Basketball is a sport played by 2-5player teams; the objective is to score points by placing a ball through a hoop 10 feet off the ground. Basketball has increased in popularity over the years and is now one of the most well-known sports worldwide. Various techniques used in basketball include dribbling, shooting and passing. There are many different shooting techniques used in basketball to get points, let us look at a few basic ones.
A layup is a shot that is made by leaping from below the net, pushing the ball up close to the basket and tipping it over the rim and into the basket with one hand. Alternately the ball might be bounced off the backboard instead and into the basket. All moves involving this type of one-handed reach and motion is called a layup and is considered the most basic shot in basketball.
Basically there are 2 types of layups, the underarm layup and the over arm layup. While there are several different types of layups, they all fall into one of these 2 categories.
An undefended layup is a highly successful shot and is when the ball handler manages to get up to the basket without a defender going up as well to try to block him off. The main obstacle in making a layup shot is getting around the blocks of the taller defenders so if the shot is unblocked it will definitely be more successful.
A slam dunk which is perhaps the most popular of all basketball shots is simply a layup performed by a player tall enough to reach over the rim of the basket, who then drops or slams the ball into the basket from above instead of just tipping it over the rim. A safer layup is done by holding the ball in both hands instead of just one and taking 2 steps to the basket.
The finger-roll is a type of underarm layup that involves the use of the wrist and the fingers to ‘lay’ the ball in the basket. The movement of the wrist and fingers causes the ball to rotate and roll around the rim before dropping into the basket.
A jump shot is another well-known basketball move in which the player jumps straight up and throws the ball while in mid-air into the basket. The jump shot is considered the easiest long-range shot and has the advantage of being difficult for a defender to block but taller defenders will make it a difficult move to pull off. A variation of the jump shot is a turnaround jump shot in which a player turns in mid-air to make the shot
Another basketball shot is the bank shot which relies on the backboard for getting the ball into the basket. It is primarily used in mid-range jump shots; the aim of the bank shot is to hit the backboard at an angle that slows the ball down and increases the likelihood of it falling through the basket.
Additional Reading on Basketball
- Basketball Shots
- Basketball Moves
- Basketball Moves
- Basketball Tricks
- Basketball Tricks
- Who Invented Basketball
