How to Shoot Like Steph Curry
Alex Norwood provides an insight into the secrets to shooting like Steph Curry, learns the three-point shooting technique, understands repetition and balance, and finds a spot to practice.
Steph Curry is one of the best current NBA players, and his success has been a huge reason why the Golden State Warriors have won two recent NBA Championships. At 29, Curry is now entering his prime years, and he is so excited to watch that many are trying to replicate his style and play the game in the same way he does. Many commentators of the game call him the best shooter there has ever been in the NBA, and if that is the case, then the area to focus on is his shooting ability.
Practice, Practice, Practice
If you want to be the best shooter, you do not have to work on your shooting. You must work on your overall game. If you're going to shoot like Steph Curry, you have to put hours of practice into your game. Curry did not become one of the greatest shooters overnight, and he spent hours as a youngster running drills to improve his shooting, and gradually his game came together.
By working on your shooting alone, you will become a one-dimensional player, and the team will know you will shoot because you cannot do much else. If you practice your dribbling skills and passing ability, then the defensive players against you will not predict what you are going to do. They will have to wait for you to make a move.
This will give you additional time to work the shot you want before executing. Being one of the greatest, if not the best shooter of all time means that defensive players are wary of Curry shooting the ball. However, because they also have to worry about him passing or dribbling with the ball, they cannot concentrate on the shot too much, allowing Curry the split seconds he needs to make a shot.
Three-Point Shooting
Three-point shooting is the one area of the game that all young kids want to be good at, and it is also the hardest part of the game to master. The best way to improve your three-point shooting is to watch the experts and focus on the detail of the shot, rather than just watching the ball hit the basket.
Steph Curry is a great shooter from beyond the arc, and this is because he has perfected his entire shot movement to perform at that level. He is precise when it comes to getting set in the shot position. He executes the jump perfectly and follows through with a solid landing to end the shot correctly. All this together, not just his ability to use his hands correctly, makes him one of the most feared three-point shooters in the game.
Repetition and Balance
There are two key areas when it comes to scoring three-point shots successfully: repetition and balance. Many people think that the key to shooting well is all in the hands, but it is the positioning of your feet that starts everything off. When it comes to balance, this is where Curry sets himself apart from a lot of other shooters.
If you want to shoot like Steph Curry, then positioning your feet, so they are square to the basket is the most important pre-shot move that you have to make. This is the move that Curry has perfected over the years and is a huge reason he is successful when throwing for three. After squaring up his feet, you will then notice that Curry bends his knees while keeping his torso up straight. This will keep him balanced during the shot, so he does not have to worry about anything other than releasing the ball. In his upper body, Curry will tuck his elbow, which acts as a balancing technique similar to him bending his knees for lower body balance.
The final part of the shot is the follow-through. The follow-through ensures that everything is repetitive and everything runs smooth. That is a motto many NBA players have, and you will notice that the best players in the game all look the same when they are shooting, every time, whether the ball goes in or not.
When it comes to repetition, this is all about practicing hard and repeatedly doing the same thing in a game. By keeping movements the same, Curry knows that when he starts hitting the basket regularly, he can keep doing it over and over again. His wrist snap and follow-through are the same, whether scoring an easy two-pointer or trying an ambitious three-pointer from way back in the court.
Three-Point Drill
You can set yourself a shooting drill up to practice your three-point shooting, and the constant repetitive practice is similar to how Steph Curry started when he wanted to practice shooting. Do not try and add anything into the drill. Keep it simple and repetitive because this is how you develop your technique. Take a look at the simple steps below and try and set yourself up a drill similar to this:
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Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- NORWOOD, A. (2018) How to Shoot Like Steph Curry [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article302.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Alex Norwood is interested in everything about sport and healthy life. Though he is not a professional writer, it is his hobby to put together articles from time to time. Alex lives in London and sometimes has some free time to write a piece or two about these essential things around us.