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How to hold the basketball
How to grip the basketball and use your hands for a perfect release
How you grip the basketball is critical to a consistent release.
There are so many details that go into holding the ball and using each of the hands in order to become a great shooter.
If you can get consistently close to an optimal grip and release, then you stand an excellent chance of developing repeatable form.
Use these details to start to develop your own system of drills to isolate the habits, and layer drills. Or skip to the front of the line and get my my proven system of drills in my SHOT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM – PURE RELEASE.
THE GOAL OF THE HANDS
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, our goal when we shoot is to create as much Positive Power in the shooting motion as possible. Positive power is any energy that is straight up and in line with the hoop.
Since it is your hands that are actually TOUCHING the basketball, it is going to be critical that we create as much positive power with our hands as we possibly can.![]()
We want to avoid the shooting hand pushing the ball off line in one direction and the guide hand pushing the ball off line in the other direction, and then trying to perfectly synchronize those two motions to create positive power. It is POSSIBLE to do, that but the MORE you have compensate, the harder it will be to be consistent.
Instead, try to build a one-handed release with one hand pushing the ball towards the target.
Need help creating positive power but have no idea how to do it? Want to build a true one-handed release? CLICK HERE TO GET MY SHOT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM – PURE RELEASE.
START BY MEASURING YOUR HAND
This is one of the key building blocks that so many people miss. They build their shot around assumptions, or theory, but not their actual body.
Start by gripping the ball with your shooting hand wide and your thumb comfortably spread out. Place your index finger (pointer, forefinger) on the air valve of the ball.
Then place the ball on your hip so that you have your guide hand free. With your guide hand, measure the distance from the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb. Then compare that distance to the tip of the index finger and the tip of the pinkie.
I
‘ve measured over 10,000 players hands over the years at camps, clinics, and my own personal workouts. I’ve found that 90-95% of players, when they grip the ball with a wide thumb, the index finger is the middle of their grip. About 5% of players might find that the center of their grip is in between the index finger and the middle finger.
I’ve never had anyone grip the ball correctly and find that the middle of their grip is the middle finger. If you do, make sure that the thumb is spread out wide. If the thumb isn’t wide, your hand won’t be as big as it could be, and won’t control the ball as well as it could.
Need help isolating this important skill, then learning to apply it into games? Click here for my SHOT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM – PURE RELEASE and get all the drills you need to build the habit!!
MIDDLE OF THE HAND UNDER THE CENTER OF THE BALL
Once you know where the middle of your hand is, we need to work to get the middle of the hand under the center of the ball.
Just like in billiards, the ball will go in the opposite direction of where force is applied to it. If your hand applies force to the very bottom of the ball, the ball will go straight up in the air. And if we apply force near the bottom of the ball but slightly to the right side, the ball will go up but slightly to the left – even if we try to lift straight up in the air. Same thing on the other side – if your hand is slightly on the left side of the ball it will push the ball slightly to the right.
Our goal is to get the middle of the shooting hand under the center of the ball at the release of the ball. To make that easier, we want to get the middle of the shooting hand under the center of the ball at the set point. We may not be able to do this perfectly, but the closer we can get, the more accurate we have a chance to be.
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SHOOTING HAND FINGER PARALLEL TO THE TARGET LINE
This is one of the most overlooked keys to shooting. The angle of the finger on the middle of the ball.
Coaches tend to refer to getting the “elbow in” without realizing why it matters. But let me say this first – the position of the ELBOW doesn’t really matter, the elbow isn’t touching the basketball. We can, however, use the elbow as a cue to get the finger into correct alignment. So saying “elbow in” isn’t WRONG, it just doesn’t fully cover the issue.
When a player can get the finger of their shooting hand parallel to the target line, it will remain on the very bottom of the ball throughout the wrist snap. If the finger isn’t parallel to the target line, it will eventually come off the middle of the ball as the wrist snaps, and push the ball off line.
Also be aware that you can get your “elbow in” too much. It is most common/natural for a right handed shooter to let their elbow relax outward, and the finger to come out of alignment in one direction, but it is equally bad to get the elbow “too far in” and have the finger be out of alignment in the other position.
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GUIDE HAND COMING OFF THE BALL AT THE SET POINT
Once the shooting hand is in the correct position, we can focus on getting the guide hand off the ball.
Players and coaches both need to remember that if the guide hand pushes at all, it will push the ball off line. Even if the motion that the guide hand makes appears to push the ball FORWARD, it will push off line since it is on the side of the basketball. The only way you can truly push the ball on line is from the middle of the ball, and there isn’t enough room for two hands there.
So the role of the guide hand is to simply help hold the ball stable in the shooting hand as the two hands lift the ball. At triple threat position, a player needs the guide hand to play a role in holding the ball, otherwise the ball will fall out of the shooting hand. Same thing as the player lifts the ball – if the guide hand is removed when the ball is at chest height, the ball will fall out of the shooting hand because it isn’t under the ball yet.
The guide hand needs to support the ball until the shooting hand can fully get underneath the ball and support it by itself. That occurs around the set point. And that is when the guide hand should start to come off the basketball, though it might not actually release from the ball until a fraction of a second later.
Does your guide hand push the ball off line? Need a progression of drills to help with this? MY SHOT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM WILL TEACH YOU ALL THE DRILLS I DO WITH MY PRO PLAYERS
GUIDE HAND ON THE SIDE OF THE BALL
The positioning of the guide hand on the ball will play a large role in how easily or how well it can come off the ball.
Keep this in mind… it is POSSIBLE to get the guide hand off the ball or even make shots from ANY hand position. But our goal is to make the movement as simple as possible, because SIMPLE IS REPEATABLE.
So our goal is to find the most simple position that the hand can assist in the lifting motion, but not interfere in the shooting motion.
I encourage players to hold the ball so that the guide hand is on the very side of the basketball with the fingers pointed at the ceiling when the ball is at the set point. From that position, all the guide hand has to do it come off the ball a fraction of an inch, and it is out of the way and passive in the shooting motion.
If a player grips the basketball with the guide hand towards the top or front of the ball, the guide hand will need to make a bigger move to release from the ball. The bigger move means more time, and more room for error.
Now, it may be necessary at times to catch the ball with a larger separation in the hands because a catch was challenging and needed to be more secure. But understand that makes the SHOT slightly more challenging. We can work on the skill of catching the ball better, but there will always be some variability in the hand position on catches just because catching and shooting are two different skills, with two different ideal hand positions.
Continue to work on the habit of simplifying your hand position, not intentionally making it more difficult.
Need help getting your guide hand off the ball cleanly? CLICK HERE TO GET THE HELP YOU NEED TO MAKE MORE SHOTS.
WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE SO MANY PEOPLE SHOOT OFF THEIR MIDDLE FINGER?
This is a common question and requires a deeper understanding of shooting form.
First of all, no one’s shot will be perfect, especially in game situations. And being “perfect” doesn’t mean you’ll make every single shot, just like being “imperfect” doesn’t mean you’ll miss every shot. Being better will simply give the shooter a BETTER chance of making each shot.
In order to simplify the shooting motion as much as possible, I’d like a player to get the middle finger under the middle of the ball at the set point, then lift the ball straight up in the air so that both sides are being lifted evenly, and then releasing off the finger that is the middle of their hand.
But many players appear to release the ball off their middle finger? Why?
The shooting motion is short and violent. The wrist is snapping quickly and there is a lot of variability in how the ball leaves a players hand from shot to shot. Even two swishes can come off a great shooter’s hand differently.
This is why I concern myself far more with the position of a player’s hand at the set point, rather than the release.
Secondly, most players don’t hit a perfect position creating ONLY positive energy. They start off with the shooting hand slightly on the right side of the ball (as a right handed shooter) and start the shooting motion pushing the ball slightly to the left. Then, as they lift the ball, the shooter rotates their hand under the ball so that their middle finger is under the center of the ball, more hand is on the left side of the ball, and finish pushing the ball to the right.
This happens all the time, but that small rotation is something we want to try to either minimize or eliminate from the shooting motion.
Have you struggled to be able to do this in games? It might be because you never layered drills so that you could APPLY what you were learning. Finally break the habit once and for all with my SHOT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM – PURE RELEASE.
HOW DO I BUILD THESE HABITS WITH MY NBA CLIENTS?
Building habits in the grip and release requires attention to detail and patience.
I focus on isolating the habit that needs work. In many cases, this can look like standing close to the rim, taking as much time as needed on each shot, and holding the correct position for a couple of seconds before shooting.
From there, as a player gets better at the new, isolated skill, I will start to layer in other drills to make the situation more like a game. The more their habits progress, the more layers I add.
It is a process that takes a lot of experience, so it is difficult for me to explain in a single blog post.
That is why I created my Shot Development System “Pure Release”.
All the drills that I use with my NBA players, laid out in order in video form. Stop guessing what to work on. Start getting results.
You get:
- 60+ Videos of drills and tips
- 2 hours of video content
- Everything laid out in order to remove the guesswork
- Life-time access
You can get “Pure Release” by CLICKING HERE.
Proper Basketball Shooting Technique, Fundamentals, Form, Mechanics
By Jeff Haefner
Home > Player > Basketball Skills > Shooting > Proper Basketball Shooting Technique, Fundamentals, and Form
It's often said that great shooters have a place on any team.
Even if you aren't blessed with tremendous speed, strength or athleticism, great shooting is one of the surest ways you can stand out on the basketball court.
If you spend the time developing and practicing your shot, it will pay off in:
- Making the team
- Getting more playing time
- Scoring consistently
- Feeling confident and having fun every time you step on the floor
Now, let me start with some good news!
Yes, you do need very good shooting form and technique to shoot consistently well.
But it does NOT need to be "perfect".
If you watch enough great shooters, you'll see that their form varies quite a bit based on what's comfortable (and what works) for them.
But almost all great shooters follow the principles I'll explain in this article. So keep reading for (all the good stuff)!
In this section, we give you the raw form and mechanics of stationary shooting.
In other words, this section does NOT address the fundamentals of shooting on the move and more advanced footwork you'll need for game situations.
Here's a quick roadmap of the stationary shooting fundamentals that we'll be covering:
- Eyes on Target
- Stance and Balance
- Shot Pocket
- Grip
- Balance Hand
- Delivery
- Upforce and Landing
- Follow Through
- Correct Shot
EYES ON TARGET- To improve accuracy, locate the target (rim) as early as possible.
 - Keep your eyes on the target and do not follow the flight of the ball.
- Keeping your target focus is very important!
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STANCE AND BALANCE- Feet are shoulder width apart for good balance.
- Feet should be in a slightly staggered stance that is consistent and comfortable for you. Your shooting foot is slightly ahead of the non-shooting foot in a comfortable position.
- Point your feet in the general direction of the basket, but not necessarily directly at it. We prefer an open stance, but you can also use the closed (squared) stance if that's more comfortable for you. With an open stance, your feet point towards one side of the basket. For example, a right handed shooter will point his or her feet just to the left of the rim for a more natural position and shooting motion.
- Once you develop a comfortable stance, line up your feet the exact same way on every shot.
 Whatever stance you use, consistency is critical. - Flex/bend your knees on every shot.
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SHOT POCKET- As you catch the ball, move it quickly into the shot pocket.
- Line everything up so the ball and your shooting eye form a straight line to the basket. This is VERY important.
- Position the ball several inches above your waist.
- Grip the ball properly and be ready to shoot.
- Position the ball in your shot pocket the SAME way every time you catch it.
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GRIP- Place the air hole between the middle and index fingers.
- Line up your fingertip pads parallel to the long seams of the ball, so you can monitor the back spin.
- Leave space between the ball and the middle of your palm. You should be able to insert a pencil between the ball and your palm area.
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- Spread your fingers far enough apart to comfortably balance the ball in one hand.
 - The ball should sit on your finger pads.
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BALANCE HAND- Your non-shooting hand should be on the side of the ball.
- Your balance hand should not add force or spin to the shot.
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- Your non-shooting hand should not move on delivery and should ALWAYS come off the ball FIRST.
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DELIVERY- The ball should start motion directly upwards from the shot pocket.
- Your elbow should be positioned comfortably under the ball.
- The ball stays in front of you and should not go behind your head.
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- Uncoil your body with your legs, core, and arm power all coordinated.
- Your elbow and wrist should extend in a straight line to the basket.
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- Your shooting hand should extend in a straight line to the rim.
- Hand position on delivery is very important. The ball should come off the hand with perfect symmetrical backspin.
- As shown in the picture to the right, your guide hand stays to the side and does not influence the flight of the ball.
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UPFORCE AND LANDING- Release the ball on the way up, just before the top of your jump.
- Use your legs to generate upforce.
- You should land in the same spot that you jumped, which shows that you have good balance on your shot.
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FOLLOW-THROUGH- Your wrists should be floppy (relaxed).
- Fingers should be pointed at the target (rim).
- Finish high. You should see your fingers at the top square of the back board.
- Hold your follow through position until the ball hits the rim.
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NOTE: If youd like specially-designed workouts for shooting and scoring, download our FREE Breakthrough Shooting Workout. It includes over 30 drills you can do by yourself or with a partner all you need is a ball and a hoop!
Click here to get your FREE Shooting Workout.
Related Products & Helpful Resources
Basketball Shooting Camps
Free Basketball Shooting Workouts
Basketball Workout App - Shooting Workouts, Guard Play Workouts, Post Workouts, etc.
Basketball coaching hacks: how to score goals for beginners
Even if you are a novice basketball player, we will not give you a training plan, but we will tell you why the ball flies anywhere but into the ring and into your hands.
It's all about technique: even with regular training and perseverance, novice adults and children often make simple mistakes. It's a shame, let's fix it. Below are 11 life hacks on how to hone your technique to increase the likelihood of a goal for your team.
Basketball Shot Rules for Beginners
1. Hands up
In pursuit of the attacker, raise your hands, even if you are standing with your back to the pass, and even more so if the ring is in front of you. Your raised hands will increase the chance of intercepting the ball from the opponent by 2 times. Don't overlook this little thing!
2. Make shield rolls
Even Tim Duncan did not neglect them! A square is drawn on the basketball backboard. If you are standing opposite the ring, then aim at the middle of the upper part of the square, if you are standing on the side, then at the corner. If you hit this square, then the ball is at 90% of cases will fall into the ring. The law of physics and no cheating!
3.
Look at the ring, not at the ball
Practice driving the ball with your hand, not your eyes, develop tactile control. Your eyes should be on the hoop while dribbling and be aware of the position of your body in relation to the hoop. Then you will be able to take the correct posture, and the throw will be effective.
4. Dribble with the balls of your fingers only
The palm should not touch the ball, only the pads of the fingers. Dribbling should become familiar to you, like an extension of your hand. Then you can change its trajectory at any time and you will have more chances to score goals. Practice with the ball constantly.
5. Throw with one hand
If you throw the ball with two hands, you reduce the chance of hitting the basket. All the efforts of the throw are in one hand (in the right for right-handers, in the left for left-handers). The other hand only holds the ball, the leading one holds it with the fingers, not the palm.
6.
Do not jump when protecting the ring
Jumping is the main mistake of rookie defenders. To intercept the ball and block the shot, simply stick out your hands. When you are in a jump, the attacker will easily bypass you.
7. Don't look back
When you dribble, don't look back, but dribble and aim for the ring, focus on shooting (or passing to another player on your team).
8. Bring the throw to automatism
Incorporate the most basic basketball techniques into your training plan and bring the shot to automatism. Throw first from a distance of half a meter from the ring, gradually increasing it. Learn to throw the ball so that it hits the hoop without touching the edge.
Throw the ball with all fives and jump
Throwing Rules:
- Head in the center of the body - if tilted, accuracy is lost.
- Look at the ring: mentally build a trajectory. If you are far away, the ball flies in a curved curve with a maximum height of 2 meters above the hoop.
- A strong hand is in front and throws, a weak hand is on the side and directs, only holding the ball. The elbow of the throwing hand must be in line with the ring.
- The ball must rest on the fingers without touching the palm. The fingers are as far apart as possible and grab the ball.
- Throwing arm bent 90 degrees, forearm perpendicular to the floor. If you bend less, then you get not a throw, but a throwing of the ball horizontally.
The main thing in the throw is the position of the body and its balance. Place your feet apart and parallel to each other: it is important to orient them in the middle of the basket. Then the direction of the body during the jump will coincide with the direction of the throw, and the ball will fly straight into the ring. When the feet are uneven, the ball flies in the wrong direction or does not reach (although the throw was normal).
Take a deep breath and release as you exhale.
How to hold the ball and shoot in basketball
How to throw correctly: straighten your arm, point your wrist up, and with your hand set the ball to rotate in the opposite direction from the flight. The ball should seem to "roll" off your fingers.
9. Copy masters and play as a team
Watch professional basketball games and try to copy the movements of your favorite players in training. And be sure to conduct game sparring - this will allow you to develop more techniques.
10. Do not throw in a straight line
The higher the arc of the ball, the greater the chance of a goal and the less chance of blocking by the opponent.
11. Do not throw the ball from a full height stand
This is the biggest newbie mistake!
Before the throw, bend your knees slightly and at the moment of the throw, straighten your body, making a jump. You need to straighten up and push off the ground at the same time. When squatting, keep the elbow of the throwing arm close to the body and towards the ring.
The jump will give momentum to the ball and will allow you not to make sudden movements with the brush.
***
And to be a long-term player, do not forget about your health: take care of your joints and muscles, use tapes, do a warm-up. And be sure to strengthen your arms, legs and shoulder girdle, develop coordination. Regular exercises on uneven bars and horizontal bars will help you with this.
Basketball rules
How the rules have changed in your favorite game
How did the rules in your favorite game change
WE ALL LOVE TO PLAY BASKETBALL, DO WE KNOW THE RULES FOR EXACTLY?
Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891. Then everything was different: playgrounds, baskets, balls…
!!! Read about the evolution of balls in the article:
Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891. Then everything was different: playgrounds, baskets, balls…
!!! Read about the evolution of balls in the article:
The history of basketballs
The history of basketballs
What balls are played now and how it happened
Beginning
The rules have also changed a lot during this time.
Initially, there were only 13 of them in basketball:
- The ball can be thrown in any direction with one or two hands.
- The ball may be hit with one or both hands in any direction, but never with the fist.
- The player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw the ball from the point at which he caught it, except for a player running at high speed.
- The ball must be held with the hands. You can not use the forearms and body to hold the ball.
- In any case, hitting, grabbing, holding and pushing the opponent is not allowed. The first violation of this rule by any player shall be called a foul; the second foul disqualifies him until the next ball is scored, and if there was an obvious intention to injure the player, then a disqualification for the entire game. It is not allowed to replace a disqualified player.
- Punching the ball is a violation of points 2 and 4, the penalty is described in point 5.
- commit no foul).
- A point is scored if a ball thrown or bouncing off the floor hits the basket and stays there. Defending players are not allowed to touch the ball or basket while shooting. If the ball touches the edge and the opponents move the basket, then a point is scored.
- If the ball goes out of bounds, it must be dropped into the field by the first player to touch it. In the event of a dispute, the referee must throw the ball into the field. The thrower is allowed to hold the ball for five seconds. If he holds it longer, then the ball is given to the opponent. If either side tries to play for time, the referee must give them a foul.
- The referee must monitor the actions of the players and fouls, and notify the referee of three consecutive fouls. He shall have the power to disqualify players under rule 5.
- The referee must watch the ball and determine when the ball is in play (inbounds) and when it is out of bounds (out of bounds), which side should be in possession of the ball, and any other actions that the referee would normally take .
- The game consists of two halves of 15 minutes each with a break of 5 minutes between them.
- The side with the most goals during this time period is the winner.
The most important rule change in the history of basketball is the introduction of dribbling. In the original version of the game, this was prohibited by paragraph 3 of the rules.
One of the first changes in the game and the rules was the replacement of the basket with a ring with a net. It seemed to be very inconvenient to climb after the ball every time after a hit. Around the same time, free throws, dribbling appeared, and the composition of the teams was fixed for 5 players on the court at the same time. Before that, in some matches, up to 50 people could be on the court at the same time. All this happened back in 1896-1897.
The emergence of FIBA (International Basketball Federation)
Basketball at the beginning of the 20th century was becoming more popular and the rules in each country could be different.
This was one of the reasons why FIBA appeared in 1932 year. At the first FIBA Congress, the teams were approved (5 people and 2 substitutes), and it was decided that after each goal there would be a throw-in in the center. This rule was removed after 4 years to reduce the advantage of tall players.
Over the next few years, the main changes were related to the number of personal fouls, the number of players on the bench and the introduction of a time limit for getting the ball into the opponent's half of the court.
More changes came in 1952 after the Olympics. The game became very boring, because the teams held the ball, having received a minimal lead in the score. Everyone understood this and searched for solutions for several years in order to save the life of basketball. At 1954 Danny Biason proposed to the NBA to limit the time for the shot to 24 seconds. At the 1956 Olympics, there was a similar rule: it was necessary to make a throw in 30 seconds. At the same time, to add equality between defense and attack, another rule familiar to us appeared: you need to start dribbling the ball before the supporting leg comes off.
Then the game became similar to the modern one from a technical point of view: dribbling, shots, a three-second zone appeared. In 1979, the NBA added a three-point line, and in 19In 1984, FIBA also added an arc.
!!! An article about the evolution of the three-point shot and interesting facts:
10 interesting facts about the three-point shot.
10 interesting facts about the three-point shot.
Three-pointer evolution and insane records.
Changes in the rules and basketball since 1956 have included the number of free throws, the situations in which these free throws are given, and individual and team penalties. Some rules were introduced, and a few years later they were canceled. For example, the "3 for 2" rule: if a player was fouled in the shooting phase, then if one of the first two shots was missed, he could make another free throw. This rule was later removed.
Since the 1990s there have been constant changes: the emergence of alley-oops, changes in the timing and rewriting of the rules of running, which continue to this day.
From the most interesting: if the team has 0.3 seconds or less to throw the ball from behind, then it must be a one-touch throw. It takes at least 0.4 seconds to perform a full throw.
Derrick Fisher made similar throws:
And here is a small selection of videos of how they throw in 0.2 seconds:
Do you want to take your first steps in basketball or improve your basic skills? We have a Basic Basketball Skills workout for you. See the schedule and sign up:
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Coach: Yuriy Bespalov
- Professional player of the INANOMO 3x3 team;
- Champion of Russia 3x3 2019, 2021;
- Winner and medalist of the MOFB championship;
- 2017 MLBL Summer League MVP;
- Multiple participant of the Moscow Open;
- Champion of Moscow 3x3 2017;
- MVP GrunisCup 2017.
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