Shooting the basketball is the most valuable skill that any player can have, yet many players struggle with consistency in their shot. This inconsistency is commonly caused by a couple issues: motion that produces energy to the right or left, bad shooting positions, and poor arc.
I was recently listening to a podcast that had Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics as guests. They discussed their improved shooting percentages (both players improved their 3-Point % by nearly 10%) and what they did to improve. The three areas that they focused on are things that we religiously preach to our players:
- Keep the ball on your shooting side
- Push up through the ball for increased arc
- Lock your follow through on the center of the rim
The changes that both these players made simplified their shots, removed excess/wasted motion, and increased their margin of error. With patience and a lot of practice, these simple changes can drastically improve your shooting percentage.