10 Basketball Shooting Drills to Improve Your Game

In basketball, shooting is a fundamental skill that every basketball players want to improve to make scores. A basketball player can practice shooting drills alone and can get immediate feedback. Most of the coaches believe that every player can improve their shooting if they practice more and more. Great shooters also need to have exceptional physical talent, but any player can become an excellent free thrower and good shooter if s/he focuses on practice. That is why each basketball coaches and players give more priority on shooting drills.

Two fundamental objectives of a basketball game are to make a good shot and score. The other aim is to defend the opponent players from doing the same. I am going to describe some great basketball shooting drills in this article that will help you improve your shooting skills to the next level. Let’s get started!

Bellow is the list of 10 Best Basketball Shooting Drills

1. Line Drill: Shooting Addition (Without Ball)

This drill will help you learn to shoot in a simulated game situation. In this shooting exercise, there will be no ball and no defender. The ball will be added later. In this shooting drill, basketball players perform a quick stop in the shooting position after jumping from foot closet towards the basket. When you finish this part, then you will practice the shooting drill by using a ball and a dribble or an underhand spin pass.

2. Free-Throw Progression

Basketball players can use this drill every day for accurate free throws. There are four parts to this drill.

  1. Start the drill by grabbing a basketball and slam it hard with both hands simultaneously. This practice helps to ensure a proper grip.

  2. Next, from any spot, shoot a five form shot without any shooting target. In this case, you need to place your shooting foot perpendicular to any line of the court—for example – the sideline. Using the perfect technique, shoot five free throws and holding the follow through until the basketball hits the floor.

  3. Then again, shoot a minimum of ten soft touch-free throws from the position six feet in front of the basket with complete physical skill. When you finish the technique correctly, and then make free throws for an appropriate goal.

  4. Lastly, move to the regular free throw line and shoot free throws with a perfect technique. To groove the free throws, you need to use all of your correct physical and mental techniques. You also need to use these techniques in competitive situations.

3. Footwork and Field Goals (for Free-Throw)

This drill is a combination of competitive shooting with footwork and movement. You can start the training by facing away under the basket from the baseline in the triple threat position. Then use live balls move away after the basket for two dribbles to a PPF rear turn and a quick stop to face the basket.

Make a fake shot and then make a shot from a dribble drive or live ball move. Now make a finishing move to the basket and ready for a possible rebound. Lastly, end up with a put-back or by taking the ball from the basket and repeat the drill.

The objectives of these games are avoiding consecutive misses for a certain amount of time or number of attempts and make a certain number of shots in a row. The player who possesses the ball can choose any field goal situation and any move.

4. Pairs In-and-Out Shooting

This drill will help you learning shooting in a 2-on-0 game simulation drill that covers all the shooting situations.

The competitive and continuous shooting drill contains multiple principles of movement that include – catching, passing, shooting, and offensive rebounding. Players will need to form several groups in pairs. There will be one or two pairs in each basket. Let’s check out the rules below

  • All pairs will begin as per the coach’s announcement or command; start with the passer with a ball under the basket.

  • After that, a teammate gets open for a shot, call passers name and take a pass for the shot.

  • Until a basket is made, shooters rebound their shots. After passing to a teammate for a shot, shooters gain possession.

  • The receiver should always get open and call the passer’s name.

  • At the perfect time, the passers need to make a quick and on target pass to a teammate for a good shot. Then the players quickly move to another location of their shooting range. Only if the teammate can score then has the ball possession, then they are ready to roll.

5. Long Layup Attack

This drill gives perimeter players a long layup attack-the-basket drill from the midst of the basketball court. The perimeter player begins with a dribble or a live ball move from the top of the key on free throw lane passage to draw the defense player away from the basket for taking a long layup or pass down, one-hand ‘runner’ off the backboard. When the long layup skill achieves on the move without a defender, a defensive player or shot-blocker can be added to the 2-on-1 situation. The opposing Player or the shot blocker can help or fake help to block the long-layup, this pushes the attacking players to use a dump-down pass to a posting or cutting teammate.

6. Form Shooting

To improve the technique of your shot, you can practice form-shooting. It’s a slowed down shot in a mechanical way. In this regard the main thing is BEEF that means Balance, eyes, elbow and follow through. Balance – Basketball player’s feet should be relaxed shoulder-width apart, with the shooting hand foot in front of the other foot by a bit. The Player’s eye should be focused on the hoop and through the window in between the shooting hand and the ball. In this drill, you need to keep your elbow in “L” shape pointed straight to the rim to help the ball go straight when you make a shot. Follow-through is when a player shoots the ball and, with the fingertips, puts backspin on it.

7. “Beat The Pro” Drill

The good thing about this drill is the pressure side. If you make a shot, you get +1, and if you miss a chance, you get -2. So in this regard, the misses count for more than makes, and if you can make +7, you will win, and if you get -7, you will lose, and afterward, you need to start over again. You can adjust the game to any score a player wants to beat, like – +10/-10, or +15/-15.

8. “Floater” Shot

Since players get bigger and become more athletic, so you need to look for many different ways to get your shot off. Floater shot is of the best shots in basketball. This is a kind of shot, where you need to throw the ball over the defense and put it in the basket. Improving the floater shots by using both hands makes you an offensive threat. You need to get the floater off going full speed and also when you change your speed.

9. Up-fake Move

Many players intend to make shots when they practice. What will happen if the defense takes away your space, and you won’t be able to make shots? In this case, you need to able to have a backup move so that you can keep the defenders off guard and off-balance.

The fake up move is all about faking the shot and selling the fake with yes. Many coaches might say, “Your knees go down, as the ball goes up”. And this can happen because you want to keep yourself on balance to get by the defender after you fake them.

First of all, you need to work on your footwork and up-fake at a slower pace. When you get the form, then you can go with the flow of the game speed.

10. Scoring Off of the Dribble

All basketball players should be capable of scoring in different ways. If you are just a spot-up shooter, you don’t have many options, and the defense can play you for a spot-up shooter. When a basketball player can make a shot and score off of the dribble, then it will be harder for him to cover. You can practice the following moves –

  • Crossover

  • Through the legs crossover

  • In and out move

  • Stop and go – change of speed hesitation move

  • Combo moves (in and out crossover, double cross over, and make up your combos)

So now, you know all these ten basketball shooting drills that can help you improve your shooting skills into the next level. But again, I am saying there are no other alternatives to practice, hard work, and patience. Don’t give up and break out of your comfort zone. I believe if you keep continuing these shooting drills regularly, then you can see the outcome very soon, and eventually, your overall skill will improve as well.

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