BASKETBALL SHOOTING

Proper Basketball Shooting Techniques and Shooting Mechanics Explained

These drills are specifically for your shooting arm and proper basketball shooting form.  If you need guidance on pre-game/pre-practice warm up and stretching check this page.

After your normal warm up/stretch routine grab a ball and shoot ONLY lay ups.  That's right, your shooting basketball drills are lay ups.  BUT - SHOOT THESE LAY UPS ONLY ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BASKET FROM YOUR SHOOTING HAND, YOUR DOMINANT HAND (right handers shoot the basketball only from the left side with your right hand, left handers shoot the basketball only from the right side with your left hand).  Shoot these lay ups with your dominant hand.  Shoot these opposite side lay ups flat footed.  Shoot them with a little hop in your delivery.  Shoot these opposite side lay ups jumping.  Shoot a minimum of 50 and really, you should shoot at least 150.  Use these basketball shooting drills to lock in your natural basketball shot! 

Why the opposite side?  Shooting a lay up on the opposite side naturally forces your elbow in front of you, and in turn forces you to be aware of your elbow positioning.  Shooting a lay up on the opposite side forces your hand to the best natural position behind and beneath the ball.  How to shoot a free throw?  To practice your free throw shooting mechanics, shoot the opposite side lay up as a set shot, imitating your free throw shooting stance.  USE THE EXACT SAME SHOOTING MECHANICS TO SHOOT YOUR FREE THROW.  How to shoot a jump shot?  To practice your jump shot shooting mechanics shoot the opposite side lay up while jumping, imitating a jump shot.  USE THE EXACT SAME SHOOTING MECHANICS FOR YOUR JUMP SHOT.  How to shoot a perfect shot?  The opposite side lay up sets up a self policing naturally individualized mechanical shot.  Now that you're physically and mentally warmed up, and your proper basketball shooting form is locked in, because of these basketball shooting drills, move out 1 step and put up a few shots as you move around the basket.  Then move out another step and throw up a few as you move around the basket.  As you continue moving out from the basket, 1 step at a time, you will eventually reach a point on the court where your shooting percentage drops below 70%.  When that happens, return to your "opposite side lay up," put up a few until you're feeling your natural basketball shooting technique again, then quickly work your way back out.  Return to the "opposite side lay up" to reestablish your basketball shot, your proper basketball shooting form, your natural basketball shooting technique, before moving out again.  This is the ONLY way you should warm up for shooting a basketball.  If you come out after your normal warm up/stretching routine and begin shooting baskets from behind the three point line, or shooting from the free throw line, or any silly shots, you do yourself a terrible injustice and you will never learn how to shoot a perfect shot . 

For obvious reasons my favorite basketball shot is the lay up, and after practicing these basketball shooting tips the lay up should be your favorite basketball shot too.  Not only is the lay up the most accurate shot on the basketball court, it is the most repeatable.  So as you're practicing that measly little "opposite side lay up" you are actually reinforcing muscle memory for your entire basketball shooting arsenal.  Muscle memory is reinforced by success.  While standing under the basket and shooting hundreds of "opposite side lay ups" in a row, with somewhere near 100% shooting accuracy, you are radically reinforcing success.  You are learning how to shoot a basketball better.  Repeatability is the reason basketball shooting mechanics, proper basketball shooting technique, or proper basketball shooting form is so important.  We all hear basketball shooting coaches harping on elbow positioning.  Well, if your elbow is not in front of you when you're shooting a basketball, that means your elbow is somewhere off to the side.  When your elbow is in front of you and your elbow and upper arm are in a locked position, that motion is repeatable, and since it is repeatable it can, and will eventually become muscle memory.  If your elbow is "somewhere" out to the side, that exact motion is not repeatable.  "Opposite side lay ups" naturally enforce and then reinforce your elbow positioning, and your hands' natural positioning.  Naturally teaching you proper basketball shooting techniques or how to shoot a basketball better. 

Why, you may be asking, is muscle memory so important?  When you're in the flow of a basketball game, thinking is actually the last thing you want to do.  You need to be relying on instinct and muscle memory to be controlling your actions.  Normally the pace of the basketball game does not afford a basketball player time to stop and actually think about how to shoot a perfect shot.  Which is the reason basketball coaching staffs repetitively drill you and drill you over and over and over on the same issues.  A coach wants learned behaviors to rule your play during a basketball game.  A coach wants you to predicatively react to situations presented during a basketball game.      

A basketball shooting coach will tell you he wants you to shoot free throws at the end of practice while you're tired.  To simulate basketball game conditions some coaches actually prefer you shoot these free throws two at a time.  Your basketball coaching staff keeps a real close eye on the shooting form you display during this time because this specific basketball shooting exercise is when perfect practice makes perfect.  So, before you begin shooting these late practice free throws, take a moment and shoot a few flat footed opposite side lay ups, to reestablish your free throw shooting form or how to shoot a free throw.

The best advice I can possibly give on how to shoot a basketball is study the eBook "The ‘Mental Key' To High Percentage Basketball Shooting" offered on this website.   That eBook and the information on this page together are explosive!  When a shooter understands the 'Mental Side' of shooting baskets that shooter is not thinking at all.  That is the proper way to shoot, being 'in the zone' and not thinking.  This is so easy to learn it's silly.

Finally, many athletes, basketball coaches, and athletic trainers ignore the importance of warming down, or cooling down after practice or a basketball game.  While your body is warmed up is the perfect time to stretch, cool down, and relax.  This time must be taken to reduce chances of serious bodily injury while insuring proper health, flexibility, and stamina.