by Farrah Donaldson

Created on: August 20, 2009   Last Updated: August 22, 2009

In the game of basketball, there are three types of shots to score the basketball-the lay-up, the slam dunk and the jump shot. All of these shots are important to the game. But of the three shots, the jump shot is the most important one in the game of basketball. The reason the jump shot is the most important shot is because of its versatility. The lay-up and the slam dunk requires that the player get as close to the basket as possible; but in basketball, that is not always easy to do. But the jump shot can be executed from distance which makes it very effective.

So if the jump shot is so effective, how is it executed? It is really fairly easy. It just requires that the player do a few simple things to make to shoot the ball. First off, shooting the basketball is a full body motion. It begins with the base of the body, the feet and legs, and ends with the top of the body, the arms and hands. Although the following steps will be discussed individually, they are to be performed together for proper technique. To begin, the feet and legs must be close to shoulder width apart and square to the target, the target being the basketball goal. With the feet and legs being square to the goal, it allows for proper balance and accuracy before the shot.

Next, move up the body to the mid section. Here, the arms and hands are in their starting position. The hands hold the ball anywhere from waist to mid chest level. This is called the "triple threat position". Depending on whether the player is right or left handed, the ball could be held closer to the hip of the players strong hand. The grip of the ball is very important. The strong hand should be behind the ball while the off hand should be on the side of the ball to help guide the shot for accuracy. Make sure the shooting hand's fingers are spread in a nice comfortable grip.

With the ball in the "triple threat position" and the feet and legs square, it is time to make it all work together. With a jump shot, it is obvious that the player has to jump. So the player should bend their knees in accordance to how high they need to jump. As the knees bend, the mid section should coil, with the ball positioned in the center of the body. As the legs begin to push the body off the floor, the arms begin to raise the ball up. This part is very important. It is imperative to make sure the arms and hands bring the ball straight up. By bringing the ball straight up, it allows for increased accuracy because the feet and legs were

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