Basketball is the second most popular sport in the US and over 26 million Americans play this sport regularly. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James are some of the prominent names that have inspired people throughout the world to take this sport and practice hard.
But the problem begins when you start looking for a basketball court in your locality. Many times either you can’t find one or it’s far away.
And the next question every budding basketballer asks to themselves is
“How to practice and improve my shooting skills without any hoop?”
Though you can’t play basketball without a hoop, there are ways you can improve your shooting skills with just a basketball and some open space. Let’s take a look at some of them.
How to Practice Shooting a Basketball Without a Hoop?
• Wall Shooting:
Choose a tall wall and make a box about 15-18ft high with help of tape. Now spin the ball to yourself and hold your arc and concentrate on your mechanics. Try to hit the ball at the exact spot and make sure it goes and comes back to you straight. Repeat this and try to maintain your body form as long as you can.
• Lying Shooting:
Lay down on your back and take the basketball in your shooting arm. Now shoot the ball right into the air giving it good rotation and try in a way that the ball comes back to you. Keep repeating it as long as you can and make sure that you shoot with only one hand and if required use the off-hand to catch the ball. This shooting drill will help you in learning the proper release and giving the ball a good spin.
• Line Shooting:
This drill is really beneficial for getting your arc angle high and right and is used by many great shooters such as Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Anyone can practice this on sidewalk lines and driveway lines. Position your dominant foot with the center of the line and shoot the ball in the air in such a way that it always lands on the line. You can work on your follow-through, release, and hip position to reduce your left-right deviation.
• Seated Shooting:
Sit on a chair or couch, take the ball and shoot it right into the air such that it hits the ground and bounces back to you. This one is to get a good rep and optimize your arc angle as arc angle is a really crucial factor in all your shots. Focus on maintaining a good spin and arc and you will know you are getting better when every time you shoot the ball bounces back to your hands.
When you are at home and you don’t have a hoop, you can also focus on other factors like increasing your vertical jump and matching the dribbling speed of both your hands. The key to becoming a great shooter and basketballer will remain the same.
Practice and Practice and Practice! Because practice makes improvement.
