Two Proven Steps To Improve Your Free-Throw Shooting

Ultimate Hoops Hall-of-Famer Mike Mastro has shot over 2,000 free throws in his UH League career.

Free-throw shooting rewards repetition. If you practice enough, you can perform like a robot under any game situation. Although free-throw shooting is based on personal preferences, there are two inescapable methods to follow to achieve maximum swish potential.

1. Line the foot that corresponds with your shooting hand

if you're right handed, your left foot--up with the nail that is ubiquitous in the center of every free throw line in Life Time’s gyms. This locks in a level of alignment with the rim, key to your overall success. Though there are exceptions to the rule, most great free-throw shooters follow this proven method.

2. Never take your eyes off the front of the rim

With apologies to Sandy in Along Came Polly, using the back of the rim or the white square on the backboard as your point of reference will not “make it rain.”

Doing so means that you are looking towards a place on the basket where, if you hit them, you will most probably miss. Whereas, if you aim towards the front rim, your mind invariably tells you to shoot the ball at this point. And even if you hit the front of the rim, if you maintain the same rotation as a shooter, the ball will roll into the basket.

Next Steps

Practice. Practice. If you build free-throw into your daily workouts, you will become a 80%+ free-throw shooter. It’s all about repetition to build muscle memory. You should also add some visualization techniques to round out your routine.