Basketball Shooting - How to Shoot a Basketball

Basketball shooting is one of the main fundamentals of the game and is primarily the way to score points. Along with dribbling, shooting is one of the first skills we often learn. But not a huge number of people learn it correctly from the start. Whether you’re a good shooter or a terrible one here’s the right way to learn it.

First off we need to talk about the most important aspects to have while shooting a jump shot or a free throw. When I was growing up I remembered a pneumonic device to use: B-E-E-F which stands for Balance, Elbow, Eyes, and Follow Through. This is how all of these fit into play.

B- Balance yourself by keeping your feet shoulder width apart and your knees bent with your body facing towards the net.

E- Your elbow needs to be underneath the ball so that it creates a near or a full 90 degrees angle.

E- Focus your eyes at the rim so that you have a target to shoot at. Measure mentally the distance you need to shoot in order to give yourself a sense of how much power to put into it.

F- Follow through your shot (meaning don’t stop in spontaneous) when you flick your wrist. This should create backspin which means more control and a greater chance of bouncing in if it hits the rim.

Remember to incorporate those aspects in your basketball shooting. Now it’s time to learn how to shoot a free throw or a jump shot. They’re practically the same shot except one small step, as you’ll see in a moment.

How to Shoot

1. Get into the triple threat position (knees bent, feet shoulder width apart and body facing towards the net).

2. In one motion bring your arm near your forehead so that your strong hand is underneath the ball (with your index finger aligned to the center) and your other hand on the side. By now your elbow should be about at a right angle.

3. You should start straightening out your knees so that you're body is rising. Once you get on your tippy toes push off floor and jump (so that you’re in the air). Avoid jumping when shooting a free throw. Just follow the rest of the steps on your tippy toes.

4. Now you should allow your weak hand (the one on the side) to leave the ball just before flicking your wrist (to avoid it from interfering). When you do flick your wrist, make sure you should have enough power and the ball has backspin on it. Remember to follow through.

5. During a game what most players do wrong is sit and watch their shot, instead of going to rebound it. So don't develop any bad habits and get your rebound even if it's going in.

As you’ll see most professional players have the same basketball shooting form because it’s the most effective way to shoot a ball, so keep practicing this form even if takes some time to get used to.

Learn More on Basketball Shots Here

Learn More on How to Shoot a Basketball Here