How To Shoot A Basketball

Here I will explain you the basics of shooting the basketball. Firstly,

you must know how to hold the ball correctly. Below are examples

of how both a right/left-handed player should do this.

Right-Handed Shooter

The right-handed shooter should have his/her right hand on the top

of the ball and left hand on the side of the ball. When shooting, the

ball must be brought above or in front of the right side of your

head. The shooting elbow must be directly under the ball.

Left-Handed Shooter

The left-handed shooter should have his/her left hand on the top of

the ball and right hand on the side of the ball. When shooting, the

ball must be brought above or in front of the left side of your head.

The shooting elbow must be directly under the ball.

Now you know how to hold the ball correctly, I will move on to

explaining the two fundamentals of shooting the basketball.

Physical and Mental Aspects

Shooting, and basketball itself is made up of two parts - the

physical aspect and mental aspect. You must learn to master both

of these if you want to become the best shooter you can be.

Mental

Knowing when to shoot and being able to do this well when under

pressure separates the good players from the great ones.

Many players over the years have shown that you don't always

have to be of a great physical shape/size to compete with players

with a more gifted body than you - you just need the

determination. Dennis Rodman was a great example of this: even

though he was only 6'8" he led the NBA in rebounding for seven

straight seasons. This was because of his determination to get the

rebound while other players only tried half-heartedly. The same

can be said for shooting - if you're determined your shot is going

to go in, you are more likely to score than if you think that you're

going to miss.

Confidence and Concentration are the two main factors of the

mental aspect:

• Confidence - A shooter with confidence will be one, who

shoots the ball each time "knowing" it will pass perfectly

through the basket. However, this should not be confused

with taking wild shots from half-court; he/she also has a

great shot selection. When shooting, you must have a good

mindset: no matter how your game is going, even if you've

missed your first 10 shots you should still feel confident in

shooting and continue to take good shots as at some point

they will start to drop.

• Concentration - This is how all the great players blank out

the crowd and any other distractions and just focus on the

game. Great shooters are able to blank out any distraction

and still score the basketball. This mostly consists of being

relaxed and not getting carried away in the drama of the

game.

Physical

This is the use of the correct form, techniques etc to shoot the

basketball consistently.

The Visual

There are two main places that are recommended for a player to

look at when they shoot the ball: the front or back of the rim. I

personally look at the front of the rim, but it's whatever suits you

best. If you look at the front of the rim then you should focus on

shooting the ball a slight bit further than you're target, and if you're

looking at the back of the rim you should shoot the ball just short of

you're target. The reason you don't look at the middle of the rim is

because it is hard to focus on with the eye, as there is no solid

object there to look at. Where as, with the front or back of the rim

you have something to focus on. You should focus on the target

from the point when you start your shot until it ends and drops

through the net.

The Balance

When a shooter is properly balanced, they can channel all the possible muscle force in the direction of the basket. The main thing to remember is that when you are perfectly balanced you should be able to send the ball exactly where you want by controlling the acceleration of forces created by your own body. Then, all that is left for you to do is on the moment of release have a perfectlysmooth and continuous follow-through.If shooting on balance you need to rise in a steady upward motion without any jerking or irregular movements - it needs to be in continuous upwards motion and when it comes to extending your arm and following through, this too should be silky smooth.

The 3 Steps

You should follow these 3 steps when taking a set-shot:

1. Upward motion of the ball in the hands rising above the head.

2. A swift extension of the forearm,snapping the shoulder, elbow and wrist.

3. Rising to the balls of the feet and holding the shooting hand in the follow-through.

This is slightly different for a jump shot, as shown below.

The Jump Shot

This shot uses the same basics of the set-shot; it just requires the shot to be released by a sudden extension instead of a slow one in a set-shot. This means that the ball should be held above the head, ready to be shot, via extension and snapping of the wrist just before the peak of the jump. Remember the following 3 points when shooting a jump shot:

1. Release must come off the fingertips just before the peak of the jump.

2. All the momentum you carry upward should be channelled right to the fingertips at the release so you can make the perfecting adjustments.

3. Follow-through well.

How to use the jump shot

Once you have perfected the balanced jump shot, where you go up and come down again, you can start being more imaginative and try using the jump shot off of the dribble, receiving the ball etc. When taking off from a stationary position you should use both feet but when moving you should use the foot opposite your shooting hand. You should spread your fingers wide over the ball and raise the ball to a shooting position either slightly forward of directly above the shooting side of the head. Just before you get to the apex of your jump, release the ball by extending as you were shown earlier, and keep a great amount of concentration of the rim as it is needed while you are moving so much. Leave your arm and hand in the follow-throw position until the ball goes through the basket.