# Help on Jump Shots?



## True4031 (Sep 3, 2012)

I am MUCH more accurate when shooting, when my feet barely leave the ground.

When I fully extend and jump for the shot, seems like my accuracy is pretty bad.

Is jumping absolutely necessary? Or is it whatever you do best at and are most comfortable with?

Thanks!


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## Mr. Hobbes (Jul 1, 2005)

Uh, yea. You wanna play well, not play comfortable.

If you're struggling to make a jumper, it probably means you need to get bigger.


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## True4031 (Sep 3, 2012)

Get bigger? What do you mean.

I don't struggle jumping so I don't think it's a muscle issue.


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## Mr. Hobbes (Jul 1, 2005)

^I mean physically. The bigger you are the less effort you exert for a jumper.

The higher you jump the closer you are to the basket. The closer you are the more accurate you get. It's physics. Or nature. Either way that applies to everyone.


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## BackslashNumba3 (Nov 14, 2012)

My jumpshot is one of my strongets parts of my game. Just jump and release at your highest point is all i got


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## changdamang (Feb 7, 2013)

I've found that although strength is a huge aspect of getting a jumper off, form and mechanics are much more important.

There are too many factors that can affect a jump shot. The way you jump, the way you lean, your hand position, knee bend, etc. However, there are certain things that affect your jump shot more than others.

Everyone says to shoot the way that's most comfortable. Look at Kevin Martin and Shawn Marion. They shoot however the heck they want and the ball goes in. However, the "shoot the way you want" method doesn't work for everyone. There are mechanics that must be in place no matter which way you choose to shoot the ball, or your shot's going to be out of whack and inconsistent.

I read an article from a blog that introduced tips from archery into shooting the ball. At first, I was thinking how the heck the two would relate. Archery involves a pulling motion, while in basketball, you push the ball. But the guy that wrote the blog made it pretty basic and related the two ideas well together.

After reading the article, I realized that I put too much tension on my shoulders and used my left thumb (I'm right-handed) way too much. It takes a little getting used to, but once I developed the muscle memory, the shot became natural and much easier to work with than how I was shooting before. My range got better, too.

The other suggestions are great. Get your knees bent, shoot at the peak of your jump, get stronger, get good ball rotation. But also, try to focus on the small things that you might not notice, like tension or leaning or overemphasis of your left hand. I guarantee those things are going to help you achieve your goals as a shooter much quicker and effectively. You have to get your core shooting mechanics down before you can incorporate all the things that help enhance your shot (i.e. jumping, lifting weights, etc).

And just in case you might want to read the article, http://www.basketballexperiment.com/2/post/2013/01/improving-aim-tips-from-archery.html. Good luck, man! I wish you much success.


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## ohiohammer (Apr 1, 2013)

I think this really depends on what mechanics you already have in place. If you have good fundamentals on your shot then I think you should be fine with shooting more flat footed (although you may be more susceptible to getting blocked). However, if your shooting mechanics are weak to begin with then you have bigger issues than just how high you jump when you shoot.


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## tomalter01 (Apr 3, 2013)

You have use triple jump action while jumping. you have set your targets once then set your route towards it.


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## Nimreitz (May 13, 2003)

Best advice I ever got:

1) You don't literally square up 90 degrees perpendicular with the basket. You should be on a slight angle with your shooting arm side in front. Point your shooting arm side foot at the basket.

2) Momentum comes from your entire body. It's not about strength at all, it's about using your momentum from jumping up to send the ball to the hoop. A lot of guys do way too much pushing with their shooting hand, but if you're doing it right, all your shooting hand should be doing is guiding the ball in the right direction and applying back spin. All the force is coming from your legs and the force to bring the ball up into the shooting position.

So yes, you need to jump. But don't jump all crazy high, just jump how much you need to. If you're going to get blocked, pull it down with a pump fake and go by your man. Notice that the best shooters don't always jump that high on their shots.

Also just work on catching and shooting open shots. Mid range game and creating a shot off the dribble requires a lot more skills that are mostly useless until you can actually knock down open shots.


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## True4031 (Sep 3, 2012)

Thanks Nim! I actually been doing a lot of that lately while perfecting my shot! Seems like I'm on the right path! Thanks for the info!


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## TreyM (May 12, 2013)

When you play against highly competitive basketball players you're going to need to elevate to get up a decent shot and if you're not used to shooting while jumping high off the ground you're going to have a hard time scoring. If you're wide open you don't have to jump very high if you don't want to.


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## eddie47 (Aug 24, 2020)

It is recommended to first measure your vertical jump and find out how much improvement do you need in the jump to perfectly give jump shots. Calculate how high do you need to jump using Dunk Calculator


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