How to Shoot a Basketball – 10 Easy Steps

Practice, Repetition and Consistency

Many people believe that if they practice basketball shooting drills every day, they will naturally improve their basketball skills… and they would be right! Constant effort builds basketball skills that are essential to success of the game. In addition to passing, dribbling, and stamina, basketball shooting is the number one most important aspect of the game. Your shot needs to be worked on to be an effective shooter. The more shots you can take the better, using a shooting machine you can take hundreds of practice shots simply by avoid chasing rebounds. Executing a lethal shot is made simple with this 10-step guide.

Step 1: Shot Preparation

The first step you need to take in executing your shot is to take a deep breath and relax for about 10 seconds. Try these three tips:

• Start with your knees and hips slightly bent: This will give you better balance and improve your chances of making the shot.
• Show target hands: This will loosen your grip and allow you to control the ball better.
• Be mentally prepared to shoot: Be confident in your ability to make the shot. Do not overthink it; just shoot and let go.

Step 2: Hand Placement on the Ball

Knowing exactly where your hands lay on the ball will increase shooting accuracy.

Point your palm up, slightly bent, with your index finger pointing forward. Press your thumb on the ball to give it more pressure. As you shoot, pull down without bending your wrists. Keep your elbows down and your arms extended. The key is being comfortable.

Step 3: Balanced Base

Keep your head, eyes, and feet shoulder width apart and towards the hoop as you shoot. This is important to set a strong shooting foundation.

Step 4: Keeping the Ball Close

Keeping your shooting arm close is essential if you want to shoot well. That way, you keep your arm securely against your body so it doesn’t fly all over while making shots. Keep your shooting arm close to your side when shooting a basketball. The closer it is, the more accurate you will be when releasing the ball.

Step 5. The Jump Shot 

It might seem like a no-brainer, but getting ready for a jump shot you should bend your knees and extend to launch straight up fully extending your legs to get as much height as possible before you release the ball. Don’t hunch over or lean back either; as you land you should fall into the same place your feet launched from.

Step 6. Shoot from Your Core

As soon as you start shooting, focus your core and abs. This is especially important when shooting three-pointers because they require more strength to shoot further. Keep your shot balanced by shooting with your core.

Step 7. Support your Wrists

Support your wrist and keep your shooting arm as straight as possible to get the most out of your shot. To get into position, start in a wide stance with your knees bent slightly and weight distributed evenly between both feet. When it’s time to shoot, use your non-shooting hand to raise the ball above your shoulder and keep your wrists strong while you follow through with your shot.

Step 8. Holding the Follow Through 

As you release the ball, point your index finger toward the basketball hoop and backboard. The point is to let the ball leave your hand without slowing your motion, especially of the wrist and fingers. If you don’t follow through, that means your hand stops when the ball leaves it. That means your hand was already decelerating before the ball left it, which will cause a bunch of mechanical problems, the biggest of which is less backspin on the ball. Keep your follow through strong.

Step 9. Eyes on the backboard

While shooting the ball, keep your eyes on the target from start to finish. You should be looking at the front of the rim, not the back of the rim. When shooting you must follow the previous steps to get the best result from your shot. If you look at your hands, your ball will likely miss. Instead, focus on keeping your head still and looking up at the rim as much as possible during shooting time.

Step 10. Practice and Consistency

To be the best shooter possible, it takes consistency, practice and repetition. The best shooter is the one that is up early in the morning and last one shooting after practice is over. This is because they can get hundreds and even thousands of shots in a single session. If you want to take it to the next level, get a basketball shooting machine from Shoot-A-Way. The Gun basketball shooting machine allows you to get a pass from anywhere on the court and shoot up to 1800 shots per hour. Customize your Gun to personalize your own basketball shooter.