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What are the biomechanical principles linked to maximizing accuracy when shooting
the basketball jump shot?
Introduction:
Basketball players usually score more points during the game by using the
jump shot. For this reason it is known that the basketball jump shot is one of
the most important shots of the game. Shooting the ball consists of a correct
technique to ensure that the ball goes through the hoop. The aim of this
biomechanical analysis is to analyse the optimal shooting technique of
Stephen Curry who is known as one of the premier shooters of the NBA
(National Basketball Association). To answer the major question I will be
looking at some biomechanical principles such as:
Centre of Mass
Impulse-Momentum
Projectile motion.
Answer:
In order for a shooter to achieve optimum accuracy with their shot, they need to apply
perfect summations of force throughout the three phases of the shot. These phases are
shown in figure 1 which are: The preparation phase, execution phase and the follow
through phase.
Figure 1: Shows the three phases of the jump shot performed by Stephen Curry (ESPN,2014)
The preparation phase (prior to the first red line) is considered one of the most crucial
parts of a jump shot. Generally a shooter will be moving towards their basket and will
either come to a stop when they have the ball or just prior to that. By ensuring that
their foot lands further in front of the body's centre of gravity, it enables a the player to
have a shot breaking impulse, meaning they are spending as little time on the ground
as possible (Blazevich, 2007) this is also known as Impulse-momentum. Once a player
has the ball their stance should be balanced meaning the shooter will have their centre
of mass over the base of support (Sport NZ, 2010) and their feet shoulder width
apart whilst having the foot on their shooting hand slightly in front of the opposing foot
to increase stability, this is demonstrated by figure 2 with the arrows pointing towards
Stephen Curry's feet.. Also shown in figure 2 are Curry's feet, which are both pointing
towards the target, this helps increase accuracy due to the alignment of his body and
the target.
Stephen Curry's preparation phase in figure 2 shows that he is ready to jump into his
shot and shoot the ball. This has happened because his base of support is stable with
his centre of mass being above that as shown in figure 3 with the yellow arrow locating
his centre of mass and two black arrows locating his base of support.
As you can notice Stephen Curry's eye level stays relatively straight throughout the
preparation stage, this enables him to lock in the target of where he is shooting the
ball. Once a shooter is in the position as shown in figure 3, they are then ready for the
execution phase.
As you can see in figure 4 Stephen Curry's jump shot involves him straightening his
legs and changing his inertia to a vertical motion, which at this point helps to conserve
vertical momentum in the upward direction. In effect, Curry's body's centre of mass is
moving downwards under the influence of gravity also known as Newton's First
Law (see green arrows move down from previous centre of mass which are yellow
arrows) but, relative to it, his upper body is moving upwards due to his legs
straightening which helps him momentarily hang his centre of mass at the point show
by the green arrows in figure 4.
"In basketball, athletes can manipulate their body parts while the centre of mass
(CM) of the body rises and falls during a jump, according to the law of
conservation of momentum"(Blazevich, 2007)
Because Curry's centre of mass is momentarily hanging in the air and his base of
support has lifted (see red arrows in figure 4) it allows him to maintain stable eyesight
and head position during his shoot.
"eyehead stabilization toward the target is critical in the dynamic situation of taking
jump shots" (Oudejans, van de Langenberg & (Vana) Hutter, 2002).
Stephen Curry's head and eye stabilization is shown in figure 5. Curry's eye level stays
relatively straight throughout phases one to three (see black line), and during
phases four to seven Curry's head stays relatively still by maintating his head in the
centre of his body (see red lines). By players being able to do this sequence of events
during the execution phase, it will help with accuracy of the shot.
The second part of the execution phase is shooting the ball. In order to shoot the ball
the player must change an objects state of motion in this analysis it is the basketball
and force needs to be applied (Blazevich, 2007). This will happen when the player has
applied force on the ball to accelerate it out of their hands and in a forward motion
towards the basket, this is known as Newton's second law. Players will improve their
accuracy if they release the ball at the right height which is as close as possible to the
peak of the jump. This is also known as projectile motion. Often the basketball jump
shot is known as a push or pull action. In figure 6 it shows the four main properties of
force that act upon whilst shooting.
Figure 6: Four properties of force upon Stephen curry's jump shot (Pinstopin, 2015)
Projectile motion refers to the motion of an object projected at an angle into the air
(see green line in figure 6), its trajectory is influenced by the projection speed, the
projection angle and the relative height of projection (Blazevich, 2007). Projectile
motion has two main elements that include projection angle and projection speed
The power that may be required to perform the jump shot correctly can largely be
affected by the projection angle and also the release angle.
The maximum range of a projectile is determined partly by its angle of projection.
When the angle is greater, the object attains a greater vertical height but lesser range.
When the angle of projection is too small the object doesnt have sufficient vertical
velocity to attain significant range. (Blazevich, 2012)
When the shooter has reached the peak of their jump and are ready to release the ball
their arm should be as close to 0 degrees as possible making a straight line with their
arm. Stephen Curry has a release angle of his arm at 5 degrees shown in figure 7. This
enables the shooter to line their arm up with the target and increase their accuracy
from the shooting arm.
Not only does Curry have a straight line in his arm but this shooting style is seen
through many of players in the NBA. As you can see from the two pictures below, Steve
Nash (left) and Kyrie Irving (right) both have a relatively straight shooting arm
throughout their shot.
Basketball players who want to improve their angle of trajectory should aim to release
the ball between 45-55 degrees. But if the player is shorter this would change. Using
Stephen Curry as an example, at 6 foot 3 Stephen Curry shoots the ball below the ring
resulting in his shot having a greater angle on release.
Figure 9: The area of the rim when shot at different angles (Sports Science, 2013)
All angles of trajectory and speed of release along with the amount of shoulder flexion
and elbow extension will change when the distance of the shot varies. Miller and
Bartlett conducted a study on shooters shooting from varying distances and found that,
"Increases in mean release speed were found as shooting distance increased for all
groups. This was due to increased angular velocities of both shoulder flexion and elbow
extension and an increased speed of the centre of mass in the direction of the basket"
(Miller & Bartlett, 1996).
The final analysis of the angle of trajectory is to do with Curry's shooting arms. As
shown in figure 10, Curry's shooting arm has a bend at his elbow giving his arm a 90
degree angle at his arm pit and the angle between his arm and forearm is much less.
Figure 10: The angle of Stephen Curry's arm during his shot (Splash Lab, 2014)
Once the shooter has performed their shot as shown in figure 5 they are then ready to
move to the final phase in the jump shot known as the follow through phase.
The follow through phase shown in figure 1 after the second red line, is the final phase
of the jump shot and allows the player to complete the shot in order to enhance the
chance of the shot going in. The follow through also enables the shooter to be
positioned ready to perform the next skill or movement needed.
Figure 11: Stephen Curry's Follow through after shot (Getty Images, 2015)
As you can see if figure 11 Stephen Curry's body remains straight and his shoulder's
remain inline with his hips (green lines), this ensure that the ball has been thrown
towards the target and direction that the body is pointing. Once Curry has released the
ball his wrist makes a flicking action snapping his wrist in a downward motion as you
can see by the red line in figure 11. By Curry snapping his wrist down he creates a
backspin on the ball in his shot. This in itself helps create higher chance of success.
"A common analogy, used by basketball coaches, is to finish the shot as if your hand is
reaching for a cookie from a cookie jar. This analogy guides the learner to the correct
form of the movement and, additionally, has the effect of imparting backspin on the
basketball, which improves the chances of success" (Lam, Maxwell & Masters, 2009)
Many players have the same follow through technique as it enable you to align your
body with the target and land in the same position as you were in before you jumped.
Figure 12: Follow through of Ray Allen's Jump Shot (The classical, 2013)
Figure 12 is an example of Ray Allen's Jump shot, although his technique varies from
Curry's the follow through is still the same with the arms aligned with his hips (yellow
line) and the snap of the wrist creating backspin (red line).
References: