How to Become a Better Shooter: Form, Shot Selection, and Smarter Training
Every athlete wants to be known as a shooter, but great shooting doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built through thousands of intentional reps, smart decisions, and the right mindset.
As the school season begins, this is the perfect time to sharpen your shooting foundation. Whether you’re trying to make a bigger impact on your school team or preparing for spring club basketball, the habits you build now will carry you all year.
1. Great Shooting Starts With Great Form
If your mechanics are inconsistent, your results will be inconsistent. Shooting is about repetition. Good shooters have one consistent form they trust. Good form starts with working on the basics of shooting mechanics first.
Start with balance. - Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, knees bent, and your body under control. If you are off-balance, your mechanics fall apart.
Keep your hand placement clean. - Your shooting hand goes under the ball. Your other hand stays on the side with no thumb involvement. A small mistake here creates a big impact on the result. That other hand should stay relatively straight throughout the shot.
Use a smooth, high release. - Elbow under the ball. Straight follow-through. Wrist relaxed. Fingers pointing down. Hold the finish until the ball hits the rim. Your shot should have a ‘rainbow’ arc.
Your form must look the same on every shot. - If your mechanics change depending on distance, fatigue, or pressure, your confidence will drop quickly.
2. Shot Selection Separates Real Shooters From “Streaky” Ones
You don’t have to take a lot of shots to be a great shooter. You have to take the right/consistent shots. Shot selection is one of the most underrated skills players overlook. Knowing when to shoot, where to shoot from, and why you’re shooting makes you valuable to any team.
Shoot the shots you practice. - If you haven't repped a step-back all season, don’t take one in a game. If you haven’t practiced deep threes, don’t launch them. Game shots should match your training. This will allow you to make more shots in-game, because they are shots you have practiced before.
Understand the situation. - Think about time, score, spacing, and momentum. A rushed shot can hurt your team. A patient, open shot can change the game. You can give up an ‘ok’ shot for a good shot, whether that's your own or another teammate.
Avoid low-percentage looks. - Off-balance jumpers, contested pull-ups with two hands in your face, and early-clock shots without ball movement are all examples of low-percentage shots. There will be better looks as the play develops, so no need to rush.
Hunt high-percentage shots. - Catch-and-shoot threes, shots off good spacing, rhythm pull-ups, open corner shots, kick-outs from teammates attacking the paint are examples of high percentage shots. Shots you consistently practice are also high percentage.
3. How to Actually Improve Your Shooting
A lot of players want to be great shooters, but very few train like one. If you want to become a legitimate scoring threat, your training must be intentional.
Get game-speed shots as often as possible. - Not slow, lazy reps, and not shooting just to shoot. Every rep should feel like a game possession. Shooting with game speed and game effort will have the will transfer to the game situations.
Master the essential shooting categories:
- Form shooting (10–20 makes before anything else)
- Catch-and-shoot midranges and threes (5 spots)
- One-dribble pull-ups (left and right)
- Shooting on the move (cuts, relocations, drifts)
- Free throws under fatigue
Track your percentages. - Great shooters know their numbers. If you shoot 60–70% unguarded, that’s a good baseline. Tracking creates accountability and shows progress.
Train tired. - Most game shots happen under fatigue. Your legs will be heavy. Your breathing will be high. If you only shoot when you feel good, you're not preparing for reality.
4. Becoming a Shooter Is Also About Readiness
Be shot-ready before the pass. - Feet set and hands showing a target. Eyes locked on the rim before you catch. If you catch the ball unprepared, the defender’s window to contest increases. This includes catching on two feet or stepping into your shot.
Understand spacing. - Spacing determines whether you’re open or not. Don’t crowd drives and don’t stand still. Drift to the corner when your teammate drives baseline and relocate after you pass. Spacing determines open shots, and it is up to you to create the best opportunity off the ball for yourself.
5. The Mental Side: Shooters Think Differently
The best shooters aren’t just skilled—they’re mentally strong. Confidence is everything. You have to trust your work. You have to stay calm after a miss. You have to stay aggressive without forcing bad shots. Great shooters have short memories. One miss doesn’t change their mindset. Two misses don’t change their mechanics. Three misses don’t change their confidence.
Final Thoughts
If you want to become a better shooter this school season, focus on these three pillars:
- Build clean, repeatable mechanics.
- Take high-value, high-percentage shots.
- Train with purpose every day.
Do this, and you won’t just be “a shooter.”
You’ll be a trusted scorer, a game-changer, and a player coaches rely on in big moments.
