How to Shoot a Fade Away Like Yao Ming

Yao Ming is the pride of the Chinese national basketball team and one of the first Chinese players to be successful in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Yao uses his perfected fade-away jumper to help him with the transition from being a leader in China to being a newcomer in the NBA.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Weights

1. Begin working on your fade-away jump shot even before you step onto the basketball court. For Yao, the training for his game begins daily with two hours of strength and conditioning training. Watch examples of his training, including weights and wind sprints, on YouTube. In order to have a strong fade-away, you need strong legs to jump higher and strong wrists to support the jump shot.
2. Follow the strength and conditioning training with technical and mental toughness training. Yao has worked with Hakeem Olajuwon and Caroll Dawson to help with his game intensity and rhythm. Both are necessary to be a successful shooter, because not every shot will go in the net, and you will need the intensity to keep trying your shot.
3. Practice your fade-away jumper repeatedly by first posting up to receive the ball. Then jump upwards and back away from the defender, hold the ball right above your face and square your shoulders to the backboard at the top of your ascent. Shoot the fade-away by snapping your wrist to push the ball towards the rim and remember to follow-through by allowing the ball to roll off your fingertips. Yao's training includes him repeating moves like the fade-away until the moves are second nature.
4. Learn to use the fade-away jumper when defenders are closely guarding you and you need to shoot a shot that is difficult for them to block and will likely draw a foul. Yao typically posts up along the baseline and uses his strong and long arms to execute effectively hard-to-block fade-away jump shots. Initially, he relied upon the fade-away because he was not used to how tough players guarded him in the NBA, but now it is one of his 'patented' moves.