Fundamentals of Shooting

Being able to shoot the basketball is one of the most important aspects of the game. I believe that if a player is a good shooter, he or she is able to fit in any team and have a longer career. Yes, outstanding athleticism can get you a spot on a team in high school, but if all you can do is run and jump, you won't be able to make it far as a basketball player because at some point in your life, those things will start to diminish and you will be left with nothing. On the other hand, a great shooter can have a long lasting career even if that's all he can do. An excellent shooter is able to space the floor on offense, creating more opportunities for drives and lay ups. Without even touching the basketball, excellent shooters immediately have a positive impact on a team's offense. Being a great shooter allows you to have an easier drive to the basket because of the defense will aggressively close out on you to stop you from shooting, giving you the upper hand at blowing by your defender. On the other hand, a great athlete and rim attacker without a good shooting stroke will find themselves having a hard time driving to the rim, simply because the defense will sag down and dare them to shoot it. 

In my introductory post, I mentioned about teaching two kids the proper way of shooting a basketball and that I now realize what I thought them then wasn't exactly right. This is because over the past year, I've discovered a YouTube channel dedicated to teaching viewers how to shoot a basketball. At first I was skeptical—it went against everything I knew about a fundamental jumpshot. The channel preaches three techniques on shooting that are the opposite of what most coaches would teach. They are the turn, the dip, and the sweep and sway. 

The Turn

When I heard them saying a player's feet should not be squared to the rim and should be turned towards the side, I frowned and questioned their techniques. Surely it can't be right—everyone knows that all ten toes should be pointing to the rim. That's how the ball goes straight isn't it? Wrong. Through countless videos, they showed how great shooters, like Steve Kerr, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and the list goes on, actually have their feet turned when shooting. For right handers, their feet foot point around 10-11 o'clock. As for lefties, 1-2 o'clock. This blew my mind. Have I been shooting with the wrong technique all this time? Turns out I wasn't. The next day, I went to shoot some baskets and I tried to focus on seeing where my feet were pointing every time I catched the ball and "squared up". Lo and behold, as much as I've been practicing to have ten toes pointed to the rim on the catch, I found myself turning on EVERY catch. The reason for the turn is because shooting is done with one hand. Therefore, only the shooting shoulder and hip should be pointing towards the rim, not both shoulders squared at the hoop. With a player's feet turned, it automatically aligns the shooting hip and shoulder towards the rim and it creates a straight line from hip to shoulder to elbow to shooting finger when a player shoots the ball. All this gives the player more consistency and a straighter shot. Take a look at the feet of the players below and where they point at. Next time you watch an NBA game, watch where the feet of great shooters point to.

Spot the difference.

Notice how all of them have their feet turned toward the side, with their shooting hip and shoulder aligned to the rim. With all the best shooters in the world shooting this way, why are we then teaching young kids to square their shoulders and have ten toes toward the rim? The picture below shows someone shooting the way many coaches still teach. 

 

Awkward...

What do you see in that picture? I see a stiff, rigid, and awkward position for a shot. Having the shoulders squared to the rim creates tension on the player's shoulders, which will restrict the shooting motion of a player's shot. Not what you want if you're looking to make more shots than you miss.

The Dip

"Don't bring the ball down!" That's what my coach used tell me when I shot the ball. I tried hard to eliminate it from my shooting form because with bringing the ball down, called dipping, would supposedly make my shot slower. Have you ever tried shooting the ball without a dip? It's awkward, tense and it will throw your shot off. I believe rhythm is important in shooting and not dipping the ball breaks the rhythm of the shot. With the dip, you have a motion that helps transition the ball from your hip to your above your head effortlessly during a catch. Catching and bringing the ball up above your head immediately is not only difficult, it makes your body tense up. Consequently, the shot ends up not having the fluidity that it should have and becomes choppy. But wait! Won't dipping the ball slow down your shot!?!? It won't. A slow dip makes your shot slow, not the dip itself. Watch the gifs below and notice the dip on their shots. Also, notice how Ray Allen has a huge dip on his shot and yet, he has one of the fastest release in the history of the game. 

Ray Allen. Poetry in motion.

JJ Redick.

Stephen Curry. Small dip here, but still noticeable.

Kevin Durant. Again, dips the ball before shooting.

Another reason for players to dip the ball is physics or more specifically, inertia. Inertia is the concept that a body in motion tends to stay in motion while a body at rest tends to stay at rest. According to Wikipedia, "inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion, including changes to its speed and direction. It is the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at constant velocity." That last sentence is a big reason why the dip should be used when shooting. With dipping, the ball is able to travel from somewhere near a player's hip, to above the head, and finally to the rim with little to no external forces acting on it. On the other hand, using the awkward shot technique, the ball moves from chest height to above the head, comes to a stop, and then proceeds to move again when the player shoots it. The starting and stopping motion of the ball causes inconsistency in a player's shot whereas the dip helps the shot to be in one motion, thus having  greater consistency to move in a straight line.

The Sweep and Sway
The final component of the big 3 of shooting is the sweep and sway. In the past, I would jump forward when I shoot the ball, which was frowned upon by my coach. He then told me to jump straight up and down when I shoot. Of course, I would try jumping straight up and land at the same position I started when shooting. It felt weird, rigid and stiff. That's because shooting straight up and down creates tension in the shoulders when shooting, similar to when a player has his or her shoulders squared to the rim. Soon after trying, I decided not to continue with jumping up and down. Now, what exactly is this technique and more importantly, how is it done? Is it simply jumping forward when you shoot? Not exactly. You do want to jump forward, but you do not want to bring your shoulders along with the jump. Basically, the sweep is the motion your legs is performing when you jump forward. The sway is the motion your shoulders perform. That is, they sway back while your feet sweep forward. Done correctly, it should look like a broom sweeping the floor with the handle as your shoulders and the bristles as your legs.

Kyle Korver using the sweep and sway.

A broom sweeping.

I believe this technique helps a player to generate more energy for a further shot, typically a three-pointer. The three-point line is now 23 feet and 9 inches away from the rim. I believe it is physically impossible to shoot at a high percentage while jumping straight up and down. The sweep and sway not only helps generate power for the shot, but I also believe it is something the body naturally does. So instead of fighting what your body wants to do, allow it. Also, the sweep and sway allows the shot to have a higher arc instead of a flat one. This is because your body in now at angle which makes shooting with a high arc easier and effortless.

Putting It Together.
Forget squaring your feet. Forget not bringing the ball down. Forget jumping straight up and down. Doing all of those things will only create a tensed, choppy, and awkward shot. How do you expect kids to shoot better when they are learning the wrong concepts that actually make shooting even harder than it should be? Just to clarify, I am not trying to put down my coach or yours. I have the utmost respect for my coach and appreciate everything that he has taught me. However, this is something that should not be overlooked as it can hinder an individual's ability to be a better basketball player. Therefore, turn your feet to align your shooting shoulder, hip, and elbow to the ring. Dip the ball to have a fluid and rhythmic shot. Sweep and sway to have a higher arc and a further shot. No doubt, there are more to shooting than just these three techniques, such as the release, follow through, hand position, what to look at, and so on. Nonetheless, I strongly believe that with these three components alone, you can and will be a better, more consistent shooter. Try them out, let me know if it helps. Disagree with the techniques? I'd be more than happy to start a discussion. If have any questions on the techniques, or about shooting in general, don't hesitate to ask. Lastly, share this post to those who you think would benefit from it!