Whose “Fundamentals” Are They Anyway? (A New Look at the Fundamentals of Basketball Shooting)

What are the so-called “Fundamentals” of shooting? This reflection was triggered in late 2005 by viewing some of my collection of shooting videos, DVD’s and CD’s, including some new ones I recently got. (I thought to update it as of a year later, with some new insights.)

Though there is some consistency of thought, I find a lot of differences, too. And some of the things that many of these people agree on are totally contrary to what I’ve discovered in my own exploration of shooting. (If you’ve read my stuff for awhile, you know what I’m talking about.)

That the Fundamentals can be viewed so differently by different people shows how mixed up things are. Since shooting is at such a low ebb, I think we have to look at everything we considered sacred and be open to different points of view.

DEFINITION

The Dictionary defines the word “Fundamental” to mean: “… of or forming a foundation, a basis; basic; essential; a principle theory, a law.” So it means things that are essential, things that form a foundation, in this case for putting a basketball into a basket. It’s the things that need to be understood and learned in order for a skill like shooting to have a strong foundation for success.

The general areas of the Fundamentals I see are:

– GRIP — your physical connection with the ball

– STANCE & POWER — how you position your feet and body and how you generate power

– VISION — how you see and relate visually to the target

– SETTING THE BALL, THE SET POINT — how the ball is brought to the Set Point, and the alignment and positioning of the arm, hand and ball before the final releasing action

– THE RELEASE, ARCH AND SPIN — how the ball gets to the basket

– THE FOLLOW THROUGH — how the shot https://www.scootmobielbelang.nl can finish for a powerful connection to the target

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

Here’s a quick summary of the Fundamentals as described by other players and coaches.

– GRIP:

… Some say the ball should be held by the finger pads of the strong hand only, not touching the palm at all.

… Some say the ball is held by the fingers and rests on the upper part of the palm.

… All agree the ball should on the finger pads, not the finger tips, and not be touching the base of the palm — that there should be a “gap” there.

… Some say the first finger should be in line with the valve stem, other say to straddle the valve with the first and second fingers.

… Some say the middle finger should be the last one to touch the ball as it leaves the hand

… Some say both of the first two fingers are last to touch the ball

… Some say it’s the first finger alone

… Basically everyone these days says the weak hand should be on the side of the ball, though one fine NBA player actually has it almost on the top of the ball. It’s how his dad taught him, he says.

– STANCE & POWER:

… Most say you should “Square Up,” meaning the feet are pointing at the target (either parallel to each other or with the weak foot staggered back, the weak foot can turn, some say) and the shoulders should square to a line to the basket.