What Qualities Must A Shooter Have?

Are you a shooter? Do you want to be a game shooter? Well, here are 5 must-have qualities you must train to develop.

 1. The ability to make shots!

This sounds silly because it is so obvious, but the ability to make shots in games is a must-have for shooters. I’ve heard a coach say “There’s nothing worse than a shooter who can’t shoot.” If you’re a shooter, your job is to not only make shots, but to carry at all times the threat of making shots on your person to space the floor for your team’s offense. If you can’t make shots in games, you’re hurting your team in two ways; your team misses out on points when you miss, and the opposition can play a more compact team defense against your team. Players who want to be shooters should practice shooting in game situations, while fatigued and in high intensity situations. Shooters should also know their range so they know from what distance their shooting opportunities should come in games.

 2. The ability to catch and shoot.

Catching and shooting means being ready to shoot as soon as you catch a pass from your teammate. No dribbles. No getting your hands and feet together after you catch the ball. Your hands and feet must already be ready on the catch. If you’re a shooter, the defense knows you’re a shooter, and they will rarely leave you open. If you do find yourself open, it won’t be for long. You need to be able to capitalize in the limited amount of time you have an open window to shoot.

 3. The ability to use screens.

Shooters have to be able to get themselves open via straight cuts, curl cuts and fade cuts off of screens. If you’re a shooter who cannot effectively use off-ball screens, you are truly at the mercy of a ball handler to get you an open shot. Los Angeles Clippers guard JJ Redick and Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver are NBA shooters who use screens well to get open. Using off-ball screens well takes practice, as you must catch and get into your shot quickly without traveling. But once you’ve got this, you can use the threat of you shooting to get your screening teammate a good shot as well.

 4. The ability to understand spacing.

Shooters must understand spacing to be truly effective. When a teammate is driving, a shooter needs to know how to drift down into the corner or up towards the wing to be in position for a great kick-out pass. Shooters also need to know how to move off of post entry passes, as this can be another way they get open for shots. Shooters who don’t understand spacing bring over an extra defender to double a driving or posting teammate, or they clog driving lanes altogether. These are not good things. Shooters must understand spacing.

 5. The ability to make contested shots.

Remember that as a shooter, the defense has tabs on you. When you are able to get free, defenders will close out and contest hard on you. A real shooter understands that he will get only a handful of really open shots, and that he must be comfortable shooting with a hand in his face. If you are a shooter and only shoot when you are “wide” open, you are not capitalizing on all the opportunities that are there, and you could be hurting your team. When you do shoot those contested shots, you still have to convert them at a decent percentage. Making contested shots takes practice, so spend the necessary practice time developing this skill

Shooting  is a scientific art form, and shooters know these five things are important for them to be effective weapons in games. To develop your shooting artform, contact your local basketball trainer today. We look forward to seeing you knocking down big shots for your team.