Form Shooting

There are four things I care about when it comes to shooting. In order to become a consistently good shooter, these components must become a natural part of your shot.  The rest of your shot is up to you. It is not difficult to get there, it just requires trying something new and sticking with it.

Cutting corners only makes it harder to improve. You can’t just use the one or two that you like and ignore the others. These four things are non-negotiables, you have to do them. In most cases, I don’t want to rebuild your shot. I just want to teach you to focus on the things that matter most, will help you make more shots, and increase your range. 

1) Base (bend knees)

This is where most of your power should come from. For some U9’s and U11’s, this is what holds you back from shooting the right way (one hand + guide hand), instead of the two-hand toss. For some of U13’s and U15’s, this is why some of you cannot shoot a 3 pointer with accuracy or consistency.  Every great shooter in the world has great knee bend no matter where on the floor they are shooting from. 

2) Straight elbow

This is the hardest change for most players to make. When your elbow is straight, the ball goes straight nearly every time. If your elbow is crooked or sticks out even a little, you must compensate with your guide hand to shoot the ball straight. Try to shoot with one hand only and stick your elbow out, you will see what I mean. We have many decent shooters in Select who shoot with their elbow out. However, by using the guide hand for power and accuracy, you are making your shot more difficult. Both hands must supply the same amount of power and direction every time. This is a difficult motion to repeat because there are more moving parts and a lot more can go wrong, which leads to misses and frustration. Keep that elbow straight and you will find the ball goes straight. You will lose some power, but that’s what the other three components are for. 

3) Follow through

 This is perhaps the easiest change to make in your shot.  Most Select players acknowledge the importance of a complete follow through, yet only a few execute it every time. At the finish, some Select players look like a T-Rex (short arm) and some look like they are giving a jumping high five to an imaginary teammate. I tell all players to imagine someone is taking a photo at the finish of your shot. Be proud of your follow through and make sure that “photo” looks good. I’m pretty sure Ray didn’t know his photo was being taken on this shot, but he acted like it was by exaggerating his follow through. 

4) Momentum

Incorporating momentum into your shot is very easy, it just takes a little bit of mental effort and lots of practice. The idea is to move your entire body, starting with your shoulders and chest, towards the rim as you shoot. It’s like shooting a fade away but towards the rim. If that happens, your feet have to come with you or you fall on your face.  This helps ensure that you do not fade away or drift sideways as you shoot. It is also a source of power when your legs get tired in the 4th quarter. Imagine yourself missing a shot on the front rim, with your normal shot, as it is today. Now, add momentum to that exact same shot and what happens? It goes in! Or at least it has a better chance of going in. Momentum is your friend and it’s easy to incorporate because you add it to your shot, you don’t have to change anything else. If you are still a doubter, check out Kobe’s momentum below, or forward lean, even on his free throw. He is obviously strong enough to shoot without it but he does it anyway because he knows how important it is. 

Thise are the four most important components of your shot. We will revisit them. Please work on them and get used to them. Also, reference the video below for an example.  The shooter with all that range is a former teammate of mine in college. We both set 3-point records for our University, we know what we’re doing!!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YIHjdVteO2A