up routines as you get hypnotized by the ball effortlessly ripping through the net over and over again.

But the most interesting routine to watch might be Atlanta Hawks' sharpshooter Kyle Korver. 

With about 50 minutes left on the game clock prior to tip-off, Korver emerges from the tunnel of whichever arena he finds himself in that night. He'll make his way over to strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watkinson, who's tasked with getting the All-Star shooter limber and loose for the night's game. They discuss what's going on with his body before Korver starts stretching his arms and back with a long bit of PVC pipe.

He does squats, he twists his torso, and then walks over to the basketball stanchion where he loosens up his legs and back some more with a resistance band. Then it's time to shoot, and the shooting can be beautiful. It'll be the third time he shoots that day, following a shooting session at the team's shootaround and another one after the shootaround. He then has the pre-game routine and the warm-ups right before tip-off. There are four sessions in all to get his jumper right.

Korver teams up with Charles Lee, a first-year assistant coach who played at Bucknell and overseas in Europe, and Taylor Jenkins, who is in his second season as an assistant for the Hawks after coaching the Austin Toros in the D-League.

Jenkins delivers the passes to Korver as Lee provides an obstacle on many shots. Korver's routine doesn't involve a lot of stagnant shot attempts from various spots on the floor. He's often on the move, mimicking actions in coach Mike Budenholzer's offense to make him more game ready to keep his historic shooting season going.

"It's the same one I've done every single game this year," Korver explains. "A little [different from last season] but not much different. It's the same offense, so I'm taking the same type of shots."

In the previous season -- his first under Budenholzer -- Korver was working with assistant coach Quin Snyder. Snyder left after his one year on the Hawks' staff to take over as coach of the Utah Jazz, but Snyder had Korver taking a lot of game shots in warm-up routines, rather than just putting up repetitive jumpers in situations that looked more like shooting in an empty gym than shooting within the flow of the offense.

Korver's shooting prowess this year comes from a specific routine. (USATSI)
Kyle Korver's shooting prowess is derived from a specific routine. (USATSI)

That change in the routine isn't a bad thing, as long as it's consistent night in and night out within that 82-game campaign. The consistency helps bring results for the league's most accurate 3-point shooter. 

"To be honest with you, usually it's a little different every year," Korver said. "The assistant coach I work with is usually different every year, it seems like, just because I'm on a different team or my coach from last year got the head coaching job in Utah. But you know, you kind of put something together and I always want it to be predicated on what I'm going to shoot in the game."

The routine is quick. He starts off by taking 3-point shots from the top of the key. Korver then moves to the right corner where he'll hit three corner 3s before making a pull-up runner from about 12 feet away like he's coming off a screen or moving in to safer territory following an aggressive closeout. He'll run off the 3-point line from the corner one more time to make a layup.

The same thing happens from the left wing before moving to the top of the key for just 3-point jumpers. Then he moves to the right wing for three 3-pointers, the pull-up runner, and the layup. The left corner follows up with everything acting as a simulation of game action. Jenkins throws passes from different angles, but always tries to put the ball in the shooting pocket of Korver, much like Jeff Teague is expected to do during games.

The shooting stance of Korver remains wide. There's a slight bend at his waist. The fingers are spread, the wrist is snapping, and his elbow is lined up straight with the target of the rim. The shoulders are alert but relaxed in the shooting motion and he's landing forward as he holds his follow-through. Everything is moving or pointed toward the basket, as much as possible.

Korver moves to curling off screens from the low left block area. Increasing the distance on the shot from short jumpers to midrange jumpers to 3-point attempts after each make. A single free throw separates the attempts coming from the low right block. Make a single shot from each spot and move on.

"I'’s something that I want to be concise," Korver explains. "I want to make a certain amount of shots; I don’t really want to shoot a certain amount of shots, I want to make a certain amount of shots and try to find my rhythm."

Jenkins, Lee, and Korver then transition to shots coming across screens on the perimeter. Jenkins passes from the right side of the 3-point arc to Korver who is coming off a screen from Lee. Korver moves from the left wing, rubs an imaginary defender off Lee's screen, and catches the pass to take the ball down the middle of the floor for a layup. He runs the same action but pulls up for a free throw line jumper. The next attempt is him coming off the screen and hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

A single free throw separates the attempts coming from the right side. 

Then Korver moves from the left corner around the perimeter to the right corner, catch-and-shooting 3-point attempts over a defending Lee. Soft closeouts from Lee provide proper resistance to simulate game attempts while still allowing Korver to concentrate on getting his shooting motion ready. Jenkins throws a couple of passes from different angles. Korver adjusts with spot-up attempts and flares to the corner. Lee flies by on the final corner attempt before Korver wraps things up.

The routine wrap for Korver is always the same as well, and there is no bargaining or negotiating the end. He has to hit 10 free throws in a row and three 3-pointers from the top of the key before he allows himself to head back to the locker room. When he does that, he knows his shot is pure for that night's duties.

This is where Jenkins gets to have a bit more fun in his passing. He tosses the ball off the backboard and goes to get it like a wild rebound. He tosses off-balance passes to Korver, who patiently spots up from the top of the 3-point line. Jenkins is flying away from the shooter, delivering almost desperation passes you may find from a teammate in the closing moments of a tight game when the Hawks would be calling upon their hired assassin to deliver the big shot.

The final pass comes from Jenkins flying out of bounds on the sideline. Korver catches, sets the fight, fires his body up and toward the rim, and delivers the 3-point make. He slaps hands with Jenkins, Lee, and the ball boy who has helped them out during these 10 minutes. He can now return to the locker room and prepare himself mentally for the game.

"I don't want to just waste a bunch of energy," Korver says. "I want to go out there and go fairly hard and just go 10 or 12 minutes to try to make some shots."

When you watch accompanying video, how concise and efficiently active the routine is helps explain how he's so prepared to be a perfect threat in the Hawks' offense.