Basketball: Three Point Shooting

Basketball is a very popular sport. The players that play in the NBA are some of the most skilled athletes in the world. You see players like Stephen Curry and James Harden knocking down shots easily and consistently from 25+ feet. The key to shooting lights out from deep is practicing good form, repetition, and power. In this post I will use the tips i learned from the book Basketball Shooting by Dave Hopla to improve my shot.

Here is a picture of Stephen Curry shooting a deep three pointer



I am very bad at shooting three pointers. My goal after practicing three pointers was not to be able to shoot like Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter is NBA history, but I wanted to be able to shoot threes and make some without air balling them. In the book Basketball Shooting, Dave Hopla suggests that no matter how far away from the basket you are, never change your form just generate more power from your legs before you shoot (59). Before, when shooting a three pointer, I tried to get all the power from my arms, which would only mess up my shooting form. But when I practiced keeping my form the same but using more leg power, my shots went further and were much more accurate. Hopla also states in the book "By taking a long stride, you will remain low and eliminate any dip and negative motion in your shot, thus speeding up the shot. Remember, you always want to shoot the ball low to high" (60). I practiced staying low and receiving the ball lower so I wouldn't have to slow down my shot by dipping the ball. I practiced this multiple times with the other techniques I learned. Overall, my three point shot has gotten much quicker and more accurate than before.

Here is a picture of me receiving the ball low on a three point shoot



After learning how to shoot a three pointer, I am a much more well rounded player than I was before
What was the last skill that you learned?


Hopla, Dave. Basketball Shooting. Human Kinetics, 2012.