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5 of the Biggest Basketball Shooting Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
For most of these fixes, you are going to need to start away from the hoop and take hundreds and thousands of shots. You
can find a wall and do this by yourself or find a line and shoot it back and forth to a partner.
Once, you begin to feel comfortable with your adjustment, take hundreds of shots really close to the basket
and gradually move out.
- Thumb on Shooting Hand
Players often have the ball sit on the tip of their thumb on their shooting hand. This position is awkward and forces the body to strain to hold the proper shooting form. In order to be a good shooter, you have to be comfortable.
It you don't strain, your elbow sticks too far out.
How do you fix it?
You need to have the ball rest on the side of the thumb rather than on the tip of the thumb on every shot. It may feel awkward at first, but it will help tremendously and more of your shots will travel to the dead-center of the rim. If you can not determine when you are doing this, you may need to have someone critique your shot or video tape it.
- Thumb on Guide Hand
Some players flick the ball with their thumb on the guide hand when shooting the basketball. This will cause serious problems for the shooter and the ball will often spray left and right. It's tough enough to judge the distance, yet add another factor of left and right into the equation.
Most players develop this problem when they are too weak to get the ball to the rim, and the habit carries through their teenage and adult years.
How do you fix it?
You can squeeze your thumb against the index finger on your guide hand. This will not let you shoot the ball with the thumb. If the problem still continues, take your guide hand off of the ball by about a half-inch and shoot with one hand.
- Unnecessary Jerky Movements
These jerky movements can cause you to become an inconsistent shooter:
- Twisting the body.
- Leaning Backwards, Forwards, and to the left or right.
How do you fix it?
You need to evaluate when this jerky movement is happening and what type of jerky movement is occurring. This may mean you need to video tape your shot if you have nobody to help.
Two major reasons players twist their body when they shoot is:
- Their feet are not aligned correctly.
- They bring their guide hand down too early.
Make sure your feet up correctly before every shot. This means you may need to pivot more as you receive the pass or as you step into your shot off the dribble. If you use a hop, make sure that you are turning enough while in the air to align your feet properly as you land. If your feet are not set correctly, this will force your body to twist while shooting to try to compensate for it.
If you bring your guide hand down too early, it brings extra movement into your shot that causes you to twist your body. If you don't believe me, sit in your chair and shoot with one hand and bring your guide hand down to your waist at the same time. What naturally happens? Your torso will twist.
That's why it is important to keep your guide hand extended in the correct position.
Pro players use this method to stop their upper-body from twisting when they take shots when they
are off-balance or their feet are not aligned appropriately. It helps keep their upper body
from twisting during the shot. I do NOT advise for players under the age of 18 to practice this shot, because it can mess up your mechanics.
A good way to stop leaning is to "Stay Tall." That means you try to hold a posture that would make you tall. Don't strain to do it, but try to stay relaxed and upright. Make sure that the players jump and land on the same spot. You may also have analyzed when the player starts to jerk their body or lean in a certain direction. The player may only do a jerky movement when dribbling to the left and pulling up for a jumper. If this happens, they need to take hundreds and thousands of repetitions doing that same type of shot with great shooting form.
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No Arc - Flat Shot - Flinging the wrist.
If you are missing a lot of shots because you have a flat shot or you don't seem to get many shooter's bounces, it could be because you are flinging your wrist or have a flat shot.
You can check to see if you have this problem by bringing the ball to your set point and then bringing it straight down. If your shooting-hand lands on top of your head (or the back of your head) instead of grazing your forehead, then you've got a bad set point.
How do you fix it?
Move the ball forward so that when you bring it straight down, the back of your shooting hand grazes your forehead. Practice shooting to yourself from this position until it becomes your new set point.
You should reinforce your new set point by daily form shooting close to the basket. In fact, you should rebuild your shot slowly by stepping back one step at a time as you establish consistency from a given range, using the new set point.
- Shooting after the Top of your Jump.
Players who shoot past the top of their jump will often develop a hitch and jerky shot. The same with players who try to jump as high as they can on every shot.
A player should focus on shooting before the top of their jump for a few different reasons:
- Quicker release. If you shoot before the top of your release, it gives the defender less time to recover to defend the shot.
- Make more shots. The shot is fluid which results in a smoother and softer shot, because you don't stop the shot motion at any point in your shot.
- Longer range. If you shoot at or after the top of your shot, it takes a lot more upper body strength to get the ball to the rim. If you shoot as you are going up, the momentum from your legs help carry the ball a lot farther. Try shooting away from the hoop when doing this.
How do you fix it?
This one is pretty simple. You need thousands of repetitions shooting the basketball before the top of your jump.
In order to fix any of these problems, you are going to have be persistent and focused. "Sometimes, you have to take two steps backwards, to take three steps forwards." What that means is that your shot will most likely become worse before it gets better. Always keep the long-term in perspective.
Who cares if you don't shoot the ball well during summer league, if you'll be able to shoot lights out once basketball season rolls around!
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Comments
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Elliott Johnson says:
9/13/2008 at 12:50:13 PM
This Tip has helped me imprve my shot greatly and now i am my team captain thx Breakthrough Basketball
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Hadi Sherazi says:
9/25/2008 at 11:14:23 AM
Thanks this is great and am going to work on my shot using these tips. However i dont understand which part of mistake number 3 we shouldn't practice unless we are eighteen. Can anyone clear this up for me?
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Joe Haefner says:
9/25/2008 at 11:47:01 AM
Hi Hadi,
There are a couple of reasons I do not advise players to shoot fade-aways before the age of 18.
1. It's likely that there are other areas that you should concentrate on before practicing a fade-away. Only extremely talented players could practice this shot before going to college. JJ Redick one of the best shooters to ever play did not practice a fade-away until he was in college. First, he perfected his shot. Then, he progressed to more difficult shots when he was in college.
2. Most players are not strong enough and lack the proper coordination. This can lead to bad mechanics. so, practicing a fade-away can mess up your normal shot.
If you are a high school player, do not mess with it. There is too many aspects of the game to work on to become a better player. Only if you have perfected your shot and have proper strength, would I suggest to shoot a fade-away.
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shruti says:
9/26/2008 at 1:38:21 AM
this is a very useful video.. check out
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Hadi Sherazi says:
9/26/2008 at 4:37:08 AM
Thanks
i will take you advice
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Hadi Sherazi says:
9/26/2008 at 4:39:17 AM
Your*
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Canny says:
9/27/2008 at 3:36:10 PM
the best drill ever. thanks for this mail, "Breakthrough Basketball"
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Priyanka says:
9/30/2008 at 1:13:59 AM
Ammazing....your tips really solve the problems......i am really impressed with your service
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kevin says:
9/30/2008 at 8:40:57 AM
thanks a lot man..................!it helps
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Coach Steve says:
10/22/2008 at 8:25:49 AM
I coach grade school children. My second-grade son is moving from an 8-foot to 10-foot goal. He does not seem to have much power in his shot, so his distance is limited. If you get beyond 6 feet from the basket with a 10-foot goal, he has a problem. I do not think the problem is strength. Is it form? What are you tips?
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Joe Haefner says:
10/22/2008 at 11:24:40 AM
Hi Coach Steve,
I would suggest making sure sits his hips back to use his legs to develop more power for the shot. I would also suggest dipping the elbow slightly to give him more power.
That problem is very common for 2nd graders. I don't know too many 2nd graders that can shoot with good form at 10-foot hoop. They are just too small and too weak. I would usually have 1st & 2nd graders shoot at a 8 foot hoop with a mini ball. I would have 3rd & 4th graders shoot with a junior ball at a 9 foot hoop. Then, I would progress to a 10 foot hoop once players start entering the 5th grade.
That is part of the reason that you don't see too many GREAT shooters anymore. They develop poor shooting mechanics, because they start shooting at a 10 foot hoop with a big ball when they are young, less-coordinated, and weak. They have to find other ways to get the ball to the hoop, so they develop bad mechanics like twisting and slinging the ball up there.
Basketball needs some sort of progression like the current system that baseball has. You don't see us throwing youth kids onto a major league field and tell them to play baseball. They start on smaller fields with closer mounds and closer bases. That’s part of the reason that the rest of world is catching up with the US in basketball. They have better progressive systems.
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Joe Haefner says:
10/22/2008 at 11:27:02 AM
You can also check out our shooting mechanics page at this link: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting-technique.html
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Jeff says:
10/22/2008 at 2:46:03 PM
Steve - Bending the knees and using the legs will help with power. Have him try shooting the ball over the 9-10 foot back board. He'll have to use all legs to do that. This little trick helps develop distance. Once he figures out how to utilize the legs for power, that will help.
With that said, 2nd grade is really young. Probably just need to wait to get older or use lower hoops. I don't suggest 10 ft rims at that age! Not to mention, things like soccer and martial arts are great ways to develop athletes at this age. Basketball will come with time and other sports are better to focus on at this young age.
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Sean Kuck says:
11/2/2008 at 6:24:59 PM
Hi, I am an 11 year old who loved to play basketball. I have played AAU for three years now. I have traveled all over the US already to play in big tournaments. I do struggle with my shot when I get tired. This article I think will help me a lot with keeping my hands correct and my thumb out of the way.
Thanks so much and I look forward to reading more articles.
Sean Kuck
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Hadi Sherazi says:
12/6/2008 at 11:06:06 AM
Hi,
I am a decent shooter but a month ago, my shot was really off for about 2-3 weeks.
I am glad to say that now my shot is "back" but i was wondering if you had any tips on what to do if my shot is off in the future.
Thanks
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Joe Haefner says:
12/6/2008 at 11:54:14 AM
Hi Hadi,
Keep shooting. Basketball is a percentage game. You're going to have some days where you don't make as many as normal and you're going to have some days where you make way more than normal.
Try not to think about things and keep your head clear.
For more mental tips, you could look at these articles: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting.html#mental
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alex contreras says:
12/18/2008 at 2:20:11 PM
thanks for the info but im already the captain of my team and my friend tried the steps but still sucks at shooting and he practiced for 3 months so i dont think your tips work
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jeremy says:
12/19/2008 at 12:53:10 AM
thanx mob 4 all wat u guys are doing especially 4 me 4rom a country where yo dreams of becoming a proffesional player are no where to b seen wit you guys am so grateful coz slowly by slowly my dreams are being realised is there a way may b u could help me get somebody to sponsor my basketball otherwise all to say thanx the drills are real
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