Basketball Practice Drills:
Shooting the Shot

Basketball practice drills should focus more than anything else on the basic fundamentals of the game. Fundamentals work when they are automatic - if your player has to stop in the middle of a game to mentally review how to shoot the ball, you can count on a short season and on watching playoffs from the stands. Shooting needs to be ingrained into the players' minds and muscle memories - it needs to be practiced, and practiced, and practiced.

These drills will help your players learn that muscle memory. They do not practice shooting in game situations - the focus of these practice drills is on proper basketball shooting form.

Basketball Practice Drills Players Can Work on Alone

On-the-Floor Shooting

• Laying on their back on the floor, players "shoot" the ball straight up, releasing the ball above their foreheads
  
  
• The focus is on proper form in the arms and snap of the wrist
  
  
• The ball should go up and down along a straight line - players shouldn't have to move to receive the ball after they have shot it, as it should come down exactly where they released it

Shooting Against the Wall

• Standing about 5-10 feet from a wall, players "shoot" the ball against the wall, aiming for a spot about rim height on the wall
  
  
• Proper form is the focus, including arc.

Encourage your players to practice these drills at home whenever they can - the more they practice, the better their basketball shooting form will be.

Basketball Practice Drills Players Can Work on With a Partner

Shooting To a Partner

• Players line up in pairs about 10 feet from each other, facing their partner
  
  
• Each pair has a ball
  
  
• The players "shoot" the ball across to their partner, focusing on proper shooting form
  
  
• The coach then walks down the line, correcting form where necessary

Stationary Shooting

• Players choose a spot about 5 feet from the hoop
  
  
• From this spot, they make 5 set shots, with their partner rebounding and passing to them
  
  
• Once they have made five shots, they step back another 2-3 feet from the hoop, and make five more shots
  
  
• They continue, moving back one step a time, until they make five shots from the top of the key, or until 2 minutes have passed
  
  
• Then the partners switch roles