Shooting skill is essential for any basketball player. When we see NBA starts with smooth shots, they are not born with that skill. It takes plenty time and effort to establish great shooting skills. There’s no way we can get correct shooting skill, if we never train ourselves to shoot properly. In general, we should work to build our shooting skill from the ground up. There are methods that we can use. First, we need to square our feet and they should be at about shoulder width apart. Right handed players should put their right foot slightly in front of the left foot. Our feet must be squared before we initiate a shot. When we are ready to shoot, we need to bend our knees, so our legs can provide extra power for out shot. So, it is vital that we get appropriate knee bend before we throw a shot. Our body should be properly squared. It means that our shoulders and waist should be properly squared. Before we throw the ball, we should feel comfortable be completely balanced. Other than our arms, our eyes are also essential for accurate shots. Our eyes should be focused on a single point and it isn’t necessary to watch the trajectory of the ball. Our posture and aim are the most important things.
It is important that we properly hold the ball. We should put our strong hand begind the ball and our fingers must be properly spread. They shouldn’t be too spead out or too close. In this case, our hands need to be fully comfortable. Our thumb and pointer finger should have 45 degree angle. Grip the ball mostly with fingertips of dominant hand and supported by finger pads. Although the ball should be close to the palm, it shouldn’t rest on the palm. Our less dominant hand is known as “guide hand”, although it doesn’t really guide the ball. However, the guide hand should help us in raising the ball and getting it into position. Before shooting the ball, we may let the guide hand to fall away from the ball. With the correct posture and position, we should be ready to take the shot. As we are about to initiate the shot, we may bend the knees and start jumping in the air. The ball should begin to move from approximately the chest height, but slightly to the right. Raise the ball towards face height and we should keep our elbow in. As we are about to release the ball, we should assume the waiter’s position, that’s identical to the way waiters carry their trays at restaurants.
The actual release point of the ball is when we reach the top of our jump. Just before we reach the top of our jump, our elbow should be above eye level and we need to straighten the arm. Rotate the wrist forward to release the ball and separate our guide hand from the ball. At this moment, the ball should already be released from our fingertips. The overall shot should be quite easy, due to the strong movements of our legs, supported by the smaller muscles of our arm.
