How to become a better basketball scorer

Become a Better Scorer – Backyard Sidekick

Everyone on your basketball team has a role to play; some will excel in driving the ball towards the basket while others will prioritize defense over offense. Then there’s you, the shooter. Your role will be to take every opportunity to score whenever possible. Any flaws in your execution will spell bad news for your team.

To Become a better scorer and shooter in basketball, work on these three attributes: repetition, consistency, and form. To improve scoring, proper shooting form, driving to the hoop, and practice will go a long way. The best scorers in basketball spend hours practicing their ball control, form, and shot technique.

These aspects are common in many of the best shooters in the NBA, but that’s not all the factors that define them. As there is truly no size fits all, the same applies to perfect shot form. You must spend a considerable amount of time honing in the form that works best for your play style.

By narrowing that down, it’s only a matter of time till you can efficiently nail every shot on the court.

Becoming a Better Shooter and Scorer

Every basketball player wants to become a great shooter. They are the players on the court who everyone relies on to score. Even if you don’t have proficient speed, strength, or athleticism, being a great shooter will guarantee you a place on the team. Of course, this is easier said than done.  

Star shooters like Steph Curry showcase exceptional confidence with their shooting skills. Where did this confidence come from, you may ask?

The confidence of a great shooter is the result of years spent repeating their shot form, nailing every shot efficiently. In other words, repetition leads to consistency, which garners confidence.

Here’s a great compilation video of some awesome shots made by Curry. (I could watch this stuff all day)

All objections aside, there is no position more valuable than an efficient shooter. Dribbling, passing, and jumping are also important. But if you can’t send the ball into the hoop, then your team will not experience much success. A team full of good shooters will expand the team’s offense, allowing you to score more and win more games.

As we go in-depth towards improving your shooting form, remember that none of it matters if you don’t put in the work yourself. These pro-athletes started in the same position as you once. At first, they knew nothing about the sport, but over time, that hard work yielded the results you see today.

By applying that same mentality, you will see the same results in your performance.

Fundamentals of Proper Shooting Form

We all go through various periods of plateauing. Nothing is more frustrating than putting in hours of hard work, only to make little to no progress. At this stage, it’s often recommended to take a step back and fine-tune the basics. Along the way, you may have unconsciously developed a bad habit that’s impeding your progress.

Regardless of the cause, reflecting on the fundamentals will offer insight to shatter this plateau. While this may be overkill, let’s break down each step to pinpoint where the mistake originated from.

I suggest starting with a decent basketball, one that you are most likely to use in a game. I like to practice with this Wilson Evolution Game Basketball (link to Amazon) because it’s the most widely used basketball for games.

Getting Into Position

To get in the right position for shooting, you must be self-conscious of your stance and balance leading into the shot. Without a strong foundation, everything else will crumble.

Here are some guidelines to follow when getting into position:

• Place your Feet Shoulder-Width Apart: This stance will deliver a strong center of gravity as you prepare to shoot. You will also want to keep your dominant foot slightly ahead of the other. This will help keep you in line with your shoot.   
• Maintain a Slight Bend in your Knees: This will make you ready to jump when you have possession of the ball. If you lock your knees before you jump, the chances of knocking yourself off balance will drastically increase.
• Gripping the ball Correctly: In this stance, you want to ensure that your shooting hand is aligned with your shoulder. This will help naturally form a straight line to the basket. The non-shooting hand will only serve to assist and balance the motion. Trying to shoot with two hands will decrease the accuracy.
• Make Eye-Contact with the Target: Many shooters will pinpoint different locations to sink their shots. Some prefer aiming directly for the net, while others will reliably use the backboard to assist. Wherever you decide on, you must keep your eyes focused on that spot. By focusing your gaze on something else, your body will realign to follow your line of vision.  

Here’s a quick video about shooting hand placement, and some shooting form tips.

Nailing the Shot

Now that we’re in position, it’s time to go ahead and deliver the shot. Just as meticulous as we were with our stance, we must exercise the same mentality with how we shoot.

Here are some factors to be mindful of when releasing your shoot:

• Strength Should be Generated from your Shoulders: Many new shooters mistakenly lose accuracy by generating power from their arms and chest to shoot. Instead, most of the power should come from having your shoulders relaxed. This neutral position will ensure a more fluid shot without wasting excessive stamina. 
• Don’t Neglect the Legs: Every successful shot is preceded by a successful jump. In this instance, you want to move slightly forward as you land. This motion, in combination with your shoulders being pulled back and relaxed, will give enough motion to propel the ball to its target. With your jump, you will want to release the ball before you hit the apex of your vertical. 
• Shoot Off your Fingertips: Another rookie mistake is pushing the ball forward with the palm of your hands. Instead, the ball should solely be in contact with your fingertips. You will also want to focus on the ball rolling off instead of being pushed by your fingertips. This will produce the backspin and propel it in a natural arc motion. You can easily tell this if the lines of the basketball are in symmetry while spinning.
• Follow-Through with Your Shot: We cannot emphasize this enough; this is the one factor that most players neglect to do. When the ball is released, players tend to halt their motion, losing all accuracy in their throw. To complete the follow-through, your palm should be facing downward with your fingers pointing to the target.

Shooting in basketball is a simple concept. With enough practice, your muscle memory will be able to reenact it without hesitation. We advocate that the key factors you should polish are identifying your stance and your follow-through, ensuring that you’re always shooting with these in mind.

The fundamentals are essential for initiating the shot, but without your follow-through, you will fail more than you’ll succeed.  

For more in depth info on taking a shot, check out my How To Shoot A Basketball Step By Step Guide.

Shooting Drills

With the fundamentals out of the way, we can apply what we learned onto the courts. Now you think that all you need to practice is to make hundreds upon hundreds of shots. Yes, we did say that practice makes perfect, but it’s all about how you practice that will yield the best results.

If we just shoot without an intended goal, we will only get so much out of practice.

In this next section, we’ll break down some of our favorite tips and drills to make the most out of your practice session. As we like to emphasize, the implementation won’t be enough to get better. Be ready to spend many sweaty hours going through periods of failure and success. Only then will you come out with a better player than when you started. 

“Around the World” Shooting

Some of you may remember this fan-favorite game growing up in school. Well, this kid’s game offers a lot more merit than you would believe. This drill forces the shooter to emphasize their accuracy and precision.

The rules can vary, but essentially, the goal is to make every shot from a set pattern of different positions. The only way to advance is to score from all the selected spots. The spots can be anyway on the court.

Some prefer to mark different spots on the three-point arc while others will space out around the half-court. The rules and stipulations will always change based on the desired difficulty.

Here’s a quick video showing a team practice this drill to give you an idea of what it can look like.

Some stipulations that we recommend to make the most out of this drill are as follow:

• Set a time-constraint
• Establish a Penalty System

While this may not seem a lot, these two variables can ramp up stress for the shooter. A penalty system is always preferred to raise the stakes, almost simulating the stress during game time. Say if you give yourself a two-shot penalty. In this scenario, you’re allowed to take only two shots. If you miss both times, you have to restart from the beginning.

Even if you arrive on the final mark, missing means you have to go back to mark one.

This, in addition to a time-constraint, will force you to overcome the pressure to increase your shot efficiency. Played solo or with friends, this drill will demonstrate how much stress is involved in the shooter’s role and offer insight to overcome it.   

One-Hand Shooting

In an earlier section, we noted that the non-dominant hand is to assist with stability and to ensure that the ball follows a set path. Yet some shooters have developed the bad habit of using both hands to shoot.

This will cause a huge deviation with your throw, causing you to miss a majority of your shots.

That’s why we advocate applying one-hand shooting in your drill routines. By taking out the “mediator” of your shooting, all other aspects of your foundation must be rock solid. We recommend starting with a cement wall to focus on getting into the right form. Once you establish consistency with your shots, you can transition to the basket.

Now you don’t want to start too far away from the basket; anywhere between 3 to 6 feet from the basket will suffice. Give yourself ten shots and see how many you can make one-handed.

If you get a majority in the basket (8 out of 10), then you can start moving farther and farther away from the basket. Also, make sure that you’re only counting good shots. By this, we mean that you’re witnessing proper backspin as you release the ball.

Here’s a quick video explanation so you can see what a one hand shooting drill looks like.

Work with a Partner for Movement-Based Shooting

With whatever drill we practice, we have to make sure that our skills can seamlessly translate towards an actual game. In these instances, it’s often best to replicate the feel of the game during practice. Anyone can make a stationary shot, but what about making one after successfully faking out your opponent?

A partner will allow you to practice movement-based shooting. They can either play offense or defense depending on the situation. Need to practice shooting while fending off a defender, they can fill that role. What about shooting after immediately receiving a pass, they can cover that job as well.

The versatility of broadening how and when you shoot will only increase your confidence as a shooter.

Even if the practice consists of stationary shooting, their assistance will help make the most out of your practice. Often, when shooting alone, we spend more time chasing after the ball than we do shooting it. With an extra pair of hands, they can continuously send the ball our way without us wasting any energy. In this scenario, we can double or triple the number of shots we would have taken if practicing on our own.

All skills must be polished before the big game. Working with your teammates to reenact these conditions will make you a shooter that can score under any situation. But more importantly, it will allow for a smoother transition when applied during regulated games.  

Learning from Others

We have previously mentioned how having a partner on the court can greatly improve your training. Besides this, working with another person can offer guidance into your shooting form.

As you practice your technique, it’s best to have a more-experienced player watch your form. They can easily pinpoint factors that you may need to polish or demonstrate what works for them. If a person is not easily available, you can set up your phone to film a few of your shots.

With this video, you can study your form and examine the areas you will want to approve upon. Since the video will be easily available on your phone, you can take it or send it to others for their feedback as well.

It’s also not just those around us that can influence our play-style; we can also study the technique of the best shooters in the NBA.

Today’s shooters are known as the best in basketball’s history. They have transcended the basic foundations and discovered techniques that complement their play style. More importantly, they have overcome any mental strain associated with the game.

Here’s a fun video to watch showing some amazing shots made by these professional NBA players.

Remember, shooting is just as mental as it is technical. If you put any unnecessary strain on yourself while shooting, your accuracy and precision will decrease tremendously. By watching pro shooters land their shots, you’ll do wonders to your mentality. This positivity will help you build confidence on the court.

This confidence can even stem by conditioning yourself with “mental tricks.” Even with a solid foundation, if you don’t have any faith in yourself, you will miss more than you will succeed. This can vary from establishing a mantra for yourself when you shoot or meditation before getting on the court.

Regardless of the means, you need to establish a way to reign yourself in once you lose confidence.

Most experts would agree that our mental state can be the most harmful obstacle in our lives. In essence, we are our own worst critic. But we shouldn’t let this overwhelm us on the court. Missing a free-throw is not necessarily a bad thing.

Yes, in a game setting, that’s one less point for your team. But it should also be seen as an opportunity to learn. By reflecting, with yourself or others, you can fine-tune your technique and avoid that mistake in the future.

Final Thoughts

After reading this guide, the path to becoming a better shooter will seem like a daunting task. It’s the truth that Rome wasn’t built in a day. The same can be applied to your efficiency as a shooter; only time will reveal great things from your effort. Expecting to become a pro overnight will set you up for failure on the court.

Without sugarcoating it, the only way to get better at shooting is to put in the work on the court as much as possible. Gimmicks will not suffice for the skills developed in practice. Remember, repetition leads to consistency, which results in confidence.

Keep practicing, here are 10 Basketball Drills You Can Do At Home to give you some ideas on what you can do to train. If you’re sick of practicing, check out these 14 Fun Basketball Games to keep yourself on the court, but also give yourself a break from training.

Every pro athlete can testify to the hardships that each had to face to get to their current status. No one is born a master, and if they tell you otherwise, they’re probably lying. By applying these tips, you will build the confidence to become the best shooter in your league.

It all comes down to honing the fundamentals. Once you polish out any flawed habits, the day that you become a great shooter will be right over the horizon.

Helpful Links:

• Wilson Evolution Game Basketball (link to Amazon)
• Recommended Basketball Gear
• 10 At Home Basketball Drills
• 14 Fun Basketball Games For All Ages

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8 Keys to Becoming a Great Scorer in Basketball

This article was written by Basketball HQ co-founder Kyle Ohman.

1. Score Within the Offense

• Set Plays
  • Master your team’s set basketball plays and recognize when and where there are great scoring opportunities for yourself.
  • It could be a play designed specifically for you or for another teammate, but you always need to be ready to take a high percentage shot within your team’s offense.
• Read the Defense
  • Don’t be a robot when running plays. Understand how the defense is guarding a certain action, and then exploit it.
  • This requires knowing and understanding each play at a high level. If you are always trying to remember the play, you won’t be able to read the defense.

2. Play to Your Strengths

• You are What you Shoot
  • You must value the shots that you shoot. Not every shot is a good shot.
  • Look for high percentage shots to take advantage of.
• Seek Out YOUR Shot
  • Every scorer has different spots on the floor that they prefer. So get the ball where you want it, and then shoot the shot that you want.
• Use Your Teammates
  • Don’t try to do it on your own.
  • i.e., If you are great with ball screens, look to use a ball screen with one of your post players to score.
  • Communicate with your teammates and let them know where you want to get the ball.

3. Next Play Mentality

• Short Memory
  • Not every shot is going to go in; that is just how it works. You should never let a miss impact the next shot.
  • Move on to the next play and shoot the next shot with confidence.
• Confidence
  • You must be mentally tough and have confidence in your abilities.
  • Don’t allow a few misses to deter you from taking the next quality shot that comes your way (as long as it fits the moment in the game).

4. Take Advantage of Easy Baskets

• Transition
  • Sprint the floor and look to get easy baskets before the defense gets set.
  • Sprinting the floor also opens up scoring lanes for other teammates as well.
• Hard Cuts
  • Read the defense and take advantage of miscommunication or laziness with hard cuts to the basket.
  • Backdoor: if the defender is playing too high in the passing lane, back cut to the basket for an easy finish.
  • Face Cut: if the defender doesn’t jump to the ball after a pass, cut right across their face.
• Offensive Rebounds
  • Crash the boards hard and look to get easy put backs.
  • If you are more of a guard, be ready to shoot kick out 3 pointers off the offensive rebound.

5. Free Throws

• Aggressiveness
  • Put pressure on the defense and force them to commit fouls.
  • Play under control while being aggressive and don’t pick up out of control fouls or turn the basketball over.
• Free Points
  • You must be able to capitalize at the free-throw line and take advantage of free points.
• End of Game Situations
  • Making free throws at a high percentage adds a lot of value in close games when the other team must foul to extend the game.

6. Offensive Balance

• Create for Others
  • You must be willing to set up other teammates to keep the defense from collapsing on you every time you make a move.
  • Being a dual-threat to score and create puts so much more pressure on the defense.
• Multiple Scoring Moves
  • Be able to score in a variety of different ways.
  • You will have “go-to moves,” but you also need to be able to exploit the defense when they are overplaying you a certain way.
  • Example: A guard that can both shoot at a high level and finish at the basket is a lot harder to guard than a player that is only one-dimensional.

7. Develop your Weaknesses

• Don’t Avoid Your Weakness
  • Purposely set time aside to work on areas of your game that you struggle with.
  • Write out what you need to work on and how you are going to improve in those areas.
• Constant Development
  • Always be improving your weaknesses and look to turn them into strengths.
  • Work to become a complete player.

8. Defense to Offense

• Stops to Buckets
  • Getting hands in passing lanes, harassing the ball handler, rebounds, etc., can open up transition opportunities and allow you to turn defense to offense.
  • This doesn’t mean gambling outside of team strategy; stay disciplined.
• Team Defense
  • Buy into team defense and recognize that defense ignites the offense.
  • Don’t be the player known as a scorer but takes it easy on the defensive end and hurts team defense.

When you hear the word “scorer” in basketball, you sometimes think of it negatively because there are so many volume shooters out there that we label as scorers. Being a great scorer, though, means being able to score the basketball efficiently; it is done with one purpose in mind, and that is to help the team win.

Great scorers shoot the basketball with accountability. They know that it is their role to shoot a lot of shots and score points for their team. However, they don’t just shoot any shot that they want or feel like. It is about the team, and they show that by choosing to shoot high percentage shots.

Scorers are usually naturally gifted, but GREAT scorers are also some of the hardest workers as well. If you look at players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, etc., you will quickly see that they are also some of the hardest workers. If you want to develop into a great scorer, it starts in the gym with hours and hours of hard work. This allows you to shoot the ball with confidence and take the big shots at the end of the game.

who it is, what position it plays in, top players

This player has many titles: scorer, shooting guard or post scorer in basketball. You can also often hear the wording “second number”, this is his position among his team. Basketball fans from our country most often call him a scorer, because this reflects the essence of the tasks assigned to him. This basketball player combines many functions, the most important of which are the completion of attacks and the pursuit of dangerous attackers from opponents. Let's figure out the duties of the second number, what skills and abilities he should have. Also here you will find the best scorers in the history of the sport.

Usually the best sniper in the team is number two, hence the unspoken name - scorer. Since he is a shooting guard, he is required to be equally good at scoring points for his team and working on defense.

Basketball players in this role are always popular, as they are the most capable players in the league and leaders of their team. It is they who more often than others give the audience truly exciting moments and break the applause. Get ready to find out what qualities an athlete must have in order to take such a position in the central zone.

What should a scorer be like?

Shooting into the basket from the central area is not easy. In accordance with his strategy, each coach puts in this place an athlete in whose abilities he is confident. It is the common duty of all defenders to prevent opponents from scoring. Capable defenders can take over the leader of the other team, thereby compromising their tactical decisions.

The attacking defender is a special piece. As a rule, not the tallest players, who are distinguished by quick reaction, speed and dexterity, get such a role. These are the most dynamic and maneuverable representatives of the team, who will boldly take the initiative and throw the ball into the ring. At the same time, they are strong and very well developed physically, which allows them to emerge as a leader from the fight under the basket.

The defender will spend more time in the background, focusing on long shots, the main characteristic of this position is accuracy. More is required from the attacking defender. They constantly rush forward, paving the way for themselves or for themselves and their comrades.

He provides a lot of rebounds, he has a lot of assists.

A defender who is able to attack is a powerful weapon for his team, and a serious threat for the opponent. There is always an experienced player in this position, so his skill really impresses the audience. For other members of the team, the scorer is a leader and support, as it is he who comes to the rescue in difficult situations. The longer the number two basketball player plays in this position, the more dangerous he poses to opponents, and the more fans love him.

How to become a good scorer?

First you need to become a good defender, that is, learn how to act in those situations when the other team has the ball. The most important skill is to keep the player, that is, to follow on the heels of the wards, to prevent him from realizing his plans, but at the same time not breaking the rules. In this situation, you need to not allow to break through and make a hit on the ring, and this is very difficult. It is required to keep up with the enemy in speed and surpass him in agility in order to skillfully maneuver.

There are several basic skills that every defender must master. First of all, this is the ability to take the correct position of the body, ensuring high mobility. When guarding a basketball player, you need to keep your legs in line and bend your knees slightly to give your body springiness. The body weight is evenly distributed between the two reference points, the upper part leans forward slightly. The arms are outstretched and slightly bent.

It is necessary to keep at a distance of a meter or one and a half from the guarded, and at the moment when he is ready to throw, take a step towards him and throw one of his hands up and forward. The task is not to allow the ball to be thrown and even to aim, so there is less risk. As soon as the attacker releases the projectile from his hands, you need to return to the starting position again. Remember, at this moment he is already preparing for a new action, and you have to track or even predict.

A good defender will never let an attacker get away. He will fight him, but at the same time keep a distance of a couple of steps. Keeping the distance is very important, for this you need to have high speed and excellent reaction. The defender acts after the attacker, so he has to move in different ways. Better technique means more success.

Learn to run backwards, this skill is in demand, as well as side step running. The side step is convenient when moving at a short distance from the object, in order to keep it on its half and not let it get close to your ring. You can run this way not only to the right or left, but also forward, in which case the first step is taken from the foot that is forward. Beginners often start bouncing, but this is not what you need. Movements should not be jumping, but sliding.

The defender knows this perfectly, and the attacker is ready to cope with such actions. He knows how to behave in the case of tight guardianship, how to get rid of it. Being an attacking defender is even more difficult, because he combines two roles at once. That's why second players are so in-demand: they're versatile in their skill set.

NBA Top Scorers

The NBA's all-time top scorer is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. To determine the effectiveness of the player, two indicators are evaluated:

• total career points scored;
• how useful the player is in attack and what benefits he brings in general.

At the moment, only seven basketball players have managed to overcome the personal effectiveness threshold of 30,000 points. The statistics are a little unbiased, since now different shots are valued by different numbers of points. But before the 80s, there were no three-point shots in basketball, and athletes received only a point even after hitting from a long distance.

Wilt Chamberlain was the first to break the 30,000 mark in the 1971-1972 season. He retired a year later with a total of 31,419 points. This was repeated by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1983-1984 season. After that, five more seasons awaited him, the result of which was an unsurpassed record to this day - 38,387 points.

Next on the list is Karl Malone, who retired with 36,928 points. Not to mention Michael Jordan, his result was 32 292. But Jordan is also a record holder, although he is not in first place, but he is in the lead in the average score per game - 30.123 points.

We have analyzed who a post scorer in basketball is and what functions he performs. Being such a player is very honorable, responsible and difficult at the same time.

The battle for the title of the top scorer in Super League history is in full swing. The leaders are separated by 30 points

The gaps in the top three are as small as possible.

Individual statistics of players is a cult of modern basketball. Absolutely everything is calculated, analyzed and modeled overseas, so at any given time we know exactly how many “three” need to be implemented Steph Curry to become the best scorer in NBA history, or uniquely Zion Williamson's All-Star starter in Atlanta.

Even no-names like Aleksey Pokushevsky , who play in the strongest league of the planet for a week, can already have some unique statistical achievement on their account. And superstars collect packs of them: how many NBA digital records, for example, right now belongs to LeBron James0006, no one can say for sure.