Every player misses, but not every miss is the same. Some are random. Others follow a pattern: your shots come up short every time, or drift to one side. A pattern like that points to a cause you can fix.
In this article we bring together six common mistakes named by well-known coaches and training resources, and explain how to spot each one and how to fix it.
Worked example
The six mistakes:
- The elbow flares out.
- The thumb is in the wrong place.
- A flat arc and a stiff wrist.
- Shots that come up short.
- Leaning or fading away.
- Your eyes follow the ball.
Read the pattern of your misses first, then look for the likely cause.
01How do you read a mistake from your misses?
Before you change anything, watch how you miss. Hal Wissel, a former NBA assistant coach, links miss patterns to likely causes:
A shot that is short usually points to weak use of the legs, an incomplete follow-through, or an uneven rhythm.
A shot that is long usually points to a flat arc.
A shot that goes to the side points to a stance that isn't squared to the basket, or an elbow that flares out.
A ball that circles the rim and spins out points to sidespin, most often caused by the hand or thumb moving on the ball.
This breakdown matches the shooting section of FIBA's Level 2 coaching manual, which covers four common faults: a flat shot, an off-line shot, side spin, and shooting short.
Key point
These are likely causes, not verdicts, and one pattern can have more than one cause. The sources for this article are coaching materials written by coaches, not controlled studies. They reflect a lot of coaching experience, but they don't prove that every adjustment helps every player.
02Six mistakes and how to fix them
Mistake one: the elbow flares out
The elbow drifts away from the body, so the motion becomes a throw rather than a push. The coaches at NBC Camps say this often happens when a player lacks strength. Wissel notes that if the ball starts in front of the head with the elbow out, it can miss to one side of the rim.
The fix: Keep your elbow under the ball and above the big toe of your shooting foot. Practice close-range shots with one hand, which only work when the elbow is in the right place.
Mistake two: the thumb is in the wrong place
The thumb causes two separate problems, one in each hand.
On the shooting hand: the ball sits on the tip of the thumb, which strains the shot and can push the elbow out. The fix: rest the ball on the side of your thumb.
On the guide hand: the thumb pushes the ball, so it sprays left and right and picks up sidespin. The fix: squeeze your guide-hand thumb against your index finger. If that isn't enough, move the guide hand slightly away from the ball and shoot one-handed, keeping it still.
Breakthrough Basketball adds that this habit often starts when a player is too weak to get the ball to the rim.
Mistake three: a flat arc and a stiff wrist
When the wrist is stiff, the ball comes from behind the head or leaves flat with no arc, as NBC Camps explains. Wissel links a flat arc to long shots and recommends raising the arm so the arc reaches roughly 45 to 60 degrees. We covered the arc in the basic steps of a sound shot.
The fix:
Use one smooth motion from the ready position through the follow-through, and think up first, then out.
Check your set point, as Breakthrough Basketball suggests: bring the ball up to your set point, then drop it straight down. If your hand lands on top of or behind your head instead of grazing your forehead, your set point needs adjusting. Move the ball forward until the back of your hand grazes your forehead, and practice from that position.
Mistake four: shots that come up short
A ball that never gets above the rim has no chance of going in. Wissel traces short shots to three causes: weak use of the legs, an incomplete follow-through, or an uneven rhythm.
The fix:
Push the ball up, then out, and use your leg power.
Keep your arm up until the ball reaches the basket, and extend the elbow fully.
If your shots are consistently short, aim for the back of the rim instead of the front.
Mistake five: leaning or fading away
Breakthrough Basketball describes jerky movements, such as twisting, fading and leaning, and traces them to two main causes: misaligned feet and bringing the guide hand down too early. Wissel adds that some players lean their shoulders back.
The fix:
Line up your feet before every shot.
Keep your guide hand up.
Step toward the basket as you catch the ball, so your momentum moves forward instead of backward.
Move your head and shoulders forward and up toward the rim as you follow through.
Mistake six: your eyes follow the ball
Some players watch the ball in flight instead of keeping their eyes on the target. NBC Camps says to keep your eyes on the target until the ball goes through the net, and to keep your chin still. Ask a teammate or coach to watch your eyes while you shoot.
Fix one cause at a time. This is our suggestion, because changing several things at once hides which change helped. FIBA's Level 1 coaching manual makes a similar point: don't change a shot that works just because it looks unconventional, and target one key change, such as arc.
Start close to the basket. NBC Camps recommends building repetitions near the basket and moving back gradually. Breakthrough Basketball adds that you should rebuild your shot from close range and step back only once it is consistent.
Film yourself. Breakthrough Basketball suggests having someone watch your shot, or filming it. We suggest filming from the side and from the front.
Be patient. Breakthrough Basketball warns that your shot may get a little worse before it gets better.
If you feel pain in your elbow or wrist while making changes, stop and ask your coach or a doctor.
04How do you know the fix worked?
Log your sessions in ShootingStat with a fixed number of attempts, and compare your percentage before and after the change across several sessions rather than one. In 10 attempts, a single shot moves your percentage by 10 percentage points. Watch the direction of your misses too: do your shots still miss the same way? Jot down a short note about it after each session.
Watch the pattern of your misses: short, long, to the side, or circling the rim.
Match the pattern to its likely cause: the legs, the arc, the elbow, the thumb, your stance, or your eyes.
Fix one cause at a time, and start close to the basket.
Log your sessions with a fixed number of attempts, and compare several sessions.
Pick one mistake this week and fix it before you move on to another.
FAQ
Why do my shots keep missing to one side?
The cause may be an elbow that flares out, or a stance that isn't squared to the basket, as coach Hal Wissel explains. Point your feet and shoulders at the basket and keep your elbow under the ball.
Which mistake should I fix first?
Pick the one that shows up most in your misses, and fix one cause at a time. This is our suggestion, so you can tell which change actually helped.
Should I film myself shooting?
Yes. Breakthrough Basketball suggests having someone watch your shot, or filming it, when it's hard to feel what your thumb is doing. We suggest filming from the side and from the front.
How long does it take to fix a mistake?
There is no set time. Breakthrough Basketball warns that your shot may get a little worse before it gets better, so start close to the basket and move back gradually once it feels consistent.
