How to Improve Your Shooting in Basketball
Improving your shooting in basketball is a fairly straightforward process that requires significant practice time and dedication to achieve. Any basketball player, at any level from youth leagues to professional, can benefit from improved shooting. As with any sport, there are a number of drills that if completed regularly will help improve shooting and overall basketball skills. Some drills can be done alone, and some require a partner. In order to shoot a basketball properly, you must square your body to the basket with your legs shoulder-width apart and use your non-shooting hand to guide the ball into the basket.
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Instructions
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Shooting drills
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1
Stand at the free throw line, or if the court does not have lane markings pick a spot about 15 feet from the basket, and take 10 shots in a row. Upon completion of the set, determine how many shots you missed and run the equivalent number of full-court sprints, or if not using a marked court find a flat area about 30 yards long. After running, shoot the same number of shots that were missed the first time. Continue by running sprints for the number of shots missed again. Repeat this process until you reach zero misses. The running will improve your fitness and helps to simulate game conditions.
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2
Stand so that one player is underneath the net and the other is positioned at any other spot on the court. Pass the ball from underneath the net to the player on the court. The player on the court should be positioned with knees bent when catching the ball. Once the ball is caught, jump out of your crouch and take a jump shot. The shooter must get his own rebound and pass the ball to the second player, who should use the same positioning on the court and take a shot. Players should move to different areas on the court for each successive shot. The object is to simulate the skill of moving and then shooting at game speed.
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3
Begin at the top of the key, or on an unmarked court a spot about 20 feet directly in front of the basket, and sidestep down until you reach the baseline, maintaining the distance from the basket. As you move, your partner should pass you the ball. Catch the ball, square your body to the basket and shoot. Your partner should get the rebound and pass to you again as quickly as possible. After reaching the baseline, work your way back by sidestepping to the starting spot and continue to the other baseline. This drill will improve your shot by forcing you to maintain proper shooting form while moving from side to side.
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Tips & Warnings
The basketball should sit on your fingertips and should be comfortably balanced in the middle of your shooting hand. Your shooting hand is your dominant hand (i.e., right hand if you are right-handed). When shooting, your elbow and wrist should form an "L" shape and extend directly toward the rim as the ball is released.
Use legs to generate upward force when shooting the ball. The ball should be released at the top of your jump, when you are at your highest point.
Follow through with your shot by bending your wrist and pointing your fingers toward the basket. Hold your follow-through position until the ball hits the rim.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Basketball player image by Albo from Fotolia.com
