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Tips on how to become a better basketball shooter

3 Basketball Drills to Become Better at Shooting

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Although it may often be considered a recreational activity, shooting buckets and practicing your basketball shot is a skill that often makes the difference in any game, from school leagues to the pros. It takes practice, repetition, and consistency to ensure you're comfortable with hitting your shots when all eyes are on you.

During the shooting motion, the placement of your hands and feet are crucial. With IMG Academy’s How-To Become a Better Shooter drills video, hear directly from the team’s coach, and learn how to set yourself up to shoot nothing but net!

In this video, you will be introduced to three basketball shooting drills to become a better shooter. Watch how student-athletes perform each drill with instruction on stance, follow through, and balance to control the ball and make the shot. Each of these drills will allow you to enhance your skills:

Form Shooting
Quick Feet
Transition Shooting

The keys to Form Shooting are good balance and follow through, keeping your elbows in, and properly judging your power - don’t miss short. To master Quick Feet and set yourself up to score, take three steps to get behind the three-point line, pivot to catch, and get the shot off before it’s contested. Transition Shooting is all about maintaining good balance and your follow through being stuck to ensure your shot finishes strong.

Ready to impress the crowd when you step on the court? Press play below to get started!

IMG Academy basketball has created a library of basketball training drills that you can refer back to any time! Check out our other News stories as well as our YouTube channel (@imgacademy) for all of our How-To content.

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by: IMG Academy

Jun 10, 2021

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21 Easy Ways to Improve Your Basketball Shooting Percentage – The Breakthrough Basketball Blog

Tip #1 – Locate Your Target (the Rim) Earlier

Getting in the habit of locating your target (the rim) earlier will improve your shooting percentage. Why?

Locating the rim just a split second earlier gives your brain more time to subconsciously calculate distance and focus on your objective. Your eyes should be on the rim as early as possible. To make this little trick work, you need to develop this habit in practice, which carries over into games.

Tip #2 – Always Hold Your Follow Through

You’ve probably heard this a hundred times but there’s good reason for it. Holding your follow through solves a multitude of shooting problems. This simple movement helps you maintain good basketball shooting technique without even thinking about it.

Tip #3 – Finish with a Relaxed Wrist

A common mistake is for players to follow-through with a tense wrist. Your wrist should be as relaxed as possible. Your hand should finish on line and even bounce a little during the follow-through.

Tip #4 – Use a Colored Ball to Improve Rotation

To improve the straightness of your shot, try a colored basketball during practice. This makes it easy to see the rotation and direction of the ball. The immediate feedback makes it quick and easy for you to adjust and improve your shot.

Tip #5 – Don’t Shoot like Kobe (By Hanging In The Air)

TOO many kids try to copy Kobe and end up with bad shots for the REST OF THEIR LIVES!

Youngsters have no business trying to hang like Kobe and shoot. Kobe is a freak of nature! You should shoot as you’re going up (at least 1 inch before you reach the top of your jump). Trying to mimic Kobe’s shot will just earn you a place on the bench and lots of frustration.

Tip #6 – Stop Thinking about Your Shot During Games

One of the worst things you can do is think about your shooting mechanics during a game.

Thinking about your shot is for practice, NOT for games! In fact, you should only think during certain parts of your practice. It’s ok to think during a form shooting session or when learning a new skill, but once you start developing rhythm and get further into practice, don’t think!

During games, train yourself to think about other things or nothing at all.

You’re going to miss a few. So what! Don’t think, just shoot the damn ball!!!

If you adopt this mentality, your shooting percentage will go UP.

Tip # 7 – Eliminate Negative Thoughts with this Simple Trick

Eliminating negative thoughts can dramatically improve your basketball shooting percentage.

To stop thinking and eliminate bad thoughts, you can try this little trick…

Before each game, practice, and shooting session, tell yourself that you don’t care if you make any baskets. Say it out loud or in your head several times.

THEN, when you go to shoot (right as you’re catching the ball), say something to yourself like, “Nice shot. I can do better.” In other words, try not to care if it goes in or not.

This simple little trick helps you to relax into the process and not think about the result. Using this technique will be enough to break you out of mini slumps and restore your confidence.

Tip #8 – Develop Optimal Arc

DID YOU KNOW that a shot with a flat 35 degree arc only has .6 inches of margin for the ball to clear without hitting the rim? The shot has to be almost perfect to get a swish.

BUT a shot with a 45 degree medium height arc has a 3 inch margin of error!

That’s right. Just by increasing the arc of your shot, your margin of error could increase as much as 500%!

How many shots bounce OUT of the basket because you missed by just a fraction?

As a general rule of thumb, finish your follow through with the rim clearly visible beneath the fingers of your shooting hand. That way you will ensure that you have a decent arc on the shot. Shots with proper arch have a much better chance of going in.

Just don’t go too high. Because if your arc gets too high, you’ll loose your distance control.

Tip #9 – Watch DVDs

Simply by watching great shooters groove their shots over and over, you can improve your confidence and form.

The good habits and examples can be contagious. As you watch, the good form becomes ingrained in your mind.

Not to mention, you should never stop learning. There are lots of good shooting DVDs and books for you to learn from.

Tip #10 – Use a Partner to Tune your Shot Alignment

Spend a little time during each practice lined up along a court line about 20 feet from a partner, shooting back and forth and trying to have the ball bounce as close to the line as possible. This simple practice technique will help you to fine tune your control of the precision of your shot.

Tip #11 – Land In Front

Balance is a very important aspect of shooting. You achieve balance primarily through a proper stance and footwork.

After your shot, you should land in front of where you started. You can do this by making sure that your momentum is going towards the basket on every catch. You should also establish good balance from your stance.

Tip #12 – Film Your Shot

You’d be amazed at how filming your shot in both games and practices can help you.

The most common response from players is… “That’s how I shoot!!??”

That’s right. Most players haven’t seen their own shot before. Seeing your shot on film can help you to detect poor mechanics and motivate you to make commitments for improvement. Bottom line– it’s a great way to refine your shot.

Tip #13 – Get a Partner

When possible, try to shoot with a partner. Because when you’re alone, you end up chasing the rebound before following through properly.

This is important. Think about how you practice…

You shoot and then you start following the shot immediately so you can get lots of reps. Guess what? This can mess up your follow-through. You need to FINISH each shot and hold your follow-through. That’s why we recommend getting a partner to rebound for you. Now just because you can’t find a partner you can (and should) still practice by yourself. Just be aware of holding your follow through.

Tip #14 – Fix Bad Habits by Immediately Correcting Your Shot

This is one of the easiest ways to break bad shooting habits. For example, let’s say you forgot to hold your follow-through. Well, immediately after you shoot, raise your hand back up and put your hand in the correct follow-through position. This simple technique will help you quickly correct the bad habit

Tip #15 – Use a Return Device

Using basketball rebounding and return devices can literally double the number of shots you can take in practice. Just think how much time you spend chasing the ball when you practice. A return device solves that problem and lets you take more shots in less time.

Tip #16 – Get To Set

When you catch the ball, you should get the ball to your set position as quickly as possible. This will speed up your shot. Your set point can be anywhere between your hip and your shoulder.

Tip #17 – Don’t Fall for Gimmicks

Too many players spend their hard earned money on shooting gloves and gimmicks, thinking this will make them great shooters.

You can’t use these devices during a game so it really doesn’t do you much good. You need to learn how to shoot effectively without these devices. There is NO magic pill.

Tip # 18 – Keep Your Shot Motion Balanced, Fluid, and Consistent

A fluid motion means that there are no jerky movements or stopping points, just one constant flow from start to finish.

Consistency can’t be stressed enough. Your feet, arms, set point, and jump height should use a consistent motion every time you shoot. All the greatest shooters in the world have amazingly consistent movements.

Tip #19 – Groove 50 Shots Before Every Game

Before every practice and game, face the basket and shoot 50 EASY shots about four to ten feet from the basket.

Not only does this improve your shooting form, but it helps to develop phenomenal confidence.

You’ll quickly become very good at grooving these shots over and over. You’ll see the ball going in the basket over and over. You’ll swish the ball repeatedly and probably shoot 60%, 70%, 80%, or more, which is great for your psyche.

Why do you think that NBA players do this before games? Why do you think that Tiger Woods starts all of his practice sessions by making 100 three-foot putts?

Because it works! Don’t overlook this powerful strategy.

Tip #20 – Quickly Chart Your Shot to Determine Tendencies

Head to the gym and shoot a bare minimum of 50 shots. Ask your partner to chart your shots. The KEY is to chart the detailed results of each shot. You will track how many shots fell short, too long, to the left, and to the right. This information will help you to determine what you need to work on.

For example, if you consistently miss short (like many players do), you’ll need to work on your power and distance control. If you consistently miss to the right and the left, you need to fix the mechanics of your foot and/or arm alignment.

Tip #21 – Work Game-Like Movement into Your Practice

To make game shots, you need to practice game shots. You should use good shooting drills and practice movement off screens, cuts, chairs, and pivoting in both directions.

Get to the Gym and Apply What You’ve Learned

There ya go… 21 simple ways for you to improve your basketball shooting percentage. Now get to the gym, apply what you’ve learned, and knock down more shots!!

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The most relevant tips for young basketball coaches from American experts - Part 1 (the first 15 tips) - Lepota! And only...

Author: Valentina Minina

1. Don't bother with a mortgage or buying an expensive car.

Many novice coaches (especially those who have played for more than one year at a professional level, often, in addition to just getting into the squad, became a champion, was elected MVP, was included in symbolic teams, and so on) want success and recognition right away and now. It doesn't happen! And the point here is not only that the knowledge base of a player is not a guarantee of success, but that in addition to playing practice and seeing basketball “from the court”, there is a completely different position - the position of a coach (commander-in-chief, strategist and think tank of the team).

Therefore, at the very initial stage, a young coach should:

- to be ready and willing to work at minimum wage (sell yourself very cheaply or even for free)

- your task is not to go through the “door of coaching”, but first put at least one foot there and not let it close in front of you.

- do not think only about money and rewards, this will come later if you constantly improve and grow as a coach.

- focus on everything that will help you grow.

2. Win individual games first, not Championships or tournaments.

Most of the coaches we ask a simple question: “What is your goal for the championship?” they will never answer: “I want to win every game of the season!”, but will only name the place they want for their team. If you want to advance in this industry and become a great coach, then:

- do things right

- do not skip the stages of your growth and the growth of your team,

- become more professional in player development and always keep talented players at your fingertips, i. e. catch the slightest changes in their game,

- as the most important result - try to win in every game, no matter how it goes, but by defeating yourself (by imposing a fight on an opponent who is much stronger and more experienced, and sooner or later will tip the scales in his favor). You will take the first step towards your triumph.

3. You can't be a strong winning coach if you don't have a personal relationship with the players right from the start.

It's no secret that in Ukraine and Russia in children's basketball the most ugly relations in the "player-coach" tandem flourish, which can only be called "dictatorial", where one side simply oppresses the other. Can there be positive results from such cooperation? Of course, “yes!”, But not in the long run, and at the same time permanently traumatizing the psyche of subordinates.

Dictatorial/authoritarian leadership is a thing of the past.

Advice: Build "brick-by-brick" relationships with players, convert them to your "faith" and hold them accountable if they violate your rules. And most importantly - cut off ties with those who refuse to participate in your project (in the team you built)!

4. Follow the pronouns you use in conversations.

In the process of work, any coach must find those words that reach the mind and heart of each player. What are these words? No one will answer this question, but you should learn that for “team chemistry” you must say in the presence of the players that this is not “your” team, but this is “our” team, that they are not “your” players, they are “ our” players, that is, the players of our team.

This understanding will come to you sooner or later, but, as a rule, it comes after defeats and bumps, which should not be done!

5. Take the risk of becoming a coach at the beginning of your career, before you have a family and small children.

Do not sit still and stick to the experience of your school or the methodology of only one trainer. If there is an opportunity to learn something valuable and new, then do not put it off, but pack your bags and move forward: work more than 16 hours a day, work at every training camp and attend every basketball academy you can get into .

Soon you will also need to prioritize your family, and you will not be able to do this if you do not clearly understand the degree of “dependence” on how much you want to become a great Coach or is it just your whim.

6. The statement “The higher the championship level, the easier it is for a good coach to prove himself” is not always true.

It is difficult to say unequivocally which of the ways a young coach gets into the coaching staff of a strong team is the most preferable for his further growth. There is no one “recipe” here, everything happens individually, both in terms of the place of employment and in terms of adaptation. There are plenty of cases where good coaches in North America's strongest collegiate championship, the NCAA and its strongest D1 division, will never get an NBA head coaching job.

Since there are many leagues in America, coaches are needed everywhere in teams of different strengths. However, the statement that the stronger the League, the stronger the coaches who work in it, is absolutely wrong : for example, Mikhailuk's coach Bill Self, who from year to year received the best students in the United States and then employed in the NBA (Joel Embid, Kelly Awbrey, Morris brothers, ets., for example) can only be considered a higher category coach than the lesser-known mentors of provincial universities with a weaker composition.

And yesterday's assistants in Division D2 or D3 will quite possibly find work tomorrow in a strong team, because they have succeeded as coaches not in the hothouse conditions of an excess of personnel “material”!

7. Be closely connected spiritually with the players, but set boundaries!

Since coaching dictatorship often prevailed in the relationship between the coach and the young player not so long ago, there was no talk of any trusting relationship. It’s a different matter now, when victory in the championship on a difficult and big tournament road simply requires a trusting human relationship, and sometimes even spiritual kinship between the performers and the coach (unity of goals, ultimate dedication, mutual trust).

However, you must be close enough for them to trust you. But you are not their friend, there is (and always will be) a certain distance between you, no matter how young you are!

When your players finish school (university or big sport), this line will disappear and you can become friends for life. However, beware of too close "brotherly" relations with the players, because, as history has shown, sooner or later such a player can "sit on your neck"!

8. You are one inaccurate step away from losing your job and ending your coaching career

No matter how you position yourself, the coach has always been and remains a public figure. Your every step is being watched, your every statement is being discussed, your every “puncture” pleases someone, and upsets someone - this is how sports work.

Be smart in all situations and represent your school, your franchise, your alma mater well. Take care of a positive image - of yourself and your pupils, create your own pages on social networks for this.

But never publicly share your opinions that are political, religious or controversial from the point of view of society, which can eventually split your team.

9. Bring your energy, but do not break the existing system.

Wherever you go, as a coach, you find yourself in a well-oiled mechanism of certain connections and relationships between structures that have developed long before you. Therefore, do not become a revolutionary from the first days. The status quo does not need to be approved, but do not prepare a “coup” and do not blow up the system, because you still have to work and create there.

Be yourself, be different (different from others), but respect established standards.

Build a resume and support and strengthen your brand in every possible way, which should attract many new fans and give them more and more opportunities to show their best qualities.

10. Do not recruit players based on talent alone, regardless of character, academic ability, or other positive qualities.

As often happens in the ideology of a bad coach, regardless of his rank and status, what is the most detrimental decision for his career, beckons him over and over again. And, in fact, how easy it is - take ready-made players to your team, win the title and become a coach who will be raved about!?

But, in this way, first such a coach will lose his face, and then his job, since the poor performance of the player in college is the anchor that will pull both him and the team to the bottom. It is not difficult to guess what game the “loser” will think about!

11. There is no one right and quick way to get where you want to go in coaching.

I repeat that although the coaching peak is generally understandable and tangible for every young coach - a post in the Champion team (whether it be a school championship or an NBA ring), the road to it cannot be simple and the same for everyone. You have to take risks, not hope for luck. Fortune loves the strong.

Everyone has their own story .

As time passes, you will share your personal experience so that others can see how different the path to the top is.

12. Remaining principled and tough at work, don't be closed to your loved ones (your family), don't forget to maintain a work/everyday life balance!

The previous 11 points could convince you that the most important thing on the way to mastering the profession of a basketball coach is every minute, almost fanatical work on your own improvement in the profession: learning new things (reading special literature, attending seminars, subscribing to the pages of great coaches on social networks, and much more), work with the team in training and matches. Fortunately, this is not the case!

You cannot replace the warmth of the hearth and the relationship of people close to you (parents, spouse, children, friends), even if it is so necessary and often joyfully exalted communication with the fruit of your work - the players and the team. Believe that this most likely not perfect team of yours, sooner or later, no matter how much you want (or passionately long for, it happens!) will cease to exist (players will graduate from school or college, you will be noticed and invited to another team, ets. ). Family is for life!

If you think that the only important thing in your life is training, you are making an unforgivable mistake.

Family is most important and should help you develop not only your coaching and coaching life, but also your hobbies that are (or will be) outside of coaching.

13. Don't be discouraged when looking for a new job that you are ready for.

In continuation of the previous paragraph, it may happen that you yourself (mentally and in terms of knowledge in coaching) outgrow the level of your team, and you will need to look for a new job. Only a few will pass this path painlessly. It is better to immediately tune in to the fact that you will not be met with “bread and salt”, no matter how great a coach you become and no matter how significant victories you achieve. It's not you who are bad, it's not they who are bad and narrow-minded, it's human caution. Perhaps your proposed employers have already been burned by inviting the “new Gregg Popovich or Mike Krzyszewski” to the role of general manager before you and do not want to step on the same rake again. Do not reproach them, but always remain persistent.

Young coaches in North America, as statistics show, find the best options for changing teams and realize opportunities in terms from late June to mid-August.

If you truly believe that you are ripe for a new stage in your coaching career, then enlist the support of your family and do not give up and persistently spend all your free time looking for a job that you are entitled to.

Remember that in this difficult business, Connections are the key! Use your dating network!

14. Never promise a player playing time or a starting position.

Once in a team of a higher level than the school one, and contacting older players who have already taken place at the primary stage, sooner or later you will encounter scouting - that is, viewing players for a new team. But do not make mistakes, do not promise what the player (his representatives or agents) wants to hear. Do not say that he will have a guaranteed place at the start or “carte blanche” for game actions.

Tell them the expectations based on their ability and the vision of the coaching staff, but also remind them that they must constantly work hard to earn what they want. Ultimately, make a verbal deal that a place in the first team will depend on a specific number of certain values: points, rebounds and assists, and the performance of a candidate player in training on your team.

15. Don't just point players to their successes or failures, show them statistics and arguments.

At the initial stages of work, it is difficult for a coach to demand a lot from the employer, especially when it comes to such a “non-essential” aspect as video recording of training sessions and matches. Remember that “Video is your best friend!” (to help with your knowledge base, because if you and your exercises are funny, ridiculous and not important for the growth of team performance, then everyone will see it!)

You must have statistics on the results of each player on the team, both in training and in matches. But do not be a "dog in the manger" and do not keep emotions in you for what you see and calculated.

Show your analytics to the players and do it tolerantly, choose your words in advance: be extremely correct, in certain cases it is better to take everything as a joke than to humiliate the player!

This helps with understanding the player's role in your coaching schemes and keeps players competitive in every match as they understand not only your specific set up for that match but also how you will judge them on the court!

WARNING: Never just praise a player like “You did a great job!” and do not reproach with the words: “This is your unsuccessful match!” Argue using facts and figures , for example:

positive: “Ivan Petrov did a good job in the last game, because… he began to do a good double team in defense (double team)”

negative: “Peter Ivanov can be reproached for not passing our “big” Ilya at the 34th minute in the exit 2 against 1, but pulled the “blanket over himself” and played illiterately”. ..

(To be continued)

Tips & Tricks Basketball Kings

A new sports game called Basketball Kings has recently appeared on the iPhone. It comes just as the NBA season is nearing the end of the regular season and hopefully basketball fans will get addicted to arcade shooting games for mobile devices.

Basketball Kings is a very simple game as you only swipe up for your player to hit the ball into the net, but there are various game modes that you might enjoy such as Time Attack and even a tournament mode where the levels get harder and harder when you complete them.

Basketball Kings is available as a free download for iPhone and Android devices from the iTunes App Store and Google Play, respectively. But before you get down to business, here are some tips and tricks you can follow to get the best score in the end and move on to more difficult levels.

Be careful with sweeping

While the only skill in Basketball Kings is sweeping, the tutorial for the game isn't very detailed when it comes to how to sweep properly. I followed the instructions and found that I almost didn't drop a single basketball. But after I adjusted my gesture and tried some new things, I found that you can make each basket swipe in a certain way.

Instead of a quick swipe (quickly swipe and swipe to end the swipe), just swipe up in a continuous motion, then immediately stop where you want to end the swipe. In addition, it is very important where you start and end the sweep.

You will get the best results when you start hooking with the basketball in the shooter's hand. Then complete the movement to the right when the fill bar on the left turns green and reaches the arrow; this usually means you end the hook just above the basketball edge. If you sweep this way, most of your baskets will be spotless.

Faster

Basketball Kings uses a timer in most game modes, including Time Attack (obviously) and tournament mode. This means you have to be relatively fast with each shot and the next, so here's a little tip you can use (see what I did there?).