Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard has had an unbelievable season so far, and his stardom isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The All-Star point guard set the tone early with his stellar play in March, averaging 29 points per game on 59 percent shooting from the field and 45 percent shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with six assists and five rebounds in three games during the month. So how exactly has Lillard shot so well? Well, you probably don’t want to know… And that’s where this piece comes in!
Damien Lillard’s Secret for Shooting
Work on Your Shot
Shot after shot, session after session, there is one surefire way to improve your jump shot—work on it consistently. For example, Stephen Curry claims that he shoots thousands of shots every day when no one’s looking (or so his father-in-law and former coach Dell Curry says). If you have time, or are crazy about basketball like Steph is, then a workout regimen might be just what you need to improve your shot. If a rigid schedule isn’t your style and shooting alone gets boring, then maybe working with a shooting coach will help.
Work on Your Handles
If you want to become a better shooter, you should practice your handles and drills. The reason being is that working on your handles will help get you past defenders and getting yourself open. Drills like working on one-handed layups will also help improve your shot. A good example of doing work on your handles is how Damian Lillard improved from shooting 33% from 3 point range his rookie year to 40% his last year while increasing his points per game each season.
The Importance of Footwork
The saying goes, Shoot 100 shots, miss one and you’re a great shooter. Shoot 100 shots, make 99 of them, and you’re okay. It’s that 10 percent difference that separates the best from the good. Footwork is crucial because it is the base of your game—without it you won’t improve. Footwork doesn’t have to be fancy, either; there are fundamentals that can help your footwork even if you’ve never stepped foot on a basketball court before: check out the video above where Damian Lillard offers his advice on proper footwork.
How Familiarity Leads to Easy Shots
One way to become an elite shooter, is to make sure you get lots of shots up. After all, if you don’t take shots in practice, how will you get comfortable taking them during a game? Well, if you make a shot hundreds or thousands of times over hours and hours of practice that repetition leads to familiarity. Familiarity leads to easy shots. Easy shots lead to high shooting percentages. So, if your goal is to be a great shooter start practicing early and often.
Focus on the Details
If you’re looking to become a better shooter, the first thing you have to do is ask yourself: What makes a shot? In layman’s terms, a shot is simply the ball hitting the backboard and then the rim. The more times you can make that happen in one drill, the more your shooting skill will improve. This sounds easy, but most people focus on their jump shots. Shooting 90 percent from three feet away isn’t very difficult. To improve your game, you have to practice making shots from farther out – and that means focusing on every aspect of your stroke. Strive to perfect your form so it’s exact every time – not just when it comes to launching threes or driving for twos in games.
Work with a Basketball Hoop
No one wants to have an off night in a game, especially when they’re trying to impress recruiters. So work with a basketball hoop and learn to be consistent with your shooting. Make it a habit of shooting at least 50 makes per day if you can so that you are becoming consistent by practicing! It will be worth it! Be sure not to put up threes just fast, but push yourself while doing them as well. If you’re having trouble making shots with your left hand then do two laps around gym and do two with your right hand every time you miss. It will help build consistency (shoot 50 makes consistently) throughout practice.
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
