Five Basketball Shooting Drills Without a Hoop

No hoop, no problem.

It might be hard to believe but you can actually get better at shooting the basketball without having a hoop. Before you begin, take a refresher on proper shooting mechanics.

Wall Shooting

Any tall wall will work. Spin the basketball to yourself to prep your body and shoot. Find a spot on the wall to aim at about 15-18ft in the air, or lower if that height is too challenging.

Keep your arc high and focus on your mechanics. Repeat over and over to increase your strength and mechanics.

Self Shooting

Take the ball in your hands, position yourself in your shooting stance with your feet shoulder-width apart and facing your target, bend your knees and “shoot” the ball up in the air. The key is repetition, practice proper technique over and over again with only a basketball.

Remember to keep weight evenly balanced, raise arm to create a ‘L’ shape keeping elbow in and focus on your follow through finishing with your fingers pointed towards the ground.

Perform the drill without stopping for at least one minute, and repeat at least five times.

180 Degree Shooting

This drill is great for improving your shot preparation. Shoot the ball into the air, let the ball bounce move your feet around the ball (body behind where it landed) and shoot the ball back in the direction you came from and repeat.

This drill is great for working on footwork and shot preparation. Similar to the other drills focus on your form, getting your feet set, the height of the ball and your backspin. Option to add two lines across from each other to give you a line to shoot from.

Use tennis court, sidewalk lines, or use chalk to draw lines on your driveway.

Line Shooting

Tennis court lines, side walk lines, driveway lines all work for this drill. Shoot the ball (15-18 ft) into the air and try to get the ball to land on the line. Emphasizing your arc and spin.

Key is to get the ball to bounce in the same spot as it bounced the first time for optimal spin.

Chair Shooting

Sit on the edge of the chair or couch and shoot the ball up into the air working on your arm extension. Don’t forget your follow through snapping your wrist finishing with your fingers towards the ground.

Option to let the ball bounce to check your backspin or to catch the ball.