3 Tips to Improve Your Free Throws
How important are free throws in basketball? Well, the NBA’s best shooter, Stephen Curry, shot 90% from the line last season. If he can improve by 10%, that’s an extra five points per game — and that could be the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs or even earning MVP honors. For all players, improving your free throws should be a priority if you want to play better basketball and help your team win more games. Here are three tips to help you improve your free throws this season.
1) Practicing at Home
Practice is a big part of becoming a better shooter, but it’s important to make sure you’re actually practicing properly. Shooting at home may be safer than trying to hit up an outdoor court, but it can still lead to poor practice habits. To become a better shooter, try incorporating these three tips into your daily routine: Shoot from All Angles When shooting at home, rotate different spots around your house so that you can build muscle memory for all areas on and around the basket. The less time you spend second-guessing where shots will go in your own house, and more time spent getting them in as quickly as possible during games.
2) Use Proper Shooting Form
To shoot free throws with proper form, you want to position your feet at shoulder width, knees bent and hips angled toward rim. Grab a basketball that weighs between 14 and 16 ounces, use both hands to shoot at eye level (imagine looking through a straw) and follow through when you release. Focus on keeping your elbow tight to your body and transferring energy from your lower half up into your arm. The result will be smooth shots every time—making you confident enough to step up during crunch time in big games.
3) Practice Under Pressure
Free throw shooting is a skill that takes practice and dedication to perfect. When you practice in front of family and friends, it’s easy to make excuses when you miss: It was an easy shot, or The ball just didn’t feel right. You need a less subjective way of measuring your performance. At first, don’t even think about making baskets – concentrate solely on form and technique. Once you can do that consistently, then move onto higher pressure situations. Start by shooting free throws under time pressure; make five baskets in 20 seconds while others count down beside you or shoot 100 in a row with your eyes closed (bonus points if they’re worth more than one point). Make sure other people are around so they can tell you how good or bad your form is.
Find a shooting partner
The first thing to do is find a partner to shoot with. Training with a partner is the fastest way to becoming a great basketball player; it will force you to improve your shooting accuracy while you’re having fun. However, finding a shooting partner requires some effort and research; depending on how talented or experienced your partner is, you may need to keep looking until you find someone who’s equally motivated. Don’t be discouraged if things don’t work out at first! It takes time and practice to improve your free throws, but the skill will come with time. If you can’t find anyone at home, try posting an ad online or asking in nearby gyms for tips about partners near you.
the quickest way to become a better shooter
When you’re working toward shooting accuracy, an online basketball trainer is the quickest way to becoming a better shooter. When you have a drill or set of drills tailored to your individual needs, they can boost your confidence as a shooter and help you improve as quickly as possible. A basketball trainer is also useful because it offers immediate feedback on every shot—and with adjustable difficulty levels and practice plans, you can find one that fits your current ability level and learn at a pace that suits you. Remember: The fastest way to becoming a better shooter is constant practice, but not just any practice will do; finding the right tool for the job will maximize the effectiveness of every shot taken.
If you want to level up your shooting accuracy, we got you. We created the 6ixShooter Academy. A one-stop basketball training program to help elevate your game and become an unstoppable shooter with coach Seth McCoy a.k.a 6ixShooter. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
If you want to level up your shooting accuracy, we got you. We created the 6ixShooter Academy. A one-stop basketball training program to help elevate your game and become an unstoppable shooter with coach Seth McCoy a.k.a 6ixShooter. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
