Shooting a Basketball - How to Get Your Shot Off Quicker Like Stephen Curry
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If you watched any of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament this spring, you'll know Stephen Curry is the guard that torched the nets as he led the Davidson Wildcats to the Elite 8 and a near upset of the eventual NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks. One thing you'd notice right away is that Stephen has one of the quickest shots in the college game. If you gave Stephen a millisecond to shoot, you'd see the ball splashing through the net.
Now, you may be wondering how the heck can I shoot the ball that quickly or how can I teach my players to do that.
Developing a "quick shot" is all about eliminating wasted movement and excess motion.
Picture by
Dave Hogg
The higher you go in competitive levels, the more intense the defensive pressure you will face which makes it very important to be able to shoot more and more quickly without sacrificing any of your accuracy.
Here are seven keys to developing a quick shot release:
Be prepared before you catch the ball.
Every time you catch the ball, your knees should be bent and your feet should be aligned with the basket a split second before you catch the ball. So now all you have to do is catch and go right up with your shot.
On the other hand, if you catch the ball and then bend your knees, that is excess motion and wasted time. This gives your defender extra time to block your shot.
Along the same lines, you should cut with your knees bent...
Reggie Miller and Richard Hamilton are two examples of NBA players who are great at moving without the ball and getting their shot off quickly. If you watch them on TV, they always cut off screens with their knees bent. So when they get open, they only have to catch and shoot.
Bottom line, always have your knees bent and feet ready before you catch the ball.
Provide passers with a target near your shot pocket.
Your shot pocket is the place you put the ball before going into your shot motion.
Having great passers on your team can help you get your shot off quicker. To help them give you more accurate passes, you should always provide them with a hand target right at your shot pocket.
If you're moving in your shot-hand direction, then your target can be your exact shot pocket. If you are moving in the direction of your off-hand, you should provide a target as much in line with your shot pocket as possible and use your off hand to get the ball over to the pocket as quickly as possible.
This is pretty subtle, but the idea is that rather than reaching over to bring the ball over with your shooting hand, you are emphasizing the force of the off-hand on the ball to deliver it to the proper position. Even though you are catching the ball with both hands, you will find that you're gaining a split second of quickness by developing this off-hand-force habit.
Put the ball in shot pocket immediately.
The quicker you can move the ball in your shot pocket, the quicker you can shoot. This takes practice!!
You need to practice moving the ball into you shot pocket off the catch and off the dribble. This takes thousands and thousands of practice repetitions.
You need to practice catching the ball, then quickly and fluidly moving the ball directly into your shot pocket. If you fumble the ball, then the defense has an extra split second to contest your shot. This is a very subtle movement you must practice over and over.
Eliminate wasted movement in your shot delivery.
When you catch the ball, it should go immediately into your shot pocket, and then you should go right up into your shot from there.
You should not put the ball in your shot pocket and then dip your knees or move the ball downward. The ball should go straight up, along with the rest of your body (legs, hips, etc).
Any such excess motion adds time to your delivery, plus it is doing nothing positive for your shot. The simpler your motion, the more it is continually upward from your loaded stance, the quicker your shot will be.
Shoot just before the top of your jump.
Shooting a split second before the top of your jump improves quickness, too. If you wait until the very top, that may be all the time needed for a quick defender to get up for the block.
Try dipping rapidly
Another concept that can sometimes help players is to dip rapidly as you're catching the ball.
To get your shot off as quickly as possible from your jump stop, you should work on a rapid dip into a squared-up jump stop rather than a leap that gets you into the air and covers distance. This dipping technique involves a sudden crouch into your jump stop, catching the ball in your shot pocket as it returns from a dribble, and springing right up into your shot. It is a sudden delivery that gives the defender hardly any time at all to react to your shot.
Think shot, shot, shot.
One way to improve all the areas above, is to be in the new triple threat position every time you touch the ball, the triple threat of "Shot, Shot, Shot." In other words, any time you touch the ball, you have the ball in your shot pocket, your eyes on the rim, and your feet and stance loaded in case you have an opportunity to take a good shot.
Note that this doesn't mean that you should shoot every time you touch the ball. No, that wouldn't make much sense; but you should be ready to shoot every time you touch the ball. You will find it much easier to move from that readiness into a pass or dribble than to transition from a passing or dribbling expectation into a shot-ready mentality.
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The physics of free-throw shooting – Secrets of Shooting
Coach Bob has over 20 years of basketball coaching experience. Below you’ll find some commonly-asked questions about the physics of free throw shooting. At the bottom of the page, you’ll be able to learn even more tips!
The physics aspect of shooting a free throw involves distance and deviation. Distance is determined by two factors: launch angle and launch speed. Players have a choice between shooting for a larger target by using more arc or going for a shooter’s touch and shooting with their ideal arc for their height. Players should experiment and find which works best for them because this can vary from player to player.
For example, James Harden is 6’ 5” and is shooting with a 49.6 degree launch angle, which is pretty much spot-on for his height to achieve the slowest moving ball at the rim. Hardin definitely has a ‘shooter’s touch’ going for him because he is releasing with the optimum angle for the slowest moving ball as it nears the rim. However, Stephen Curry does not. Curry releases with a higher launch angle than average. According to the data from the NBA’s SportVU motion tracking, Curry is shooting with a 58.1 degree launch angle. Curry is opting for a larger target rather than a slow-moving ball as it nears the rim. The higher the launch angle the larger the target area of the rim.
Both players have found what works best for them. In the study, The Physics of an Optimal Basketball Free Throw, Irina Barzykina confirms that…“all players have different consistency in release angles and velocities. Some might need more space for error in velocity, and thus need a higher throwing angle, while others might aim lower because their velocity control is much stronger.”
What launch speed/how much force do I need when shooting?
What Information revealed by Dr. John Fontanella in his book The Physics of Basketball shows that launch speed is determined by the amount of force you apply to get the ball to the goal. How much force is necessary is determined by your distance from the goal. For example, when shooting a 2-foot shot, you only need a launch speed of approximately 10 miles per hour. For a 3-point shot you need a launch speed of approximately 18 miles per hour. More force (speed) is necessary for longer shots to get the ball to the basket.
What is the best angle to shoot from?
Launch angle is simply the angle at which you launch the basketball towards the basket. For our discussion here, having your arm straight out and parallel to the floor is a 0-degree angle. Having your arm straight up pointing to the ceiling is a 90-degree angle. Halfway in-between these two extremes would be a 45-degree angle. Your distance from the goal and the release height of your shot determine the ideal launch angle for a slow-moving ball at the rim. The closer you are to the basket, the higher your launch angle will be. A two-foot shot released from a height of 8-feet requires a launch angle of 72 degrees to produce the slowest moving ball at the rim. As you move away from the basket, your launch angle decreases, a free throw is approximately 51 degrees and a 3-point shot is approximately 45-degrees.
The release height of the basketball shot is largely determined by the height of the player shooting. According to Professor John Fontanella, the ideal angles from the free throw line are as follows:
5’4″ player should launch the ball at a 52.2 degree angle
5’8″ player should launch the ball at a 51.5 degree angle
6’0″ player should launch the ball at a 50.8 degree angle
6’4″ player should launch the ball at a 50.1 degree angle
6’8″ player should launch the ball at a 49.4 degree angle
7’0″ player should launch the ball at a 48.7 degree angle
These angles produce the slowest moving ball as it approaches the rim, which gives you a shooter’s touch.
HIGHER ARC = BIGGER TARGET
Shooting is an optimization process. Complicating this matter is the fact that your target area increases with a higher launch angle. The higher the arc, the larger the target. In theory it makes sense to shoot with an exaggerated high arc, thereby increasing the size of your target. However, higher arc requires more force at the time of release to propel the basketball higher, which makes it more difficult to control the shot. In addition, the shot will no longer be a ‘soft shot’ because gravity increases the speed of the ball as it falls. For each 0.1 second the basketball falls through the air, it increases in speed. The faster the ball is moving, the greater the collision with the rim.
Conversely, with a low arc you also need to utilize more force to get the basketball to the rim. A low launch angle requires more initial speed upon release to get the ball to the basket.
How far is the free throw line in basketball?
The free throw line is 13 feet away from the front of the rim and 15 feet away from the backboard. The rim is 18” in diameter, so the exact center of the rim is 13’ 9” from the free throw line. (The back iron which holds the rim to the backboard is 6”, so the front of the rim is 2 feet from of the backboard.)
What is a “Shooter’s Touch?”
A player has a “shooter’s touch” when the ball bounces softly around the rim and falls through. To have a “shooter’s touch”, you need a slow-moving ball as it nears the rim. A slow moving ball’s impact is less and results in the ball bouncing off with less energy. The faster the ball is moving the farther it will bounce when contact is made with the rim. A slow moving ball as it nears the rim is the key to having a “shooter’s touch”.
Miscellaneous Physics
The maximum (terminal) speed of a dropped basketball from a tower is 21 meters per second (or 47.45 miles per hour).
Magnus force is stronger for a basketball than a baseball. The basketball is bigger and the magnus force depends on the cube of the diameter. However, linear and rotational speeds of a baseball are much greater (which is why a baseball curves).
At typical speeds in a basketball game, air resistance (drag force) is about 10% of the force of gravity. Drag force varies as the speed of the square.
A correlation exists between the size of the ball and drag force. The ball must move the air out of its path as it travels. The bigger the ball the more area there is to “sweep away”.
Drag force is proportional to the density of the air. For example, cars get lower gas mileage in the winter because the air is denser.
When a ball with backspin hits the rim, it loses more energy than a ball with topspin.
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.
9 tips from Jay Wolf
Hello, dear site visitors basketball-training.org.ua ! In this article, we will talk about one of the most important basketball elements - the throw. And not just about throwing, but about how to achieve a significant increase in the accuracy of your throws, while not radically changing their structure, that is, without retraining.
Of course, the correct throw, or, more precisely, the “classic throw from the forehead” is cool, correct and beautiful. However, it seems to me that what matters is not how you throw, but how effective these throws are. If your shot is difficult to cover and it regularly hits the basket, there is no need to change anything drastically: look at the throwing technique Larry Bird , Michael Jordan , "Magic" Johnson and Ray Allen . They all shot differently, which did not stop them from scoring well; so - draw your own conclusions.
Shooting Practice: Aiming Point
The tips you read below are recommendations from Jay Wolf - Shot Improvement Specialist, Summer Sports Camp Organizer, Owner of StarShooter , you can read more about him on his website - starshooter.net . Well, now, in fact, advice, divided into 2 parts: how to improve throws from close range; how to improve mid-range and long-range shots (3-point shots).
Improving close range and under hoop shots
All short range shots both to the right and left of the basket must be taken with a bounce off the backboard and a point of aim.
In principle, nothing new, this is where all throw training begins in every sports school: they learn to throw from the backboard, while the ball must touch the upper corner of the “square” drawn above the ring. The ball should softly touch this corner (remember about reverse spin of the ball when thrown) and bounce into the basket. In order to focus the thrower's attention on the aiming point, you can stick a dollar sign or a picture of the sight there. Remember: the shield is your best ally, be sure to learn how to bounce off it.
Practice clean throws from under the hoop and clean bounce shots from the second tendrils.
So, let's figure it out. A clean throw is a shot where the ball goes into the basket without touching the ring itself. To achieve such a throw, you need to throw very softly, with reverse rotation, finishing with a brush. Such throws require the maximum concentration of attention from the basketball player and a change in the trajectory. So, we make 5 throws from under the ring in a row, 3 of which must be clean. If it's very easy, then add the number of throws up to 10, trying to get everything clean. Throws can be made with a rebound from the backboard, but the ball must not touch the ring hoop itself. Challenge yourself - and pass this test with honor!
Improving medium and long range shots
Again doing clean throws : 5 shots in a row from one spot.
By the way, for me, clean throws are a big problem: the peculiarity of my throw is that I kind of load the far bow, “striking” which, the ball falls down. But here's the problem - if the ring is a little higher than usual, then almost all the balls go into the near bow, and while I get used to it, I smear a lot.
This job allows develop stable throw accuracy . Five throws in a row help improve accuracy, because the shape of the throw, the effort applied, the trajectory - all this must be the same and repeat all the time. Clean shots make the trajectory “lift up”, which is also good: they are more difficult to cover and, as a rule, when the ball touches the ring, the ball will fall into the basket. And one more thing: a high trajectory gives rise to a short rebound, for which it will be easier for partners to compete.
Make multiple free throws in a row, before leaving the court (training).
Such a move will allow you to repeat all the elements of the throw again and develop self-confidence. After the shot, you pick up the ball yourself, return to the free-throw line - and shoot again. It is important to repeat all the routine that occurs before the free throws in the game. In order to recreate the game situation even more realistically, simply add jerks to the exercise: throw the ball, perform a jerk after the ball (to the middle of the hall, etc.), return to the line again - throw it. Players can be stimulated by some kind of competitive effect: who spends more time on 5 (7, 10) executed free throws in a row - runs, pushes up, carries a partner to the locker room, etc.
Shoot 200 free throws daily for 5 days, or 500 on the first day and 200 on the next 4 days. Goal: 25/25 rolls, of which 15 will be clean.
Here you need to understand that you will need at least 1 partner who will “bring the cores”. In America, of course, this is not a problem, there are personnel who receive money for this kind of service. But with us it will be more difficult, we will have to look for like-minded people. According to Jay Wolf, such a series of shots will help to hone the form of the shot, the moment of release of the ball and the trajectory; and also - they will increase the accuracy of 3-point shots. Again, according to Wolf, 100 throws will take 15 minutes.
I once tried to throw such a series of free kicks. My execution technique is as follows: I squat a little, then straighten my legs and straighten my body at the same time I straighten my arms. As soon as the body is fully unbent (I also stand on my toes), the ball is released. It turns out - as if one movement. So, the calves quickly began to hurt from such lifts, the hands got tired, and the hand refused to twist the ball. But some results did appear, so the exercise is useful, even very useful.
Find out where you shoot most often in games – and practice your “signature points” by shooting at least 5 clean shots in a row from these points.
I already wrote about this in an article about how to develop a shot ( Shot training in basketball ), it turned out not quite the way I imagined it in my head, but still it is very informative and useful.
Practice throwing on a correctly marked area , in a correctly marked shield. The court must have a correctly drawn 3-point line.
And again I will complain a little: why in our country do people who have no idea how it should be do everything? Why are basketball markings applied by people who have never played basketball and do not know what the front line is? As a result, it passes under the front bow of the ring. And the “three-ruble note” - why is it 6 meters on the right, and more than 7 meters on the left? Why?
So - try to choose good sites with correct markings. And another note: at first it is very difficult to throw with a rebound from the backboard, if the backboard is streetball, i.e. much less than standard.
Hold hands after throwing , as if following the ball into the basket until it reaches there.
Here it should be noted that in his video about the throw, the legendary Pete Maravich (lessons from which will soon appear on the site) recommends not to hold a fixed hand, but rather to wave 2-3 times after the ball , repeating the final stage brush work.
It is a sudden delivery that gives the defender hardly any time at all to react to your shot.
Below you’ll find some commonly-asked questions about the physics of free throw shooting. At the bottom of the page, you’ll be able to learn even more tips!
According to the data from the NBA’s SportVU motion tracking, Curry is shooting with a 58.1 degree launch angle. Curry is opting for a larger target rather than a slow-moving ball as it nears the rim. The higher the launch angle the larger the target area of the rim.
John Fontanella in his book The Physics of Basketball shows that launch speed is determined by the amount of force you apply to get the ball to the goal. How much force is necessary is determined by your distance from the goal. For example, when shooting a 2-foot shot, you only need a launch speed of approximately 10 miles per hour. For a 3-point shot you need a launch speed of approximately 18 miles per hour. More force (speed) is necessary for longer shots to get the ball to the basket.
The closer you are to the basket, the higher your launch angle will be. A two-foot shot released from a height of 8-feet requires a launch angle of 72 degrees to produce the slowest moving ball at the rim. As you move away from the basket, your launch angle decreases, a free throw is approximately 51 degrees and a 3-point shot is approximately 45-degrees.
The rim is 18” in diameter, so the exact center of the rim is 13’ 9” from the free throw line. (The back iron which holds the rim to the backboard is 6”, so the front of the rim is 2 feet from of the backboard.)
However, linear and rotational speeds of a baseball are much greater (which is why a baseball curves).
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. 
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. 
When you are in a jump, the attacker will easily bypass you. 
The ball should seem to "roll" off your fingers. 
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. 
They all shot differently, which did not stop them from scoring well; so - draw your own conclusions. 
In order to focus the thrower's attention on the aiming point, you can stick a dollar sign or a picture of the sight there. Remember: the shield is your best ally, be sure to learn how to bounce off it. 
After the shot, you pick up the ball yourself, return to the free-throw line - and shoot again. It is important to repeat all the routine that occurs before the free throws in the game. In order to recreate the game situation even more realistically, simply add jerks to the exercise: throw the ball, perform a jerk after the ball (to the middle of the hall, etc.), return to the line again - throw it. Players can be stimulated by some kind of competitive effect: who spends more time on 5 (7, 10) executed free throws in a row - runs, pushes up, carries a partner to the locker room, etc. 
According to Jay Wolf, such a series of shots will help to hone the form of the shot, the moment of release of the ball and the trajectory; and also - they will increase the accuracy of 3-point shots. Again, according to Wolf, 100 throws will take 15 minutes. 
