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Proper Form For A Basketball Shot

When learning to shoot or perfecting your shot, you need to follow the same rules.

Basketball is a game made up of rules therefore it should only be obvious that shooting is going to have its rules to follow to learn or perfect it.

Form

Most players are not born to be shooters, most need to learn the art. Most of the best have practiced many hours to perfect their shot. Practicing all day and all night will not make you a better than your opponent unless you are practicing by the rules.

Therefore, having said that if you do not have the right form you are not going to get any better shooting regardless if you shot 10 shots or 100,000 shots, you may even get worse since you will be practicing how to shoot the ball incorrectly. So shooting with the proper form is the most important part in learning how to shoot or be a better shooter.

The Proper form

The proper form begins with the CAT. Catch, square and tuck means receive the ball, square your shoulders to the basket and then tuck your shooting elbow in towards your body and always follow through on the release and hold it. The ball should flick off your fingers and you should hold your arm, wrist and hand should form a 90 degree angle with your fingers pointing at the hoop.

When tucking your elbow it should be directly in line with the shooting shoulder creating a straight line and therefore a straight line movement of the arm when shooting.

If you are squared to the hoop, meaning your shoulders are in line with the basket once you tuck the elbow this automatically aligns the ball to a level angle with the basket. The follow through is as important if not more so than tucking the elbow and squaring to the basket.

By following through with shot you are automatically putting backspin on the ball thereby giving your shot a softer touch or as they say a “shooters touch”. The ball, if it hits the rim, will be deadened by the back spin and will have a better chance of going in. Remember you are flipping your wrist forward and not pushing the ball. Flipping it or flicking it off your fingertips and not the palm of your hand will give the ball the needed backspin.

Your non-shooting hand is also a key to perfecting your shot. The non-shooting hand acts to balance the ball in your shooting hand.
This hand should be rested on the side of the ball to help balance the ball and keep it in place through your shooting motion. The hand falls away as you raise your shooting arm to the basket to release and flick the shot towards the rim. Just remember no one becomes a shooter over night and no one gets better without practicing. Practice as much as you can, but practice right. No one wants to perfect the imperfect shot, so learn the proper form and practice, practice, practice.

 

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