Kobe Bryant’s Secret To An Automatic Midrange
When you watch Kobe Bryant play basketball, his shooting range is obvious – he’s very good at making 3-point shots and even better at making 2-point shots from the area between the 3-point line and the hoop. He’s a rare kind of player who can both shoot with accuracy and shoot with consistency, something that few players are able to do. But why? What makes him so good? And can you learn anything from it? In this article we’ll explore his game to figure out what he does right and how you can apply those skills to your own game!
Get The Ball Out Of Your Hands Quickly
As a great midrange shooter, it’s important to recognize what’s open and fire off the shot quickly. It doesn’t matter how pretty or ugly the shot is if it falls. Kobe Bryant puts pressure on the defense by releasing quickly and knowing his capabilities (which make him as effective a scorer as he is). The only downside to his game comes when he tries to do too much; then he takes bad shots in bad situations and makes them even worse. If you want to be an automatic midrange shooter, focus on shooting with consistency and accuracy, and always let the ball go once you’ve made your decision.
Pick A Spot On The Floor
The first step to becoming a great midrange shooter is picking a spot on the floor and getting to it. While you might have your go-to jump shot, there are some spots on the court that will make you much more accurate. You should spend some time in the offseason practicing the spots on the floor where you can get your best shots. By consistently getting to those spots, and putting up your most practiced shots, you will find an overall improvement in your shooting accuracy. The key for finding these spots is to be 100% consistent with them – do not change locations or even think about changing them mid-game. Find one spot and stick with it every single time until you feel like moving on to another area of the court.
Lead With Your Eyes
Where your eyes go the basketball goes, center them every time you shoot the ball. This simple mantra can be the difference between a half court heave that hits nothing but net and one that is blocked before it leaves your hand. Being consistent with our eyes can lead to more consistency in our shot—and thus give us the confidence to shoot for higher percentage shots when we are open rather than forcing passes or bad shots out of fear that we will miss. With practice, you’ll train your brain to allow your shot to go through because you know you put in the necessary work off-the-court (in practice) to let it happen.
Understand Why Consistency Is Important
Shooting consistency is the top skill you must master in order to shoot the ball well. Mastering the same shots and form over and over again will help you to shoot the ball better, every time. Shooting accuracy is key, as well. If you can put your shot exactly where you want it, or on target with great consistency, that’s a huge advantage for your shooting game. You can use these two factors (consistency and accuracy) to boost your midrange shooting game from good to great in no time at all. The trick is simply getting used to seeing shots go through the hoop often enough until it becomes second nature for you out there on the court or wherever you choose to take your practice shots from.
Trust your ability to be effective
The only way to get better at shooting a midrange jumper is to practice it. Learn to trust yourself to make the right decision, don’t apologize for taking a jump shot, and most importantly, develop the consistency and accuracy needed to shoot a high percentage from 15-20 feet. That doesn’t mean you should always shoot the jumper if your defender allows it—sometimes, you should pull up for three—but knowing how far behind your opponent is will help you know when to pull up and when to attack.
Kobe had trainers!
If you can’t get a coach, try using an online trainer to train at home. Make sure you do research to find a good one! Some are better than others. And try searching for Kobe Bryant shooting training or something similar. It’ll provide you with some great results. The key is finding someone who can break down your shooting form and then develop a plan that will improve it over time. There are so many different things that could be wrong with your shot (form, range of motion, hand placement, etc.) that it makes sense to get feedback from multiple sources. As we’ve mentioned before on our basketball skills page , there’s no shortage of videos and guides out there—but it doesn’t hurt to find someone who has experience in both playing and coaching basketball.
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
