Extend Your Range Like Damian Lillard

Lower level athletes often think practicing their shots from further away will make them better shooters.

To extend your range, join PGC director Matt McLeod as he shares two specific habits you must do in order to become a Damian Lillard shooter.

To get the ball to the basket from outside of the three point line, you have to generate power with your body and increase efficiency. The first way to do that is with:

Body Rotation

To down shots like a Damian Lillard or a Steph Curry, you must begin to rotate your body. The further away you are from the rim, the more body rotation you’ll need.

Dip The Ball

If you’re serious about extending your range you will need to dip when you shoot from behind the three-point line. It doesn’t matter if you are catching the ball off a pass to go right into your shot or if you are dribbling the ball and ready to shoot off the bounce, you’re going to want to add a dip. Just like Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion any object is at rest is going to stay at rest but an object in motion tends to stay in motion. Instead of shooting from a standstill position, get your body to move. That law of motion will extend your range.

Focus on your Follow-Through

A very wise teacher once said, “the end of the thing is better than its beginning.” That is why your follow-through is so important. Great shooters have special follow throughs.

Three nuggets as you work on your follow-through:

1. Triple Extension

This is when your shoulder, elbow and wrist lock out at the same time. That fluid motion is an efficient way to generate power.

2. Snap and Wiggle

Many athletes are very stiff as they snap their wrists to shoot. Staying stiff will not allow you to generate the power you need to be a Damian Lillard Shooter. Great shooters have a snap and wiggle, a natural bounce of their hand after they release the ball.

3. Trigger Finger Down

Your trigger finger must be pointed down to give your body the power it needs to become a great shooter.

Join us at a PGC camp to discover how to maximize shooting accuracy, develop a lightning-quick release, and the mindset and training required to become a deadly shooter.