by Jimmy Patrick

Created on: December 15, 2008

To improve your jump shot, we must start at the finish. If you don't have the proper release with your shooting hand, it won't matter if you did everything else correctly or not.

A simple, effective drill to work on your shooting release is to lie down on the floor, on your back, giving yourself plenty of room between you and the ceiling.

Prop the ball up in your shooting hand, directly above your head. Leave your non-shooting hand at your side and only bring it up in case of emergency. With the ball balanced in your shooting hand, your elbow should be slightly bent and on the same line as your shooting shoulder and hand. Your elbow should not stick out to the side at all.

From this position, extend your arm and flick the wrist so as to feel the ball roll off the middle finger and index finger. Your goal is to see the ball spinning with perfectly straight backspin as it rises on a straight line toward the ceiling. Always align the ridges on the ball perpendicular to the shooting line, so you can see if it is spinning correctly.

If you execute the release properly, the ball should come right back down to the shooting hand. You should be able to catch the ball without the assistance of your non-shooting hand, and then repeat the entire action. This drill will create a straight, true release of the ball that will consistently get the ball traveling on line with the hoop.

When shooting the full jump shot, you can feel free to use your non-shooting hand to prop the ball up in the shooting hand. Just be sure that the non-shooting hand has no part in the release of the ball; if it does it can cause the ball to spin off line.

Whether you are coming off a dribble or catching a pass, starting a jump shot is executed the same way. You want to come to a two-foot jump stop with your feet about shoulder width apart and the foot that corresponds with your shooting hand (right foot if right handed) slightly ahead of the other foot.

Your body should be balanced and facing the basket with square shoulders. As you gather yourself to jump, you will simultaneously be bringing the ball into the shooting position that you practiced.

Picture your body as a large ball of energy. As you bend your legs and begin to make your jump, that ball of energy is going to move upward. It will travel from your legs to your shoulders, to your arms and finally to your hand and the ball.

When the ball leaves your hand, it is just an extension of the energy you created with your legs. You should never feel like you have to add anything to the shot with your arm and hand. Your release should always be close to the same in terms of level of effort. If you need more power for a longer shot, simply bend a little more at the legs and increase the power of your jump.

When coaches tell you to release the ball at the highest point of your jump, it isn't so the defender can't get to the ball; it is because you want to maintain the momentum you created with your jump.

You want the ball to be nothing more than an extension of your jump. If you wait and release the ball after the apex of your jump, you will be forced to muscle the ball toward the hoop with your arm because all your momentum will be returning to earth. This can only cause stray shots to occur.

That really is all there is to a jump shot. Aside from doing drills and practicing, it is also a good idea to watch some of the true masters of the jump shot. Ray Allen of the World Champion Boston Celtics is a great example to follow. Jason Kapono of the Toronto Raptors is another excellent shooter to model your game after.

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