Detailed Hooper
- Jul 14, 2021
- 8 min read

How To Create Your Own Shot in basketball

You can work on your shot all you want, but if you do not know how to create your own shot, then you will severely limit yourself as a player and as a scorer.

In this article I will be giving you the necessary tips and tricks, that will be required to create your own shot in basketball.

1. Improve Your Dribbling

one of the easiest things you can do, to improve your shot creating ability in basketball is too improve your dribbling.

By improving your dribbling you will give yourself the ability to get to your spot, and create your shot with control, and rhythm.

By also improving your dribbling ability, you then get better at improving your moves, like crossovers, or step backs.

When practicing your dribbling when it comes to creating your shot, make sure you practice this at game speed, and really focus on your footwork, as shooting off the dribble can be one of the most difficult things to do in basketball.

Below is a video giving you 5 great moves, you can use to get space, and create your own shot.

2.Have A Go To Spot

When creating your shot in basketball, its going to be easier and effective, for some players if they have a go to spot.

This does not always have to be a exact spot on the floor, but a place where you feel the most comfortable going.

This could be the mid range, on a pull up jumper, or even the elbow spot like Chris Paul. The basic point is, having spots on the court you feel comfortable going to will make creating and making a shot much easier and more efficient.

So try it out, and do a little self inspection, on your game and see what works best for you on the court.

3. Misdirection

In order to get space in anything involving basketball, you actually have to do your part and go somewhere with your dribble.

I see so many players make this mistake, when trying to get space in basketball.

They take all these dribbles just to stay in the same place. In order to create that space you need to use your dribble to go somewhere.

So when doing a crossover, or any other type of move, take that extra step and get away from your opponent.

An example of this would be Damien Lillards shot over Paul George, a reason he was able to get his shot off over the much taller Paul George, is because he was able to utilize his quickness, and use his steps and dribbles to get somewhere and rise up for his shot.

Another important step in order to misdirect your opponent, is using fakes and hesitations.

You can do this in many different ways, but one of the most important things in faking out your opponent is your body language. You need to make your opponent think that you are going to do something, even though you are not.

One of the easiest ways to sell this to your opponent is with your eyes. If your opponent thinks you are looking one way, they are most likely going to expect you to go another way.

But a lot of this comes down with experimentation, A hesitation move is similar in that way, because it involves faking out your opponent, and making them expect a shot, when in reality your looking for a drive.

So find out what fakes and moves work for you, so you can create that space and get your shot off.

4. Be Unpredictable

One of the easiest ways to be unpredictable in basketball, is change of speeds. By changing speeds this can shock your opponent, and really force them to get off balance, which in turn will allow you to get the proper space need for your shot.

Changing speeds can be done on any move, but one important things to note when changing speeds, is too always be unpredictable. If your a player who does it consistently then it is not unpredictable anymore.

If your opponent gets an idea of what your going to do and how your going to do it, then you cannot be effective at throwing him off anymore.

You might be able to get your shot off in the first quarter, but to be really effective at getting space, you need to do it the whole game, and being unpredictable is a great way of doing that.

5. Understand Pick And Rolls

Pick and rolls are a great way to get your shot off, and create space, especially if your going against a really tough defender.

There are certain things you need to understand about pick and rolls, in order to be able to effectively use them, to get space against your defenders

-Coming off screens tight

When coming off a screen you need to come off that screen tight, so your teammate can effectively screen your opponent, and give him no room to sneak in a try to contest your shot.

-Set Up The Screen

This is important for pick and rolls because in order to get space from your opponent, your going to need to set up screens with your moves. This is because by getting your opponent off balance before the screen comes, it will make it harder for your opponent to get through that screen and guard you.

-Look To Attack

Its important when understanding the pick and roll and its effectiveness in getting space, you have to realize that if your passive and not aggressive, then your opponent is going to attack you and make your life difficult.

So by being aggressive, with a pick and roll, you keep the defense honest, and will be able to get away, from that opponent and defender.

6. Pull Up Jump Shot

The Pull Up Jump shot is very effective at getting your shot off, because it allows you to use your momentum to pop up while your defender is falling back.

Due to this, it is virtually impossible to block a pull up jumper if you time it right, and get the right space on your opponent.

This is also effective at separating from your defender, because it allows you to get space in the air vs getting space from the ground.

Just make sure you use this pull up when you are in rhythm, and have your defender on there back foot. That is when it will be the most effective.

For more information on pull up jumpers, click here

7. Step Back

The step back is a great move to use, if you have a more aggressive defender on you and they are worried about your drive.

To really get space from your opponent, you have to make it seem like you are going to drive, naturally if your defender is worried about your drive they will back up. If you step back as soon as your defender backs up, then you will be wide open and have lots of room for your shot.

For more information on step backs and which type of step back works for you check out the video below

8. Fadeaways

This can be one of the most effective, and easiest shots you can go to at any point in the game to get space.

Due to how hard it is to block, and even contest, if you are a player that can master the fadeaway you will virtually, always be able to get your shot off.

This can be great off the dribble, but if your looking to separate from your defender, especially in the post then a fadeaway is something you should think off mastering, and implementing into your arsenal of offensive tools.

9. Knowing When and Where to Attack

This all comes down to offensive IQ. This tip does not just apply to creating space but your offense as a whole.

This is something you have to learn and practice, some simple things to know when realizing when to attack, is to see how on balanced they are, understanding help defense, and understand your court positioning.

By attacking your opponent when he is off balanced like a close out, or when he is off his back foot, then you put the power and control back in your hands, which in turn will allow you to dictate the pace and get the shot you would like to get off.

Pro Tip: Another great way to attack your defender, is to attack his top foot, by attacking his top foot, you force them to open up there body, which will make them have to recover, and not keep there head up.

10. Practice

At the end of the day in order to really be effective at getting separation, is practicing against other defenders and opponents.

Great ways to do this, are games like one on one, or king of the court.

I recommend to have a 3 dribble limit or even a 5 second limit, so you can get a better idea of what will work in game scenarios.

Also if you can work and practice, on different defenders, you can see what might work against bigger players, vs what might work against, smaller or quicker players.

11. Jabs

Jabs create space against your defender, because they can constantly keep your opponent guessing.

Jabs can virtually work anywhere on the court, and is definitely something you should work on especially if your in a triple threat.

In order to be effective at Jabs you need to be able to sell your jabs. You want your opponent to be constantly questioning, when you will make your next move.

What is so great about jabs is that they can create separation and space even without a dribble. So as a player this is an excellent move and technique to add to your game to get space and separation.

A great example below, is how Lebron James used his jab to get space even without taking a single dribble.

12. Understand Your Opponent

This is with anything in basketball, but there are certain things you need to understand about your opponent, in order to get space from them.

One thing to understand is there size. Understanding there size and reach will let you know what moves to use, and how much space you will need to create, to get your shot off.

Another thing to understand about your opponent is how aggressive they are. Aggressive defenders will usually be easier to get space against, where non aggressive players can be harder to get more space. So you will need to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Conclusion

There are many ways to get your jump shot off in basketball, and create space for yourself. I hope this article helped give you more ideas and tricks, to create your own shot. I'm curious to know what you all do to create space on your jump shots?

As always thank you for reading and keep hooping my friends.