DavidWei

UWP1Y005
3/14/17

TheMechanicsofaBasketballJumpShot
Overview
The jump shot is an integral part of the game of
basketball. It is one of the basic ways to score points
duringgameswhereplayersjumpvertically,bringthe
ball up, and release the ball towards the basket.
However,notalljumpshotsarethesame.Everyperson
hasdifferentphysicalcharacteristicsandthesefactorin
to the huge variety of biomechanics that are seen in
jump shooting today from the way the feet are
positioned to how high someone jumps and even to
howtheyreleasetheballfromtheirhands. Eachplayerhasadifferentformforhisor
herjumpshot.PhotofromMayo
TableofContents
Highlights.

1. Different
Body
Mechanicsof
JumpShots
2. TheFeet
3. Elevation
4. Shooting
Motion

5. ReleasePoint
6. Releaseand
Follow

Through
7. Eyes
8. References

DifferentBodyMechanicsofJumpShots
Duetotheuniquephysicalcharacteristics,athleticism,bodypositioningduringtheshot,and
personalpreferencesofdifferentbasketballplayers,therearemanydifferentwaystoshoota
jumpshot.Forexample,aplayerwhoisshortwouldshootmuchdifferentlythanapersonwho
isreallytall;andapersonwhoismorebuiltwouldhaveadifferentshotthansomeonewithless
strengthintheirmuscles.Everypersonhasadifferentjumpshotfromhowheorshe
positionshisorherfeet,howhighheorshejumps,howheorshebringsuptheball,howheor
shereleasestheball,andhowheorshefollowsthroughaftertheshotisreleased.[8]

TheFeet
Traditionally,coachestaughtplayerstosquaretheirfeet.Playerswere
toldtokeeptheirfeetparallelandpointedstraighttowardthebasket.
Thepopularbeliefforthismethodwasthatpointingbothfeettowards
thebasketshoulderwidthapartwouldprovidetheshooterbalanceand
aimtoshoottheballtowardsthebasket.[1]

Playerstraditionallyhad
10toespointedtothe
basket,parallel,and

even.PhotofromGanon
BakerandBooWilliams.

However,TexasStateUniversitysDr.DuaneKnudsondisagreeswith
the traditional belief that coaches preach to players. Dr. Knudson
states that research has not shown that squaring up to the basket
occurswithskilledplayers.Theresearchsuggeststhatthejumpshot
stanceshouldbestaggeredwiththeshootingsidefootforward.[2]
Insteadofhavingbothfeetparallel,thefeetarestaggeredwherethe
dominantfootisslightlyaheadoftheotherfoot.Thedominantfootis
the right foot for righthanded shooters and the left foot for left
handedshooters.Thephilosophyofthisformisthatitwouldalignthe
shootingsideofthebodywiththebasketwhileminimizingthebodys
Theshootingfootis forward and backward movement, keeping the shot straight and
slightlyaheadofthe
accurate.[2]
otherfootinastaggered
stance.Phototakenby
JeffHaefner.

In addition to the staggered stance, many shooters have deviated from the
traditionalwayofshootingandpartiallytilttheirfeettothesideofthebasket.
NBAshootingcoach,CollinCastellaw(alsoknownasShotMechanics,thename
ofhisYouTubechannel)statesinhisvideo,Howto:InstantAccuracyBoosters
|BasketballShootingSkillsandTips,thattiltingthefeettothesidecanhelp
some shooters become more accurate by naturally bringing the shooting
shoulderforward.Byturningtheirfeetabout10to45degreestothesideofthe
basket (to the left for righthanded shooters and to the right for lefthanded Feetturned
shooters), some players more easily maintain the alignment of their shooting slightlytothe
side.Photofrom
arm,elbow,andhipstowardsthebasketandrelaxtheirshouldersduringtheir
ESPNSport
shot motion. Thus, the shooter is less tense while shooting, resulting in less Science.
missesshortofthebasket.[10]

Elevation
Whenitcomestojumpshooting,playershavedifferenttendencieswith
howhightheyjumpbasedontheirheight,power,andathleticism.Some
players like Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors[9] and James
HardenoftheHoustonRockets[11]donotelevateverymuchfortheirshots.
Theyspringfromtheirfeetintoasmalljump,barelyleavingtheground
andreleasingtheballquickly.OtherplayerssuchasDerrickRoseofthe
NewYorkKnicks[7]andRussellWestbrookoftheOklahomaCityThunder[13]
jumpreallyhighontheirjumpshots,utilizingtheirathleticismtooutjump
tallerplayersthataredefendingthem.
Playershavedifferent
However, all shooters should have one thing in common about their elevation.Photosfrom
elevation:whentheyreleasetheball.Dr.DuaneKnudsonofTexasState PaceandSpace,andGary
Universityadvisesforplayerstoreleasejustpriortothepeakofthe A.VasquezUSATODAY
jump.[2]Thisway,theverticalmomentumthattheplayergeneratedcan Sports.

besmoothlytransferredtothebasketball,creatingabettervelocityand
archfortheballasitapproachesthebasket.[2]

 ShootingMotion
OneMotionJumpShot
Someplayershaveaonemotionshot.AccordingtoNBAshooting
coach,CollinCastellaw,[a]onemotionshotiswhen[theplayer
catches]theballanditmovessmoothlyallthewaythrough[the]
jumpshottothehoop.[12]Thismeansthattheirshotsprogress
in one smooth motion from the catch to the release. This is
typicallyseeninsmaller,lessathleticguards(althoughthereare
exceptions such as the Golden State Warriors small forward,
KevinDurant).[12]
Theonemotionshottransfersmomentumfromtheplayertothe
ball efficiently, utilizing a minimum amount of movement to KlayThompsonhasaone
motionjumpshot.Photofrom
shoot the ball from great distances (as seen with players like http://forums.realgm.com/boar
Stephen Curry and James Harden. According to Coach Collin ds/viewtopic.php?t=1443287
Castellaw,oneofthetypicalcharacteristicsofaonemotionjump
shotishowtheshootingforearmispointingdownandtheangleformedbytheshootingelbow
andforearmisabout90degrees.[12]
Anotherindicatoristhelocationofthesetpointofthejumpshot.Ifthesetpointisinfrontof
theforehead,chin,orchest,thentheplayerhasaonemotionshot.Thesecharacteristicsthat
CoachCastellawdetailsleadtothesmoothmotionofaonemotionshot:wheretheballgoesup
fromthewaistandtothebasketinasinglefluidmotion.[12]
TwoMotionJumpShot
More athletic players like LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and
KobeBryant,formershootingguardoftheLosAngelesLakers,haveatwo
motionshot.Unlikeaonemotionshot,[a]twomotionshotiswherethe
ballcomesbackwardsfirstbeforeitgoesforward.[12]Bybringingtheball
backwards,theplayerusessomeoftheupwardmomentumthatwould
betransferredtotheballanddecreasesthearchoftheshot(sotheball
approachesthebasketatalowerangle).[12]
However, players using a two motion shot make up for this by having
KobeBryanthasatwomotion
higher elevation on their shots, increasing the height at which they
jumpshot.PhototakenbyRobyn releasetheball.CoachCollinCastellaw,NBAshootingcoach,explainsin
BeckofGettyImages. hisvideo,OneMotionvs.TwoMotionShots,thekeycharacteristicsof
thetwomotionjumpshot.Becausetheplayerbringstheballbackwards,
the set point of the shot is usually above the head. Thus, the shooting
elbowispointedtowardsthebasketinsteadoftheground,andtheballisreleasedwithaflatter
trajectory.Duetothebackwardsmotionofthistypeofshot,theformlookslikeitiscomprised
oftwomotions:upfromthewaistandtoabovethehead,andfrombehindtheplaneoftheface
towardsthebasket.[12]

ReleasePoint
Thereleasepointisthepartoftheshotwhentheplayerreleases
theballrightbeforetheapexofhisorherverticaljump.Inher
research, Dr. Miriam Satern of Western Illinois University
concluded that [highly] skilled shooters have a higher release
point than low skilled shooters.[5] By having a higher release
pointonthejumpshot,playerscreateahigherjumpshotangle
(theanglecreatedbytheshootingarmandtheplanefromthe
shootingshoulderparalleltotheground).Havingahighershot
angle and release point gives the ball a higher trajectory and
increasestheareaofentryithaswiththehoopincreasingthe
chancesoftheballgoingintothebasket.[5]
Ahigherreleasepointandangle
Fromhisresearch,Dr.DuaneKnudsonofTexasStateUniversity optimizethejumpshot.Photo
discoveredthattheoptimalshootingangleformostjumpshots takenbyESPNSportScience.
isbetween49and55degrees.Thiscreatesahighenougharch
tomaximizetheareaofentryfortheballwhiledecreasingthe
forcethatgravityhasontheballsdownwardmomentum(sotheballcanstillhaveasoftrollifit
hitstherim).[2]

ReleaseandFollowThrough
Thereleaseandfollowthrougharealso
importantpartsofthejumpshot.Inhis
video, Get the Perfect Release:
BasketballShootingSkillsandTips(HD),
Coach Collin Castellaw, NBA shooting Index Middle Split
coach, explains that there are three Differentreleases.PhotofromCoachCollinCastellaw.
different kinds of releases: the index
fingerrelease,themiddlefingerrelease,
andthesplitfingerrelease.[6]

Theindexfingerreleaseiswhentheindexfingeristhefingeronthemiddleoftheball
andthelastfingertotouchtheballwhenitisreleased.[6]
Themiddlefingerreleaseiswhenthemiddlefingeronthemiddleoftheballandthelast
fingertotouchtheballwhenitisreleased.[6]
 ThesplitfingerreleaseiswhentheindexandmiddlefingersmakeaVshapeandthe
centeroftheVisonthemiddleoftheball,andtheindexandmiddlefingersarethelast
twofingerstotouchtheballontherelease.[6]
Onallofthesereleases,theindicatedfinger(orfingers)is(orare)slightlylowerandmorepointed
towardsthegroundthantheotherfingers.[6]

The mechanics of the follow through should also be

considered. Coach Jeff Haefner, cofounder of Breakthrough
Basketball training program and USA basketball skills
developmentcoach,writesthattheplayerswristsshould
be floppy (relaxed).[4] This concept is similar to that of the
shoulders.Themorerelaxedthewrists,thesoftertheshotwill
comeoffthehandsresultinginasofterrollaroundtherim
andanincreaseinthechanceoftheballgoingintothebasket.
Inaddition,itisimportanttoholdthefollowthroughintheair
afewsecondsaftertheshot.[4]
According NBA shooting coach, Coach Collin Castellaw, the
Holdingthefollowthroughafter
playershouldhold[the]followthroughallthewayuntilthe
thereleaseisimportant.Photo
takenbyDavidGoldman/AP. ballgetstheretoguidetheballalotmoreaccuratelyonits
wayout.[8]Holdingtheballhelpstheshooterrecognizethe
directionthatheorsheshotthebasketballandallowstheshootertogothroughthefullmotions
ofthejumpshot.Bynotrushingthefollowthrough,theplayerismorerelaxedshootingtheball
andtheaccuracyofthejumpshotisincreased.[8]

Eyes
Whileshootingthebasketball,itisimportanttousetheeyestotarget
thebasketasearlyaspossibleintheshotmotionandtokeepthe
eyestrainedonthebasketuntiltheveryendofthejumpshot.Ina
study held at the VU University Amsterdam by the three faculty
membersoftheuniversitysHumanMovementSciencesdepartment
Dr.RaulR.DOudejans,Dr.RolfWvandeLangenberg,andDr.R.I
(Vana) Hutter basketball players with years of experience in the
Itisimportanttokeep sportwereputunderdifferentviewingconditionsoftherimwhile
youreyesonthebasket
theyshottheball:nosight,sightatthebeginningofthejumpshot,
throughtheentireshot.
PhototakenbyBruce andsightattheendofthejumpshot.[3]
Hemmelgarn/US
Presswire.
Theresultsoftheexperimentfoundthatlookinglateseemstoprovideasufficientbasisfor
accurateshootingwiththehighstyleonemayattendtootherrelevantaspectsofthedeveloping
playuntilthefinalshootingmovementsunfold.[3]Thus,itisimportanttokeeptheeyesonthe
basket to the very last part of the jump shooting motion in order to make any last minute
adjustmentstotheshotandincreasetheaccuracyofthepaththattheballwilltraveltowards
thebasket.[3]
The experiment also discovered that it is important to keep the eyes trained on the basket
throughtheentireshootingmotionbecauseitallowsforahigherpointofrelease(Hamilton
&Reinschmidt,1997)guaranteeingamoreoptimalreleaseangle(Hudson,1985;Rojas,Cepero,
Ona,&Guttierez,2000).[3]Asstatedinthesectionaboutthereleasepoint,ahighershotangle
andreleaseoptimizethearchandareaofentrytothebasketthattheballhas,maximizingthe
probabilityoftheballgoingthroughthehoop.Keepingtheeyestrainedtothebasketalltheway
throughwillenhancethejumpshotandimprovethejumpshotsaimtowardsthebasket.[2]

References
1. Eastman,Kevin."CoachingBasketballKevinEastman."BasketballCoaching.N.p.,10
Apr.2016.Web.14Feb.2017.<https://coachingtoolbox.net/filingcabinet/coaching
basketballkevineastman.html>.
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JournalofPhysicalEducation,Recreation&Dance:Vol64,No2."JournalofPhysical
Education,Recreation&Dance,25Feb.2013.Web.14Feb.2017.
<http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07303084.1993.10606710>.
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TargetunderDifferentViewingConditions:VisualControlinBasketballJump
Shooting."AimingataFarTargetunderDifferentViewingConditions:VisualControlin
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<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167945702001161>.
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<https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shootingtechnique.html>.
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<http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08924562.1988.10591612>.
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<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9alGWsA5G0I>.
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Web.14Feb.2017.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT64EAsffTw>.
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10Oct.2016.Web.14Feb.2017.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBxmToMe_Po>.
9. ShotMechanics."HowtoShootlikeStephenCurry:ShootingFormBlueprint."YouTube.
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<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMDOZW6rPs>.
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<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmUU9jriqFk>.
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2015.Web.14Feb.2017.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1preN7xamP0>.
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Basketball."YouTube.YouTube,29Oct.2015.Web.14Feb.2017.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMKl4zR5GlE>.
13. ShotMechanics."RussellWestbrookShootingForm:NBAShootingSecrets."YouTube.
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<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oii7EfMtSw>.