How to Shoot a Basketball

Being a good shooter or even a great shooter requires a lot of time in the gym practicing. However even spending hours and hours of practice shooting a basketball does not guarantee that you will be a good shooter. I am sure that we have all heard the statement, "practice makes perfect." Unfortunately this statement is false. When I was younger a coach of mine said, "practice doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent. But perfect practice, makes perfect." If you practice doing something the wrong way it doesn't matter how much time you put into it, because it is always going to be wrong. So before you decide to dedicate hour upon hour to shooting, you better make sure that you are doing it the right way first.

Unless you were instructed at a very young age on how to shoot or have taken the time to fix your form, then you probably have a few flaws in your shot. The reason for this is because as a kid you are not strong enough to get the ball up to the hoop with good form, so you have to get it up there however you can. The first thing you need to do is figure out what you are doing wrong with your shot and take the time to fix it. In college my coach pointed out to me that I was releasing the ball off of the outside of my hand instead of my pointer and middle finger. Shooting off of the outside of my hand caused the ball to rotate incorrectly and made my shooting percentage lower. During the off seaso
I decided to take the time and fix it. It took me about a month but I changed my shot and my shooting percentage went up, my senior year I was ranked the 19th best shooter in the nation. Pick a player like Ray Allen who has really good form and try to imitate his shot. Once you have gotten down your form it is time to start getting up the reps.

Being a great shooter is all about muscle memory. When you are in the game if you have to think about how you are going to shoot the ball, then you are most likely going to miss the shot. As a shooter when you catch the ball and go to shoot there should be no thinking. Your body should just naturally take over and know the shooting motion. The reason for this is because you have spent hours in the gym training it to do so.

There are all kinds of shooting drills that you can do, some better then others. It is important that you find some good drills to use. When you do the shooting drills it is key to practice them at game speed. If you practice all your shots at half speed what do you think is going to happen when you get in the game and have to shoot them at full speed? It is common sense to say that it wont feel the same, and your shot will be off. Practice your shot like you would shoot it in the game, do the same thing on every shot you shoot.

Foot work is key in being a good shooter. Whether you step into your shot or hop into it, it doesn't really matter. Whatever you decide on, be consistent with it. Don't step into it one time and then hop into it the next time. Another key to being a good shooter is jumping straight up and down. Don't practice bad habits like always fading away or kicking your legs out. There are times in a game where you are going to need to fade away, but they are not very often. Hold your follow through on every shot. Having a good follow through helps to make sure that your shot isn't short and that your ball has the proper back spin on it.

Don't just shoot the ball to shoot it, shoot it to make it. Believe that every shot you shoot is going in. Confidence is huge in being a good shooter. If you don't have confidence in your shot you are going to struggle. Know that you put the time into your shot and have confidence that you are going to make the shot. Even shooters with bad form that have confidence in their shot can become good shooters for a short time. Good shooters can become bad shooters when they start taking bad shots. Make sure that you are shooting high percentage shots.

There are a lot of things that go into being a good shooter. It takes knowledge and hard work, both are important to being a good shooter. If you need to rework your shot then get in the gym and do it, if not then learn some good drills and start getting up reps. It doesn't matter what level you start at. Begin today and continue to improve everyday.