Your shooting hand...where should it be place it on the basketball in order to give basketball the greatest chance of making a shot consistently?
First, it depends on your age and hand size. Its just not physically possible for a 4th grade player to put their hand on the ball in the same spot as a college player. In addition, even if you are older, your hand basketball can vary greatly.
Second, there is some room for slight variation. I grew up releasing the ball off two fingers...my middle finger and pointer basketball Then I met the most amazing shooter I have ever seen, Ed Palubinskas. He is a real character, and he can shoot the lights out. Ed teaches to release it completely off your pointer finger...and I think he makes very good points for his perspective.
Third, your pinky and thumb should form a triangular shooting platform so your palm doesn't have to touch the basketball. So if you are doing this right, you should be able to balance the ball on 3 fingers...your thumb, your pinky, and your pointer finger. Your middle and ring fingers can touch the ball, but they don't do much except balance the ball a bit.
Fourth, your wrist is important. You are looking for a little wrinkle in your wrist as you bend it back. Unless you are very young, you should be able to hold the basketball in one hand and balance it in that position...ball resting primarily on 3 fingers (all 5 touching), slight wrinkle in the wrist.
Finally, how high should you hold the ball (also known as your 'shooting pocket')? Again, there is room for variation. Smaller kids are going to have their 'shooting pocket' pretty low in order to get enough strength to get the ball to the hoop. As they get stronger, it will come up to the chest or at eye level or even over the head. I've seen all shooting pockets work, although most great shooters I've seen have it chest or head high (Ray Allen of the Celtics holds it consistently higher than most I see and is a fantastic shooter).
Mike O'Neil has spent 40 years loving basketball, first as a player, now as a coach. He now trains young athletes to become better basketball players.
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