Three Tips to Develop Elite Basketball Shooters

• By Grant Young

Good shooting is crucial in basketball because of how it directly contributes to a team's ability to score points. A player with strong shooting skills can consistently put the ball in the basket, adding valuable points to their team's total score. 

Additionally, good shooting can force the opposing team to adjust their defensive strategy. If a player is known for their accurate shooting, defenders are forced to guard them closely, creating opportunities for their teammates to drive to the basket or find open shots. 

There’s also the fact that having good basketball shooting team drills instills confidence in both the shooter and their teammates. When a player consistently makes their shots, it boosts the team's morale and can demoralize the opposing team. All of these reasons convey why good shooting is a fundamental aspect of basketball that can greatly impact a team's success on the court.

Despite its obvious necessity, teaching shooting in basketball can be challenging because many players try to emulate the shooting style of NBA superstars like Steph Curry.

While Curry is undoubtedly an exceptional shooter, his unorthodox shooting form and long-range accuracy have led to a trend of young players attempting to mimic his technique. The challenge arises from the fact that just about nobody aside from Curry himself has the natural ability to shoot the way he does. Additionally, focusing solely on imitating Curry's style can lead to a lack of emphasis on the core principles of shooting, such as footwork, balance, and shooting fundamentals. 

This is why it’s essential to teach players that while they can admire Curry's shooting prowess, they should focus on mastering the foundational aspects of shooting that apply to all players, regardless of their style. And Dave Severns has a few tried and true tips to start instilling in your basketball team’s shooters. 

Coach Severns is currently a basketball scout for the Indiana Pacers. Before that, he spent 14 years in the NBA as Director of Player Development for the LA Clippers from 2010-2016, Director of Player Development for the Chicago Bulls from 2008-2010, and Pro Personnel Scout for the LA Clippers from 2016-2021. 

His ‘Elite Shooting’ course dials in on each body part and its role in executing the shot, and will have your team setting up, executing, and making more high-percentage shots with ease.

Shooting Fundamentals - Shooting Foot/Legs

A successful shot starts from the ground up. And especially for youth players (anyone under 10 years old), they must get their leg and foot mechanics down when shooting so that they don’t develop bad habits as they get older. 

Coach Severns explains that right-handed shooters must ensure that their shooting foot (which is their right foot) is slightly forward than their left foot when shooting, as opposed to them being parallel. This frees up the shooting shoulder and allows for a nice, clean follow-through. And it doesn’t have to be a significant amount forward. Just an inch or so should suffice. 

The legs and the rear are the biggest muscles in the lower body, and that’s what must be used during the shot. This is why having a ready stance that’s almost like a coil with the lower body is of the utmost importance. 

A good drill to practice this with is placing a ball on the ground, walking up to it, then squatting down to pick it up (while remaining in an athletic squat) and shooting it in the same motion. Because squatting down the pick the ball up will activate your legs, this will force those same leg muscles to be used during the shot. 

Shooting Fundamentals - Target/Eyes

Knowing where to target your shot is not always as simple as it may seem. Coach Severns suggests that there are two types of shooters: those who look at the rim when they’re shooting and those who follow the ball with their eyes. 

Coach Severns has seen great shooters employ both techniques, and neither is inherently better than the other. For this reason, he advises to not try and change a shooter’s natural tendency to do either. 

But what’s important is that target they’re shooting at. Of course, this is the hoop, but there’s more nuance to it than that. 

Coach Severns said that 70% of missed shots are because the ball is shot too short. Therefore, it would make sense to use the back of the rim as the target. When teaching this to kids, a good phrase to use is, “Lift the ball to the back rim” because this implies applying arc to the shot, which is also a valuable habit to use when shooting. 

He then goes on to note how many coaches tell their players, “Don’t miss short.” Yet, because short is the last word used, that’s what will stick in the player’s head, which may prompt them to miss short. 

Catch & Shoot - Circle J’s

A great team shooting drill that Coach Severns suggests is what he calls the “Circle J’s” drill. 

This drill starts with a group of 4-6 players in a line along the baseline with a chair positioned about 3-5 feet outside the three-point arc on the wing. The first player runs out to that chair, circles around it, and then catches a pass from the next player in line either behind the three-point or somewhere in front of it, depending on where they’re a threat to shoot from.

As soon as the next person in line makes the pass they will do the same thing, then receive their pass from the next person in line. 

When watching their players do this drill, a coach will want to ensure they’re stepping with their back foot first, so that if the shot isn’t there then they can pivot without traveling.