How to shoot a basketball perfect form

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

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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.

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 at 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.

How to learn to shoot three-pointers - FURFUR

FURFUR understands how to shoot three-pointers in basketball

• April 11, 2013 at 19:45
• 88046

Winter is finally over, which means it's time to break out of your cramped apartments and do all sorts of outdoor activities. Today's article in the "Advice" section is devoted to basketball, and specifically to how to learn how to make three-point shots, and not just rush aimlessly around the field.