Practice › Basketball › Free throw
Basketball free throw: check your form with your phone
The free throw is the one shot you take the same way every time, which makes it the best place to build a repeatable form. With nobody guarding you, the only variables are your legs, your arm and your balance, and each of them can be checked without a ball.
No equipment needed. Practise at home. Just do the movement properly in front of your phone: a shadow swing for racquet sports, a rep for lifting. No court, ball, shuttle or weights needed, and a racket or a bar is optional.
What good looks like
- Take the same stance every time and let the shot begin in your legs: sink a little as the ball comes up.
- Lift the ball so your elbow is up around eye level before you push, with the ball over your forehead rather than in front of your chest.
- Rise as you extend, finishing with the arm fully straight and the hand above your head, reaching for the rim.
- Hold the follow-through with a relaxed wrist until the ball reaches the rim.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Shooting with the arm only
If your knees stay straight the arm has to supply all the power, and the shot gets flat and inconsistent. Let the legs start the shot.
Pushing from the chest
A low set point makes the ball travel in a push instead of a lift and finish. Get the elbow up before you extend.
Dropping the arm early
Letting the arm fall the moment the ball leaves cuts the finish short. Freeze the follow-through until the ball lands.
What Formanti checks on your free throw
Judged once the shot has finished, with the hold of your follow-through timed.
- Release: at least 138°. arm fully extended at the release
- Release: at least 120°. shoot up, not out: the arm finishes high
- Follow-through: at least 0.45 s. hold the follow-through until the ball reaches the rim
- Landing: up to 0.6× your torso. finish where you started
- Release: -10–20°. stay balanced: no leaning back
Your legs and your set point
Where the shot starts: do your knees bend, and is your elbow up before you push.
- Legs: 12–70°. bend your knees: the shot starts in your legs
- Set point: 70–150°. elbow up to about eye level before you shoot
What you hear and see when you are off
Use your legs: bend your knees as the shot starts
The coach says: “Bend your knees”
On screen: Use your legs: bend your knees as the shot starts.
Drill: Chair shooting: start each shot from lightly touching a chair seat with your hips, rise and release in one motion. 10 close-range shots.
Get your elbow up before you shoot
The coach says: “Elbow up”
On screen: Get your elbow up before you shoot.
Drill: Wall set-point holds: stand side-on to a wall, lift into your set point and hold for 2 seconds, 10 times, then shoot.
Extend your arm all the way
The coach says: “Extend all the way”
On screen: Extend your arm all the way.
Drill: One-hand form shooting from 1 metre: 15 shots, freeze each one with your arm fully straight.
Shoot up, not out
The coach says: “Shoot up”
On screen: Shoot up, not out.
Drill: Shoot over a raised hand (or a broom held up by a friend) from close range: 10 shots.
Hold your follow-through
The coach says: “Hold the follow-through”
On screen: Hold your follow-through.
Drill: Freeze drill: hold every follow-through for a count of two. 10 shots.
Land where you took off
The coach says: “Land on the spot”
On screen: Land where you took off.
Drill: Put a line under your feet and take 10 shots, landing on the line.
Stay balanced: don't lean back
The coach says: “Don't lean back”
On screen: Stay balanced: don't lean back.
Drill: Shoot 10 free throws holding the finish until the ball lands, checking your chest stays over your feet.
Drills you can do alone
- Chair shooting: start each shot from lightly touching a chair seat with your hips, then rise and release in one motion, ten times from close range.
- Freeze drill: hold every follow-through for a slow count of two, with your hand high and your wrist relaxed, and check it in the phone's picture afterwards.
How to set up your phone
Phone at chest height, 3 to 4 metres away, side-on, your shooting hand nearest to it, with room above your hands. A ball is optional. It all runs on your phone and nothing is uploaded. Filmed from the front the phone can count your shots but not judge them.
Guide values, new and not yet checked against real players. It doesn't see the ball, the hoop, or whether a shot goes in. Whether your elbow is under the ball needs a camera behind you: from the side it can't judge that. Your base (feet width and alignment) can't be judged from the side.
Frequently asked questions
How do I practise free throws without a hoop?
Shoot into the air with or without a ball and watch your form, not the result. Your legs, your set point, your extension and your follow-through can all be trained anywhere with a little space.
How long should I hold the follow-through?
Until the ball has reached the rim, which is roughly a second. The coach times your hold and flags it when it is clearly shorter than that.