How to make your basketball shot perfect

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:

1. Eyes on Target
2. Stance and Balance
3. Shot Pocket
4. Grip
5. Balance Hand
6. Delivery
7. Upforce and Landing
8. Follow Through
9. Correct Shot

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.

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USA Basketball - 3 Cues for Better Basketball Shooting

If you're a good basketball shooter, the coach will find a spot for you on the floor, especially at the high school level. Thus, it becomes extremely important to learn the correct basketball shooting technique, and to practice various shooting drills over and over and over again. Larry Bird didn't become one of the greatest shooters of all-time just because he had a pretty shot. He practiced relentlessly too.

It's amazing how many kids don't know how to shoot a basketball correctly. They can't even explain the correct shooting technique, let alone demonstrate it. So we use a couple of cues to correct even the most horrid shooter's shots.

Once again, we use the Wooden approach to improving a basketball player's shot: quick, short cues not long explanations, as well as showing the player how to do it correctly, showing them how they are doing it, and then showing them how to do it correctly one more time.

Here are three cues for better basketball shooting:

Start Small End Tall

We actually stole this one from Ganon Baker. Very few kids actually explode into their shot. They start way too tall and never get their legs involved. They may shoot fine 8-10 feet from the basket in stationary drills, but once we move them to the 3-point line or it comes to the 4th quarter, every shot becomes short. And if it isn't short, it's on a line drive with little hope of going in. Plus, a tall shooter coming off the screen is a slow, poor shooter.

So we use the cue "start small, end tall." Originally, we would use cues like "bend the knees", "push the hips back", "sit back", or "hip hinge." We like "start small, end tall" better because it not only reminds the shooter to explode into their shot by pushing their hips back, but it also reminds them to end in an extended position with a great follow-through. Essentially, it gives us the best bang for our buck in the fewest words possible. We quickly found out that the fewer words we use, the more likely the athletes will remember it.

Snap the Elbow

This is one of the biggest basketball shooting mistakes we see with players: not extending their follow through. They will continually short-arm their shot. That almost always results in a line drive.

Once again, we used to use "snap the wrist", "hand in the rim", "up and out", and "shoot out of the telephone booth." However, we like "snap the elbow" better because it solves multiple problems with one cue. It reminds the athlete to extend the follow through. It also reminds them to shoot up and then out as it's almost impossible to really snap your elbow without extending your arm up first. And it indirectly reminds the athlete to snap their wrist on the follow through because once you snap your elbow, your wrist will automatically snap.

The result: a beautiful arching shot that touches nothing but the net.

Middle to Middle

This is another wrist/elbow problem we see often with basketball shooters. Either the shooter will snap their wrist to the inside/outside of the rim, or they will have their elbow sticking out and not lined up towards the basket. Although the shooter can make adjustments for these and still be a good shooter, he/she will never be a great shooter without thousands of hours of practice to compensate for the error in technique.

We used to use cues like "center of the rim", "back of the room", or "grab the rim", but we like "Middle to the Middle" better. Once again, it attacks two problems with as few words as possible. Players are reminded to take their middle finger to the middle of the rim (where the middle finger goes, the hand will follow), as we as line up the middle of their elbow to the middle of the rim. Thus, their accuracy should be improved tremendously. If they miss shots, they should always be missing long or short, never right or left.

All three of these cues are absolutely useless unless you explain the meanings behind them. You always have to speak the same language as the athlete. What you say may not always be what they hear. Thus, we usually make the athletes repeat it back to us in their own words just to see if they are hearing what we're saying. Plus, it also gives us the opportunity to find a cue that may be a better fit. Once we're both on the same page as far as cues are concerned, shooting drills become a lot more efficient and effective with as a little talking as possible.

Where and how to play basketball in summer

Briefly about everything you need to know about playing basketball in summer

Author: David Davletgareev

Summer is the perfect time to experience the best of ball games. Due to the transience of the warm season in Russia, in summer the playgrounds are full of basketball fans, which means you can always find partners to play.

Basketball courts can be found not only in courtyards, but also in many parks. Now in Russia, open areas with a rubber coating are increasingly appearing - they are less traumatic than with options with a hard asphalt surface. In addition, they are much more pleasant to play (better rebound, not so painful to fall).

Basketball 3 on 3 (one ring game) is gaining momentum. Specialized streetball grounds are already appearing in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The best platform for testing your basketball skills today is the legendary Moscow “Rizhka” site, where you can play with the best streetball players in the country.

If you are new to basketball, here are some basic tips on how to behave on the field:

1. Learn to dribble. This is almost the most important skill in the game. To hone it, you will need training in dribbling (dribbling).
2. Improve your passing skill. There are 2 basic chest passes. The first is passing the ball to a teammate without bouncing off the floor. The second is a bounce pass, where you hit the floor once before passing. This pass is the hardest to intercept for defenders.
3. Upgrade your throwing skill. Throw the ball with your fingertips and practice your throw every time. Don't always make tricky throws, figure out which ones are too hard for you and focus on the easier ones. At the end of the throw, straighten your arm fully and keep your elbow above your eyes as you release the ball.
4. Practice rebounding. Rebounds at the right time can decide the outcome of a game. Your team will not earn points without possession of the ball.
5. Understand your role. Do not focus only on earning points - this is a typical beginner's mistake. Instead, focus on how you can be more helpful to the team.
6. Remember that this is a team game. Put the interests of the team ahead of your own.
7. Learn the game. You need to learn everything about your position and game strategy. The combination of strategy and technique will make you a strong player.
8. Learn all the rules. Knowing all the rules and their subtleties, you can get an advantage in many game moments.
9. Keep a low stance. Good defenders play with their knees bent, in a low stance.
10. Prepare your body. Physics is as important in basketball as technique. Train constantly.

A basketball is something without which the game will not start. His choice must be approached responsibly. To do this, you need to answer a few simple questions:

1. What surface do we play on?
2. With whom?
3. What is our budget?

Basketballs are divided into two categories: for halls and outdoor areas. A typical outdoor surface is asphalt, where any material wears off quickly and needs to be replaced. There is no point in buying an expensive leather ball - you will ruin it in a couple of weeks of playing. A rubber or synthetic ball (such as microfiber) is much better.

Synthetic leather balls are great for indoor play. These balls fit much better in the hand.

• 7 - adult balls. Their - 760 mm (circle size). These are the men's basketball teams.
• 6 - women's balls. Size - about 730 mm. They are played by women and boys under 16 years old.
• 5 - children's balls. Size - about 700 mm. These balls are recommended for children's teams up to 16 years old.
• 3 is a very small ball, its size is about 570 mm. Suitable for younger kids.

1. The ball should be inflated so that it can be pushed a little with your thumb - 3-5 millimeters. If the ball is under-inflated, then there is a risk that he descends. If, on the contrary, it is pumped over, then bumps will form on the ball, the geometry of the ball will be violated.
2. Rebound. A ball thrown from shoulder level must bounce to the waist. Less and more is not good.
3. The basketball must be round.
4. The ball must not have any breaks in the coating and no exposed cord.

Enjoy the summer season playing basketball!

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Why basketballs are orange and how they differ

It would seem that it can be difficult to choose a basketball

It would seem that it can be difficult to choose a basketball. We all imagine a heavy orange ball with a relief structure and a characteristic dense sound when rebounding. But not everything is so simple. Today there are many manufacturers and types of basketballs. We will tell you how they differ and what you should pay attention to when choosing a ball that is right for you.

Destination, or on what court you are going to play

First you need to decide exactly where you are going to play. Outdoor or indoor, in other words, indoors or outdoors. Indoor parquet courts are perfectly smooth, and an expensive basketball with good grip, made of genuine leather or high-end synthetic materials, is suitable for them.

But such balls are absolutely not suitable for open areas with asphalt or other types of coverage: from frequent impacts on a rough surface, they will wear out and quickly become unusable, and you will waste a lot of money and will not get any pleasure from the game. For outdoor areas, special balls are made from coarser materials: rubber or hard synthetics.

There is another type of ball: universal. They are usually made from high-quality synthetics, which provide good adhesion to smooth parquet, but do not wear off after a couple of games on a rough asphalt surface. Finding a quality versatile ball is not an easy task.

What color to choose

We are used to the fact that all basketballs are orange. For a long time this was true, because it was a requirement of the official league.

The first leather balls were brown and got lost on the court, so they were painted bright orange. But now the rules are not so strict. Manufacturers are experimenting with different colors of balls, and you can already find red and blue, as well as black models in sports stores.

What you need to know about basketball sizes

We have decided on the court and color of the perfect ball for our game, and now the most important thing is to choose the right size.

Basketballs, although they look the same, differ in diameter and weight. Each team and league has its own variations. Let's figure it out. It's not all that difficult.

• Seven: diameter - 749-780 millimeters, weight 567-650 grams
• Six: 724-737 millimeters, 510-567 grams
• Five: 690-710 millimeters, 470-500 grams
• Three: 560-580 millimeters, 300-330 grams

Which balls are standard

The largest balls - "sevens" - are suitable for adult men's teams. They are considered standard according to the FIBA ​​(International Basketball Association) classification. The “sixes”, which women's teams play in official matches, are also considered standard.

For junior teams, adult balls are too heavy and voluminous: they are uncomfortable to hold in the hand, and a good shot into the basket requires a lot of effort, so “fives” are ideal for children, which are smaller in volume and noticeably lighter. These balls are used by players under the age of 12 in competitions, and they are also often used for playing mini-basketball.

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