Difference is that this only works if you can already aim the ball straight but struggle finding the right power to get it in the hoop. Simmon on the other hand just can't shoot straight. It doesn't help that his elbow is bent like kenny knees when he shoots
@@dipper5835 What power? If you hit the white line, it will go in. If I throw it like a football and throw it very hard at the white line, it will go in. It’s not that hard
@@metsrusthis is such a strange comment. Shaq had very good footwork, he was deceptively quick and one of the softest touches around the basket. Had Shaq been 6 inches shorter and 60lbs lighter, he still is a top 50 all time guy. I really dislike the misinformation about Shaq. He wasn't only big. Plenty of big guys went against Shaq and looked like fools. Every team drafted 1 or 2 guys to just foul Shaq and put a big body on him during his era. Maybe it's his free throw shooting or maybe it's Kobe saying Shaq would be the GOAT with Kobes work ethic. Idk what it is, but Shaq was incredibly talented as well as big. There guys as big as him guarding him and those guys were ONLY drafted to try to slow him down. None of them could, because Shaq was talented and big, they were just big.
@@gordonlove5121 not sure why you felt the need to go to on this entire lecture. I've watched basketball since the 90s and know how great and dominant shaq was. But this is about his free throw shooting and you have to admit it was awful. the ball is like a grapefruit in his hand, he needed to shoot the ball differently whether underhanded or banking it. shooting the normal way like everyone else never worked for him, a career free throw percentage of 52.7% is proof.
lol yes Shaq would have benefited from this. Big men have so much more leverage and power. And a basketball looks like a grapefruit in Shaqs hands. Use the backboard!
I did that in the 90's. When I was a teenager, I trained as center before going to guard. I was so used to banking under the rim that I got used to aiming at the board instead of the rim and was never able to change. My coach always complained about me banking EVERY shot. 3pt, free throws... everything 🤣. Not very hard to generate the energy if you get used to it, I was 15 at the time.
Haha as a South Korean subscriber I was amazed to see Korean basketball mentioned on your channel 😂. How this so called 'back board free throw' started is unclear but it's told that one of the old school top shooter started this (probably more than 20 years ago) and suddenly it slowly started to spread out. But some of the Ex-Korean pro basketball players recently posted on their youtube channel that looking back this wasn't that good, because free throw is usually a good chance to find your shooting rhythm and touch during game. But I guess bigs who don't have to shoot jump shots can still try this method if anything isn't working. 😆
yes its not for shooters. its better for those who have lower percentage shooters. but still you need a good release cause youd just hit the back board and send it back to you if you didnt have a touch.
I used to practice bank shot free throws. It helped me learn to shoot the ball straighter. Aiming at a specific point on the backboard can be easier than negotiating the depth control needed for regular shots when you are learning.
I find banking much more reliable than not banking the shot because when banking you just aim the ball to a vertical point and adjust the power, kind of like playing pool; you mostly need to arrange in 2D. You need to aim a horizontal point with non-banking which is a 3D problem.
Great analysis. For people shooting around 50%, and have the strength. I really dont see how there is anything to lose for them to try... Even if they can get to 60 or 65%, its a W
Still don't understand why more players don't do that. Yes it's more distance, but if you have to hold back with the power to the point of it being a negative to your form, experiment with it.
remember baron davis? he wasnt a "big man" ho couldnt shoot fts. but he chose to shoot from the middle of the semihemisphere on the ft area. like 2 or so feet behind "the line" he still shot over 80. point i take away is shoot it how you like. and if you are stong as all hell, fts, the touch, maybe not be applicable. but ive seen the worst player on my hs team regularl bank in 3s. whatever works right. they dont ask ho, they ask how many!
@@michaelhaydenbellit was direct response to the title of the video "Can This CRAZY Free Throw Work In The NBA?!?" > If it works for the player, it could work virtually anywhere, its a free throw😂 anywhere = any non-NBA basketball league
Short answer: yes. Anything that can improve shooting percentage can translate to the NBA. While other skills and shots have to take other variables into consideration (ie. distance from the basket, position of the defender, etc) free throws are exactly the same, every time. The only reason I would say you shouldn't is if the player is a jumpshooter, and maintaining consistency between their shooting form and aim is important. However, for someone like Steven Adams, whose only shots are less than 5 feet from the rim, anything to improve his free throw percentage makes perfect sense.
I’m reminded of hal greer. He was so much more comfortable shooting a jump shot vs a free throw that towards the end of his career he would shoot free throws using a jump shot at the free throw one.
Coach Nick, I changed my foul shooting technique Instead of taking from my waste (like a jump shot) I have the ball all ready out and at chest height The reduction in movement from there has changed my shooting from about 60% to 80% My team mates have noticed the big improvement 💯
This next decade of basketball is going to be so fun to watch. When different cultures adopt a new sport they see every problem with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. Coaches overseas didn’t understand why big men couldn’t handle the ball and shoot from outside. In baseball, I give the Japanese leagues a ton of credit for the amount of movement modern pitchers put on the ball. This is so interesting to watch.
I think I figured out the physics. A typical free throw technique doesn’t allow you to see the farthest horizontal point in the (relatively) flat arc of the trajectory. They instinctively know where it is, but they can’t SEE it. The bank-in method allows a bad free throw shooter to SEE the exact target, and all they have to do is slightly tinker with the arc. Brilliant!
I remember watching Oscar Schmidt do this in a match. It was an exhibition game and they lowered the height of the rim to generate more dunks. However, Oscar, who had around 90% FT percentage, was unable to hit his first FT, so he switched to this strategy and didn't miss any FT. For those who don't know, Oscar is the highest scorer in world basketball with almost 50 thousand points and was Kobe Bryant's idol
He was ONE of Kobe’s idols. MJ was NUMBER ONE. The ultimate. Hence, eerily reminiscent play styles. Internationally, I also loved Oscar Schmidt and Arvydas Sabonis, who should’ve came to the NBA much earlier.
@@MultilinguistGlobalFitBlessed Yes true. Oscar was a childhood idol in Italy and yes Jordan is the main idol. Kobe in an interview in Brazil stated that she used something from Oscar, about leaving the marking and shooting 3pts.
Being a former Pro player in Japan (currently a B.League Japan Coach) and playing against KBL Teams during the preseason, this is VERY REAL Also, until about 2010, there were still Japanese players shooting middle dribble jumpers off the backboard.
It looks like the backspin softens the shot and with softer shot it doesn't bounce away from the target as hard. And the bank allows for a flatter shot. This in turns lets you focus on just being straight and not worry about arc
Yes. A lower arc shot is also easier for certain shooters, and those lacking strength or touch-so the board interacts with the ball spin to their benefit.
Shaq needed this. Feels like a big man would need to control their strength less with a bank shot as they can throw it a bit higher and stronger and it could help people that lack that softer touch.
He sure did. Except Shaq argued that he would rather score zero FT points than not hit anything but net. Unfortunately for him, he hit everything but made the free basket almost every time.
Im not good in basketball but im pretty good in billiards. I find a bank shot is easier and more accurate for whatever reason. I tend to miss more if it's not a bank shot. Not sure if that is comparable to a basketball free throw
This can also increase their power shooting 3 pointers as usual and not kinda adjust when shooting free throw. This also revolutionize the meta of shooting 3s.
In unregulated courts with a shorter free throw line I practice from way behind the line. Not sure why everyone has to be right up against the line if they're too strong
in korea, we learn backboard shot as basic method from school. it's been 15 years since i graduated, so it's a method with long history. Actually surprised that NBA players didn't know about it
This is fascinating. You go from aiming for a target you cannot see - the horizontal rim that is above your head - to aiming for something you can easily see - the square on the backboard behind the rim. It almost feels like a darts throw.
I’ve been watching your channel since you had 3k subs man. I can’t wait until you’re fully recognized by the entire basketball community bc they’re missing out for sure
Without doing the calculations, I'll guess the geometry of the ball getting into the basket is better too. Probably after the bounce off the backboard, the ball losses some energy so it's moving slower too which should also help.
My grandpa played in the 1940s high school basketball and would shoot with both hands with a back spin off the board, never missed even as a 70 year old.
I almost exclusively banked free throws throughout high school and college. I've always believed that the box is there for a reason. The amount of spin you put on the ball makes a difference
I shoot FT like that. Even jump shots, I'm more accurate when I bank my shots compared to normal shots. When I was a kid I tried changing my shot to a normal one because all my friends don't bank their shots and I think it's more cooler and my friends says that bank shots are just lucky bounces, but when that didn't work for me, I just stuck with banking most of my shots even if it's not that cool. At least it's effective. If you wanna try bank shots and make it your primary shot, I suggest you play billiards, pool or snooker, it'll help or somewhat train your brain to calculate banking angles, since those games are all about angles and banking.
Question coach. What happened to the finger roll? We often remember Jordan as a dunker, but so many of his shots near the rim were short little shots. It looked like he didn't need to use 100% energy all the time, and these may have been away to conserve it.
I learned how to shoot basketball using the backboard, including free throws. My reasoning is that I can see the top box line and visually, I have a reference to aim for. A swish shot needs a lot more mental spatial manipulation and it wasn't easy for me. I know coaches are big on muscle memory, etc. I just think that backboard usage is really underrated and may help more people who are visually dependent to better their mid-range shots and free throws.
Love this comment as there is much about the spatial element that could be explored. Surely when a player is shooting a runner or floater their natural body drift introduces additional complexity into spatial calculation-where the larger and more visible backboard box presents easier or more visually accessible target for the shooter’s aim. Additionally the need for either a quick release, or extra-arc-to avert a pursuing defender make the spatial calculation preference the backboard as it’s simply bigger and more visible. Thoughts?
I'd be curious to see how effective an "aimed" banked free throw could be--minimal backspin, treating the basketball like a dart. You'd actually have something tangible to aim at, so you could systematically select a target on the backboard which would provide the optimal angle.
My U16 amateur team here in Italy has a terrible 30% at freeshots and i m seriously thinking about introducing this tecnique next year...it will make sense in this case and reaching at least 50% would make a huge change
Taken aback by a story in the NY Times. The backboard actually gets the ball softer to the rim, and raises FT % markedly. But we were always taught to look at the front of the rim, to follow through, a spin of the wrist, a nice arc, and get the ball softly to the cylinder. If it did not swish, then if lucky you had a shooter's touch to score. Orthodoxy in many cases is not reality. The backboard technique works. But we must use science to verify percentages in FTs (and everything else in this world). My niece is Korean. I love Korean BBQ. I love Korea for many reasons. A great people.
Coach Nick, I love the analysis breakdown, but... You have only mentioned about posture form and angle of arch. As a league bowling player, I would have love to see if there was a difference in revolutions, and ball of speed to fully cement your argument of the possible micro adjustment that these players are doing. As a bowler, we do micro adjustment with speed/revs/axis rotation/entrance angle throughout the lane conditions. But just like in bowling, a strike is a strike and a bucket is bucket, no matter how you do it.
I just went and saw a game here in Japan against S. Korea and a player was doing this and I was wondering why but I am just seeing your video today so now it makes sense.
I switched to bank shot too. reason.... coordinates... board will be X-Y plane, rim is X-Z plane. With bank shot you just worry about X-Y, which is just the board. Increase in power to generate is minimal
I coached a girls basketball team back in the 80's and taught them to use the backboard for every freethrow and shots from the paint. The girls shot 80% from the freethrow line and went undefeated. You don't have to be extra strong.
I always thought that Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan should've switched to this years ago. Both were so strong and had a pretty good form and soft realese for a big man. And both were more worried about not shooting it too strong instead of trying to just make it. One thing for a big man when trying to bank is, is you have to have some kind of soft wrist / realese. Shaq has had broken wrists, he often talked about, but even he would've had more chance with banking, sinced his flat shots could just 'die' on the backboard, while it was almost impossible with his flat free throws that it would hit backrim and drop through. So I love how you pointed out that the arc can be a bit lower and also a bankshot needs more power. With, for almost all big men, is a problem with traditional free throws; they don't get enough arc and haven't got a soft release 'cause they're too strong.
I think the bank technique would be more one that is good for bigs. This actually reminds me of Shaq's FT shooting situation. I think he had too much baseline power and his hands were too big. If you look at his shooting, he literally could not finesse the ball enough to get a clean, soft arcing shot to go into the rim. He would literally shoot line drive clankers most of the time. Why not use that to his advantage and use the backboard instead?
When i was teenager, i had a coach that demanded everyone to shoot using the glass and not only FT. He said that direct shots had more ball speed, decreasing the chance of scoring. Also, the board visual reference is better to feel the real distance of the rim. Still, i never used, cose nothing but net is always more cool.
To compare using the backboard vs straight in, you need a robot to shoot accurately, with measured speed, angle, and backspin, and then see if the backboard gives you a larger range of these speed factors that it still result in made shots.
How much forgiveness of error does the bounce off the backboard help, or change? For ANY banked shot? Surely the variance in accuracy from a live-game environment (not a FT where there is no defensive pressure) must be considered.
Everyone is aware of Tim Duncan’s 45° bank shots, but before him I remember Rudy Tomjanovich shooting some of the hardest impact bank shots that I have even seen go in. I also recall seeing him bank the ball on foul shots, but I am not sure if he did it that way over larger chunks of career.
it's not just the power generation - taller players are shooting from a higher set point, which means less force required. shorter players may find it uncomfortable to generate enough force required to hit backboard without compromising accuracy to some degree. one other potential benefit from backboard FTs is that misses are probably more likely to be rebounded by your own team.
Certain heights have a harder tube shooting from that distance because it’s kinda difficult to get the right arc and touch when they are practically at eye level with the rim. So to speak.
I know it is not the most natural looking shot but if it goes in, it goes in. We were shooting free throws for the next game and I accidentally banked it in. Got some comments but I got to play the next game even though we lost.
You can get good at any shot you practice. If banking it works for you - use that. You can also practice swishing it too. One is not harder than the other, hence there is no advantage to banking it. It's all about practice, routine and confidence.
The explanation is simple. Draw a circle on a piece of paper and estimate the area inside. Now slowly tilt the paper away from you so that it becomes an ellipse. The more you tilt the paper, the more you reduce the area on the inside. By using a higher arc and banking the free-throw off of the backboard, the shooter is effectively maximizing the accessible area inside the rim for the ball to go through.
By the same implicit logic I think players should try banking in floaters, as the shot involves the natural imprecision of their body drift when shooting. Using the board I think helps mitigate that and leads to potentially better results.
it's not complicated. There is literally a square target and there is a large range of power that can work for a straight bank shot because the ball is bouncing towards the player after the bank, therefore, if it's too much power, the rim can catch the extra force, too little power, and the backboard will cause extra bounce (think Jokic shots). The only thing player is thinking is to keep it straight. Trying to swish through the net is a far more difficult shot, but in the long run, helps with the rest of your shooting. The bank shot is hard for general shooting is because, though it is more forgiving in the power side, you're adding an extra bank angle calculation to your shot which fucks with your "keep it straight" posture and makes your shooting mechanic much more difficult especially in motion.
Respectfully disagree. Adding the imprecision of players motion makes the larger square box a helpful visual aid. Also the need for a quicker shot or lower arcing high-spin shot favors the backboard in my experience. It’s probably why we are taught to shoot layups off the backboard.
It’s the best popashot technique. It should be a sound technique for free throws, especially for somebody who has less control at low velocities, and does better shooting it harder. If you’re so big and have hands so big that the basketball feels like a popashot ball (looking at you, Shaq and Wilt), then maybe it makes more sense. Percentages don’t lie.
actually do see a difference in the mechanics, the first and second player you showed both had better follow through with their fingers, with the regular shot ending in more of an open hand and the banked having a follow thru that ends with fingers pointing downed, more complete of a follow through
i played with a guy who was a backboard specialst. not fast, not tall, not shifty nor crafty but left,right,centre, didnt matter to him. he had a higher release point than usual, faster trigger, and that was all he got offensivly. but did he make it work!
Completely unrelated to basketball but I'm pretty sure that the beat that comes in around 30 seconds in is the same beat from the Lewis and Clark Epic Rap Battles of history featuring Rhett and Link. Epic crossover. Expect nothing less from Coach.
when I was a kid, in my first baskeball team here in Europe, they would encourage us to hit the backboard in free throws, which leads to believe that this was kind of a regular technique even before my time.
Banking for a free throw is actually quite counter intuitive as you need to throw a fair bit harder But the good thing is you don't need to worry about the power
The main problem is, like the granny shot, the bank shot is frowned upon and made fun of from the earliest days of pick up basketball with elementary school kids. It's often seen as unskilled, lucky, or even girly, and thus players who may develop this shot naturally are discouraged from practicing it from day one. Even at the professional level, the stigma still stands, as I've heard big men say that they are much more accurate with the granny shot or the bank shot, but even then, they are still ridiculed by their own teammates in practice, because it doesn't look "cool". It's totally absurd that grown men let their 4th grade students act like this, but even worse that grown men millionaires in the NBA act like this, even toward their own teammates. All it does is hurt the game, and perpetuate a culture where flashy, selfish, losing basketball is praised over less glamorous fundamentals, teamwork, rebounding, passing, and defense that wins championships. I don't think you see anything like this in any other sport.
I remember at the park one time I decided to try this I hit like 50 or 60 in a row never ever do that if not trying to think it I think the best I can do with like 10 and that was a struggle
Imagine Shaq and Wilt using this technique during their careers. They instantly add more points and possibly championships to their already legendary careers. It would also eliminate any "hack-a-(fill in the blanks)" towards the end of games.
It seems like the bank shot relies less on touch than the traditional free throw and puts more emphasis on just aim (i.e. hitting a certain area on the backboard). I'd think it'd be worth trying for anyone with poor shooting touch.
Yes! There is a huge variance is players “touch” and in their ability to learn touch. The backboard can be somewhat on an equalizer and help lower-touch shooters!
I’ve been saying this for years. All big centres that struggle with free throws should have had a trainer put a piece of tape around on the backboard exactly in line with the middle of the hoop and get the big guys to aim for it. Flick the wrist and have that shot spin down and in.
I remember my school broke one of the hoops and had to replace the boards with these before our big rivalry game . Long story short we one the game but the fans were out in the parking lot fighting because they thought we did it on purpose 😂.
What about the spin? Its like playing at the arcade. The trick is one hand shot with a spin towards you and hitting a little harder than normal the center or close to the center of the square. 😂 It increases the speed and the shot made percentage.
This is my uncle. We used to play basketball and im about 8 inches taller than him and 20 years younger. At my absolute best, i could stop him maybe 1 out of 10 times. He had this knack for angles and using his body to negate that size difference. I was taller, athletic, stronger and honestly had a much better lateral quickness than he did. But still, he gound openings and angles and almost always used glass. He grew up with 4 brothers, and they played bully ball. One was a body builder, power lifter and arm wrestling champion, the others were just pure animals. He just grew up with contact and bully ball. I learned so much from him. His ability to find those angles and change speeds and use my height against me was just humbling. I could beat him 1 on 1 at my best, but he was 45 and i was 22. Bank shots and fundamentals (Tim Duncan) are underrated. It doesnt look good, but it's effective.
No lie, this is how I have always shot my free throws ever since I was playing youth basketball. Just learned by banking them in and it became a habit.
It may be me, but when I shoot via the backboard I needed less ball spin and the ball goes in much more frequently. If I only aim to shoot without hitting anything there's too much energy transfer and ball bounces out easier.
1:44 You missed the follow-thru coach. He changed his follow-thru duration by quite a good chunk of seconds, which if you're a shooter, you know helps quite a bit.
I studied whether he pulled his arms down early on just the regular FTs but then I saw a number of banked FTs where he did the same so I didn't feel like it was a change
Its alao important to note that most nba players are not small and weak and could probably bank a 3pt shot in without jumping with little difficulty. The perspective of a 6-8 to 7 ft guy is completely different than ours. To them shooting a free throw is like when we are trying to shoot on our kids hoop hanging on their door.
1. In middle school while in Korea (early 90s), I was taught to aim at the box for all shots, pretty much. Was taught that there was more room for error with banked shots. 2. As for offensive rebounds, I'm pretty sure it's just Korean teams not having the resources to scout and analyze that portion of the game. Or, it could be that they thought it's not worth messing with the players' minds enough. It would be something else if there were a lot of players shooting that way AND if the FT percentage was low enough, but with not as many players shooting that way + the percentages being high, it's probably not worth shifting, especially if not ALL missed freethrows come to the left or right. anyway, fascinating topic, but in the NBA, swag is everything lol. Nobody shoots underhanded free throws, for example.
Big men should definitely look into this technique! The problem with big men is their height makes it hard to generate a good arc at free throw line. On solution is Rick-Barry the shot and you can get a good arc, but most players are too proud to do this, so bank shot is definitely something to try
Works best for those with less depth perception... I've often wondered if eye spacing has something to do this. His eyes seem closer than most players.
Is there anything to not just stronger, but taller players having a more advantageous angle when shooting a bank free throw in respect to getting it to be on the way down when it contacts the backboard? They can inherently shoot a lower arcing free throw than me as a shorter person having to have a higher arc just to get it over the rim in the first place.
Well if its works it works! It depends on what u feel on the ball while standing in free throw line. Not everybody can shoot well so if u know u are having a hard time controling ur strength when throwing the ball then use the board
I see no reasons why if a player shot below 70% shouldn't try this. Ben Simmons for one should definitely give this a shot.
Ben reading this: _"Ben Simmons...give it a shot. Nope, i am passing up."_
He should try Granny style..
He can give it a shot, but I think he will miss it
Difference is that this only works if you can already aim the ball straight but struggle finding the right power to get it in the hoop. Simmon on the other hand just can't shoot straight. It doesn't help that his elbow is bent like kenny knees when he shoots
@@dipper5835
What power? If you hit the white line, it will go in.
If I throw it like a football and throw it very hard at the white line, it will go in.
It’s not that hard
So many bigs could possibly save their careers if they start practicing this technique
it would've help shaq for sure, who had much power behind his shots
@@metsrusthis is such a strange comment. Shaq had very good footwork, he was deceptively quick and one of the softest touches around the basket. Had Shaq been 6 inches shorter and 60lbs lighter, he still is a top 50 all time guy. I really dislike the misinformation about Shaq. He wasn't only big. Plenty of big guys went against Shaq and looked like fools. Every team drafted 1 or 2 guys to just foul Shaq and put a big body on him during his era. Maybe it's his free throw shooting or maybe it's Kobe saying Shaq would be the GOAT with Kobes work ethic. Idk what it is, but Shaq was incredibly talented as well as big. There guys as big as him guarding him and those guys were ONLY drafted to try to slow him down. None of them could, because Shaq was talented and big, they were just big.
@@gordonlove5121 not sure why you felt the need to go to on this entire lecture. I've watched basketball since the 90s and know how great and dominant shaq was. But this is about his free throw shooting and you have to admit it was awful. the ball is like a grapefruit in his hand, he needed to shoot the ball differently whether underhanded or banking it. shooting the normal way like everyone else never worked for him, a career free throw percentage of 52.7% is proof.
Lol nonsense
lol yes Shaq would have benefited from this. Big men have so much more leverage and power. And a basketball looks like a grapefruit in Shaqs hands. Use the backboard!
I did that in the 90's. When I was a teenager, I trained as center before going to guard. I was so used to banking under the rim that I got used to aiming at the board instead of the rim and was never able to change. My coach always complained about me banking EVERY shot. 3pt, free throws... everything 🤣. Not very hard to generate the energy if you get used to it, I was 15 at the time.
The bank open even on Sundays geeezz
Mr. Fundamentals
Adam Sandler shoots that way too lol.
@@fobinc Adam Sandler doesn't try to bank in 3s lol
@@BxIowaIrelandSwAg he doesn't try, he does it.
Haha as a South Korean subscriber I was amazed to see Korean basketball mentioned on your channel 😂. How this so called 'back board free throw' started is unclear but it's told that one of the old school top shooter started this (probably more than 20 years ago) and suddenly it slowly started to spread out. But some of the Ex-Korean pro basketball players recently posted on their youtube channel that looking back this wasn't that good, because free throw is usually a good chance to find your shooting rhythm and touch during game. But I guess bigs who don't have to shoot jump shots can still try this method if anything isn't working. 😆
한국인 구독자가 또 있었군요😮
yes its not for shooters. its better for those who have lower percentage shooters. but still you need a good release cause youd just hit the back board and send it back to you if you didnt have a touch.
Problem is bigs
Should be putting the ball off the backbords every chance they get
Especially when getting physical play on them
Korean baseball, Korean basketball, I can’t wait till those guys start playing American football
I used to practice bank shot free throws. It helped me learn to shoot the ball straighter. Aiming at a specific point on the backboard can be easier than negotiating the depth control needed for regular shots when you are learning.
My shots are usually lined up right, but end up bouncing off where the rim connects to the backboard
Tim Duncan approves of this technique
But even he didn't bank his foul shots, and his career FT% is only 70%.
who is tim duncan
@@DrZhivago-l2b the greatest center ever..or at least Top 5 in NBA
@@DrZhivago-l2bshut your mouth.
@@DrZhivago-l2bi will kms if ur serious
I find banking much more reliable than not banking the shot because when banking you just aim the ball to a vertical point and adjust the power, kind of like playing pool; you mostly need to arrange in 2D. You need to aim a horizontal point with non-banking which is a 3D problem.
Great analysis. For people shooting around 50%, and have the strength. I really dont see how there is anything to lose for them to try... Even if they can get to 60 or 65%, its a W
Reminds me of Dwight Howard deciding to just shoot further away from the free throw line. Whatever works I guess
Still don't understand why more players don't do that. Yes it's more distance, but if you have to hold back with the power to the point of it being a negative to your form, experiment with it.
Yeah it’s pretty much the same concept.
remember baron davis? he wasnt a "big man" ho couldnt shoot fts. but he chose to shoot from the middle of the semihemisphere on the ft area. like 2 or so feet behind "the line" he still shot over 80. point i take away is shoot it how you like. and if you are stong as all hell, fts, the touch, maybe not be applicable. but ive seen the worst player on my hs team regularl bank in 3s. whatever works right. they dont ask ho, they ask how many!
If it works for the player, it could work virtually anywhere, its a free throw😂
Where else do free throws happen when you say "virtually anywhere"?? Lol what?
@@michaelhaydenbellhe means in any other league you dinggo
@@michaelhaydenbellit was direct response to the title of the video
"Can This CRAZY Free Throw Work In The NBA?!?"
> If it works for the player, it could work virtually anywhere, its a free throw😂
anywhere = any non-NBA basketball league
Virtually?! You can even make a free throw in VR? 😂
@@Bojeezy virtually means nearly or almost. Which is why virtual reality means “almost reality”
Short answer: yes. Anything that can improve shooting percentage can translate to the NBA. While other skills and shots have to take other variables into consideration (ie. distance from the basket, position of the defender, etc) free throws are exactly the same, every time.
The only reason I would say you shouldn't is if the player is a jumpshooter, and maintaining consistency between their shooting form and aim is important. However, for someone like Steven Adams, whose only shots are less than 5 feet from the rim, anything to improve his free throw percentage makes perfect sense.
I’m reminded of hal greer. He was so much more comfortable shooting a jump shot vs a free throw that towards the end of his career he would shoot free throws using a jump shot at the free throw one.
Coach Nick, I changed my foul shooting technique
Instead of taking from my waste (like a jump shot)
I have the ball all ready out and at chest height
The reduction in movement from there has changed my shooting from about 60% to 80%
My team mates have noticed the big improvement 💯
This next decade of basketball is going to be so fun to watch.
When different cultures adopt a new sport they see every problem with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective.
Coaches overseas didn’t understand why big men couldn’t handle the ball and shoot from outside.
In baseball, I give the Japanese leagues a ton of credit for the amount of movement modern pitchers put on the ball.
This is so interesting to watch.
As a child in the early 90s... Thats how I was tought to shoot free throws. I stopped once I could arch the ball more, but, it definitely works!
I think I figured out the physics. A typical free throw technique doesn’t allow you to see the farthest horizontal point in the (relatively) flat arc of the trajectory. They instinctively know where it is, but they can’t SEE it. The bank-in method allows a bad free throw shooter to SEE the exact target, and all they have to do is slightly tinker with the arc. Brilliant!
I remember watching Oscar Schmidt do this in a match. It was an exhibition game and they lowered the height of the rim to generate more dunks. However, Oscar, who had around 90% FT percentage, was unable to hit his first FT, so he switched to this strategy and didn't miss any FT. For those who don't know, Oscar is the highest scorer in world basketball with almost 50 thousand points and was Kobe Bryant's idol
He was ONE of Kobe’s idols. MJ was NUMBER ONE. The ultimate. Hence, eerily reminiscent play styles. Internationally, I also loved Oscar Schmidt and Arvydas Sabonis, who should’ve came to the NBA much earlier.
way to go to make the correction! thank you for educating us all!
@@MultilinguistGlobalFitBlessed Yes true. Oscar was a childhood idol in Italy and yes Jordan is the main idol. Kobe in an interview in Brazil stated that she used something from Oscar, about leaving the marking and shooting 3pts.
I went a step (or rather 2 steps) further. I decided it's a good idea to shoot underhanded (granny) and bank your free throws.
Being a former Pro player in Japan (currently a B.League Japan Coach) and playing against KBL Teams during the preseason, this is VERY REAL
Also, until about 2010, there were still Japanese players shooting middle dribble jumpers off the backboard.
It looks like the backspin softens the shot and with softer shot it doesn't bounce away from the target as hard. And the bank allows for a flatter shot. This in turns lets you focus on just being straight and not worry about arc
Yes. A lower arc shot is also easier for certain shooters, and those lacking strength or touch-so the board interacts with the ball spin to their benefit.
Shaq needed this. Feels like a big man would need to control their strength less with a bank shot as they can throw it a bit higher and stronger and it could help people that lack that softer touch.
He sure did. Except Shaq argued that he would rather score zero FT points than not hit anything but net.
Unfortunately for him, he hit everything but made the free basket almost every time.
I was thinking about when would Shaq be drawn into this?
Exactly. Imagine an NBA where Shaq learned to bank in 80%! He would be even more unstoppable
Funny enough, I recall learning to shoot this way in elementary school
Im not good in basketball but im pretty good in billiards. I find a bank shot is easier and more accurate for whatever reason. I tend to miss more if it's not a bank shot. Not sure if that is comparable to a basketball free throw
This can also increase their power shooting 3 pointers as usual and not kinda adjust when shooting free throw. This also revolutionize the meta of shooting 3s.
Ummm.. no
In unregulated courts with a shorter free throw line I practice from way behind the line. Not sure why everyone has to be right up against the line if they're too strong
in korea, we learn backboard shot as basic method from school. it's been 15 years since i graduated, so it's a method with long history.
Actually surprised that NBA players didn't know about it
This is fascinating. You go from aiming for a target you cannot see - the horizontal rim that is above your head - to aiming for something you can easily see - the square on the backboard behind the rim. It almost feels like a darts throw.
I’ve been watching your channel since you had 3k subs man. I can’t wait until you’re fully recognized by the entire basketball community bc they’re missing out for sure
Without doing the calculations, I'll guess the geometry of the ball getting into the basket is better too. Probably after the bounce off the backboard, the ball losses some energy so it's moving slower too which should also help.
My grandpa played in the 1940s high school basketball and would shoot with both hands with a back spin off the board, never missed even as a 70 year old.
I almost exclusively banked free throws throughout high school and college. I've always believed that the box is there for a reason. The amount of spin you put on the ball makes a difference
I shoot FT like that. Even jump shots, I'm more accurate when I bank my shots compared to normal shots. When I was a kid I tried changing my shot to a normal one because all my friends don't bank their shots and I think it's more cooler and my friends says that bank shots are just lucky bounces, but when that didn't work for me, I just stuck with banking most of my shots even if it's not that cool. At least it's effective.
If you wanna try bank shots and make it your primary shot, I suggest you play billiards, pool or snooker, it'll help or somewhat train your brain to calculate banking angles, since those games are all about angles and banking.
It gives a visible target, helps depth perception
Question coach. What happened to the finger roll? We often remember Jordan as a dunker, but so many of his shots near the rim were short little shots. It looked like he didn't need to use 100% energy all the time, and these may have been away to conserve it.
Hmm - I feel like we still see a lot of finger roll finishes at the basket...??
I learned how to shoot basketball using the backboard, including free throws. My reasoning is that I can see the top box line and visually, I have a reference to aim for. A swish shot needs a lot more mental spatial manipulation and it wasn't easy for me. I know coaches are big on muscle memory, etc. I just think that backboard usage is really underrated and may help more people who are visually dependent to better their mid-range shots and free throws.
Love this comment as there is much about the spatial element that could be explored. Surely when a player is shooting a runner or floater their natural body drift introduces additional complexity into spatial calculation-where the larger and more visible backboard box presents easier or more visually accessible target for the shooter’s aim. Additionally the need for either a quick release, or extra-arc-to avert a pursuing defender make the spatial calculation preference the backboard as it’s simply bigger and more visible. Thoughts?
Yes, it will work. Plus there’s an advantage when you miss as your team has a better chance of getting the rebound.
I'd be curious to see how effective an "aimed" banked free throw could be--minimal backspin, treating the basketball like a dart. You'd actually have something tangible to aim at, so you could systematically select a target on the backboard which would provide the optimal angle.
Bank in your free throws using the granny style (Rick Barry).
My U16 amateur team here in Italy has a terrible 30% at freeshots and i m seriously thinking about introducing this tecnique next year...it will make sense in this case and reaching at least 50% would make a huge change
Taken aback by a story in the NY Times. The backboard actually gets the ball softer to the rim, and raises FT % markedly. But we were always taught to look at the front of the rim, to follow through, a spin of the wrist, a nice arc, and get the ball softly to the cylinder. If it did not swish, then if lucky you had a shooter's touch to score. Orthodoxy in many cases is not reality. The backboard technique works. But we must use science to verify percentages in FTs (and everything else in this world). My niece is Korean. I love Korean BBQ. I love Korea for many reasons. A great people.
Coach Nick, I love the analysis breakdown, but...
You have only mentioned about posture form and angle of arch. As a league bowling player, I would have love to see if there was a difference in revolutions, and ball of speed to fully cement your argument of the possible micro adjustment that these players are doing. As a bowler, we do micro adjustment with speed/revs/axis rotation/entrance angle throughout the lane conditions.
But just like in bowling, a strike is a strike and a bucket is bucket, no matter how you do it.
Love how we are still discovering new ways to improve fundamental bball skills!
Crazy that there are still new things out there!!
I just went and saw a game here in Japan against S. Korea and a player was doing this and I was wondering why but I am just seeing your video today so now it makes sense.
Aim for a set point below the top line of the box, and put a backspin. The visual feedback should help improve control when power is a given.
Damn that's a great video!
Love international game analysis!
Imagine that for Shaq or Wilt!
In korea, it is very common. Even in school, teacher teachs like this. On the contrary, I was surprised we only do this in common.
I switched to bank shot too. reason.... coordinates... board will be X-Y plane, rim is X-Z plane. With bank shot you just worry about X-Y, which is just the board. Increase in power to generate is minimal
1:42 I like Coach’s use of AI to ensure he pronounced the players name correctly. I respect that.
I coached a girls basketball team back in the 80's and taught them to use the backboard for every freethrow and shots from the paint. The girls shot 80% from the freethrow line and went undefeated. You don't have to be extra strong.
I always thought that Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan should've switched to this years ago.
Both were so strong and had a pretty good form and soft realese for a big man. And both were more worried about not shooting it too strong instead of trying to just make it.
One thing for a big man when trying to bank is, is you have to have some kind of soft wrist / realese. Shaq has had broken wrists, he often talked about, but even he would've had more chance with banking, sinced his flat shots could just 'die' on the backboard, while it was almost impossible with his flat free throws that it would hit backrim and drop through.
So I love how you pointed out that the arc can be a bit lower and also a bankshot needs more power.
With, for almost all big men, is a problem with traditional free throws; they don't get enough arc and haven't got a soft release 'cause they're too strong.
I think the bank technique would be more one that is good for bigs. This actually reminds me of Shaq's FT shooting situation. I think he had too much baseline power and his hands were too big. If you look at his shooting, he literally could not finesse the ball enough to get a clean, soft arcing shot to go into the rim. He would literally shoot line drive clankers most of the time. Why not use that to his advantage and use the backboard instead?
He didnt practice, that was the real problem, he never developed a shooting form
Yes, exactly!
When i was teenager, i had a coach that demanded everyone to shoot using the glass and not only FT. He said that direct shots had more ball speed, decreasing the chance of scoring. Also, the board visual reference is better to feel the real distance of the rim. Still, i never used, cose nothing but net is always more cool.
You have to practice something over and over again to do it right. Bank FT, swish FT, granny shot FT. If you practice it, you will be GOOD at it.
To compare using the backboard vs straight in, you need a robot to shoot accurately, with measured speed, angle, and backspin, and then see if the backboard gives you a larger range of these speed factors that it still result in made shots.
How much forgiveness of error does the bounce off the backboard help, or change? For ANY banked shot? Surely the variance in accuracy from a live-game environment (not a FT where there is no defensive pressure) must be considered.
I figured this out in 2012 but the trick is you must shoot it soft enough so it can bounce once or multiple times and still go in the basket.
Everyone is aware of Tim Duncan’s 45° bank shots, but before him I remember Rudy Tomjanovich shooting some of the hardest impact bank shots that I have even seen go in. I also recall seeing him bank the ball on foul shots, but I am not sure if he did it that way over larger chunks of career.
it's not just the power generation - taller players are shooting from a higher set point, which means less force required. shorter players may find it uncomfortable to generate enough force required to hit backboard without compromising accuracy to some degree.
one other potential benefit from backboard FTs is that misses are probably more likely to be rebounded by your own team.
Oh shit, that's background music is from the Lewis & Clark vs Bill & Ted ERB!
I was not expecting to hear it here, but a welcome surprise nonetheless!
lol - I had no idea but LET'S GO!
Certain heights have a harder tube shooting from that distance because it’s kinda difficult to get the right arc and touch when they are practically at eye level with the rim. So to speak.
I know it is not the most natural looking shot but if it goes in, it goes in.
We were shooting free throws for the next game and I accidentally banked it in. Got some comments but I got to play the next game even though we lost.
You can get good at any shot you practice. If banking it works for you - use that. You can also practice swishing it too. One is not harder than the other, hence there is no advantage to banking it. It's all about practice, routine and confidence.
Tim Duncan is from the US Virgin Islands.
5:20 shout out Mansfield MA (team in white) playing against Taunton
The explanation is simple. Draw a circle on a piece of paper and estimate the area inside. Now slowly tilt the paper away from you so that it becomes an ellipse. The more you tilt the paper, the more you reduce the area on the inside. By using a higher arc and banking the free-throw off of the backboard, the shooter is effectively maximizing the accessible area inside the rim for the ball to go through.
By the same implicit logic I think players should try banking in floaters, as the shot involves the natural imprecision of their body drift when shooting. Using the board I think helps mitigate that and leads to potentially better results.
it's not complicated. There is literally a square target and there is a large range of power that can work for a straight bank shot because the ball is bouncing towards the player after the bank, therefore, if it's too much power, the rim can catch the extra force, too little power, and the backboard will cause extra bounce (think Jokic shots). The only thing player is thinking is to keep it straight. Trying to swish through the net is a far more difficult shot, but in the long run, helps with the rest of your shooting. The bank shot is hard for general shooting is because, though it is more forgiving in the power side, you're adding an extra bank angle calculation to your shot which fucks with your "keep it straight" posture and makes your shooting mechanic much more difficult especially in motion.
Respectfully disagree. Adding the imprecision of players motion makes the larger square box a helpful visual aid. Also the need for a quicker shot or lower arcing high-spin shot favors the backboard in my experience. It’s probably why we are taught to shoot layups off the backboard.
It’s the best popashot technique. It should be a sound technique for free throws, especially for somebody who has less control at low velocities, and does better shooting it harder.
If you’re so big and have hands so big that the basketball feels like a popashot ball (looking at you, Shaq and Wilt), then maybe it makes more sense.
Percentages don’t lie.
actually do see a difference in the mechanics, the first and second player you showed both had better follow through with their fingers, with the regular shot ending in more of an open hand and the banked having a follow thru that ends with fingers pointing downed, more complete of a follow through
i played with a guy who was a backboard specialst. not fast, not tall, not shifty nor crafty but left,right,centre, didnt matter to him. he had a higher release point than usual, faster trigger, and that was all he got offensivly. but did he make it work!
Completely unrelated to basketball but I'm pretty sure that the beat that comes in around 30 seconds in is the same beat from the Lewis and Clark Epic Rap Battles of history featuring Rhett and Link.
Epic crossover. Expect nothing less from Coach.
It looks like they all hit the top line of the square. That makes things so much simpler and easier having a consistent target
the rim isn't a consistent target?
when I was a kid, in my first baskeball team here in Europe, they would encourage us to hit the backboard in free throws, which leads to believe that this was kind of a regular technique even before my time.
Banking for a free throw is actually quite counter intuitive as you need to throw a fair bit harder
But the good thing is you don't need to worry about the power
The main problem is, like the granny shot, the bank shot is frowned upon and made fun of from the earliest days of pick up basketball with elementary school kids. It's often seen as unskilled, lucky, or even girly, and thus players who may develop this shot naturally are discouraged from practicing it from day one. Even at the professional level, the stigma still stands, as I've heard big men say that they are much more accurate with the granny shot or the bank shot, but even then, they are still ridiculed by their own teammates in practice, because it doesn't look "cool".
It's totally absurd that grown men let their 4th grade students act like this, but even worse that grown men millionaires in the NBA act like this, even toward their own teammates. All it does is hurt the game, and perpetuate a culture where flashy, selfish, losing basketball is praised over less glamorous fundamentals, teamwork, rebounding, passing, and defense that wins championships. I don't think you see anything like this in any other sport.
I remember at the park one time I decided to try this I hit like 50 or 60 in a row never ever do that if not trying to think it I think the best I can do with like 10 and that was a struggle
Imagine Shaq and Wilt using this technique during their careers. They instantly add more points and possibly championships to their already legendary careers. It would also eliminate any "hack-a-(fill in the blanks)" towards the end of games.
It seems like the bank shot relies less on touch than the traditional free throw and puts more emphasis on just aim (i.e. hitting a certain area on the backboard). I'd think it'd be worth trying for anyone with poor shooting touch.
Yes! There is a huge variance is players “touch” and in their ability to learn touch. The backboard can be somewhat on an equalizer and help lower-touch shooters!
Honestly, it's a good way to improve free-throw shooting, especially for guys who would rather shoot 50% than underhand.
I’ve been saying this for years. All big centres that struggle with free throws should have had a trainer put a piece of tape around on the backboard exactly in line with the middle of the hoop and get the big guys to aim for it. Flick the wrist and have that shot spin down and in.
I remember my school broke one of the hoops and had to replace the boards with these before our big rivalry game . Long story short we one the game but the fans were out in the parking lot fighting because they thought we did it on purpose 😂.
What about the spin? Its like playing at the arcade. The trick is one hand shot with a spin towards you and hitting a little harder than normal the center or close to the center of the square. 😂 It increases the speed and the shot made percentage.
Many shooters can do that but the most interesting i think is mastering bank shot 3's.
Reporting this like it’s some new crazy way to shoot free throws. Best free throw shooter on my high school team shot this same way … back in 1974-75.
This is my uncle. We used to play basketball and im about 8 inches taller than him and 20 years younger. At my absolute best, i could stop him maybe 1 out of 10 times. He had this knack for angles and using his body to negate that size difference. I was taller, athletic, stronger and honestly had a much better lateral quickness than he did. But still, he gound openings and angles and almost always used glass. He grew up with 4 brothers, and they played bully ball. One was a body builder, power lifter and arm wrestling champion, the others were just pure animals. He just grew up with contact and bully ball. I learned so much from him. His ability to find those angles and change speeds and use my height against me was just humbling. I could beat him 1 on 1 at my best, but he was 45 and i was 22. Bank shots and fundamentals (Tim Duncan) are underrated. It doesnt look good, but it's effective.
No lie, this is how I have always shot my free throws ever since I was playing youth basketball. Just learned by banking them in and it became a habit.
It may be me, but when I shoot via the backboard I needed less ball spin and the ball goes in much more frequently. If I only aim to shoot without hitting anything there's too much energy transfer and ball bounces out easier.
1:44 You missed the follow-thru coach.
He changed his follow-thru duration by quite a good chunk of seconds, which if you're a shooter, you know helps quite a bit.
I studied whether he pulled his arms down early on just the regular FTs but then I saw a number of banked FTs where he did the same so I didn't feel like it was a change
The bank shot gives more obvious target which helps focus, relaxation and most importantly CONFIDENCE
Its alao important to note that most nba players are not small and weak and could probably bank a 3pt shot in without jumping with little difficulty. The perspective of a 6-8 to 7 ft guy is completely different than ours. To them shooting a free throw is like when we are trying to shoot on our kids hoop hanging on their door.
I think that this looks like a solid method for big men who struggle with free-throws
1. In middle school while in Korea (early 90s), I was taught to aim at the box for all shots, pretty much. Was taught that there was more room for error with banked shots.
2. As for offensive rebounds, I'm pretty sure it's just Korean teams not having the resources to scout and analyze that portion of the game. Or, it could be that they thought it's not worth messing with the players' minds enough. It would be something else if there were a lot of players shooting that way AND if the FT percentage was low enough, but with not as many players shooting that way + the percentages being high, it's probably not worth shifting, especially if not ALL missed freethrows come to the left or right.
anyway, fascinating topic, but in the NBA, swag is everything lol. Nobody shoots underhanded free throws, for example.
Big men should definitely look into this technique! The problem with big men is their height makes it hard to generate a good arc at free throw line. On solution is Rick-Barry the shot and you can get a good arc, but most players are too proud to do this, so bank shot is definitely something to try
Works best for those with less depth perception... I've often wondered if eye spacing has something to do this. His eyes seem closer than most players.
Is there anything to not just stronger, but taller players having a more advantageous angle when shooting a bank free throw in respect to getting it to be on the way down when it contacts the backboard?
They can inherently shoot a lower arcing free throw than me as a shorter person having to have a higher arc just to get it over the rim in the first place.
i used to do this as a kid and it worked pretty well
This is how I always did it as a kid. I never understood why coaches would say not to. It's way easier to bank a shot, at least for me.
Awesome vid coach keep cookin
Thx!! 🙏🏀
Very interesting video, definitely be thinking a lot more about my free throws lol
05:43 Tim Duncan is from the US Virgin Islands
Well if its works it works! It depends on what u feel on the ball while standing in free throw line. Not everybody can shoot well so if u know u are having a hard time controling ur strength when throwing the ball then use the board