Heroes Live

Since 1980, there has been a humongous improvement in how a basketball player shoots to increase their chances of making a basket, which is attributable to the research of the physics of basketball shooting. Basketball is a sport that requires great concentration and repetitive motion, and these two heavily impact a jump-shot, when a player shoots a ball into a hoop while jumping. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 46 cm in diameter and 10 feet high mounted to a backboard at each end. However, because the hoop is very small with just a medium sized backboard to help one out, it is very difficult for people who do have not looked into the physics of shooting a ball to make the shot most of the time. The primary challenges for a basketball player are simple: taking high efficient shots and making their baskets. This science of shooting a basketball was pioneered in the United States by Larry Silverberg, a mechanical engineer at North Carolina State University, whom analyzed "millions of trajectories based on shots by the best free-throw shooters” (Wagner).

There are a multitude of angles, deflections, spins, and trajectories that the shooter can utilize to be successful. Good shooters maintain consistent core fundamentals in the delivery of every successful basketball shot. In basketball, the arc in which the ball travels and the angle thrown from impact greatly the chance of a ball going into the basket. Thus, to improve jump-shots by basketball players, they have to take into consideration Newton’s laws, velocity, and parabolic arc to increase the probability of a made basket. Most shooters will seek to shoot the ball directly into the rim, often visualizing the ball entering just over the front of the rim. The magic...

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...in angle, targeting a certain place on the backboard, all adds to a more accurate way of making a basket. There are some negative aspects to this such as being a bit more prone to injuries and… But the positives outweigh the negatives, as learning about the science of shooting better in a basketball game helps them save money from developing technology which can be costly to basketball organizations, and even help them profit by having suspenseful games. And socially, it helps others be more involved in games and not feel left out due to their natural skills and creates more time for professional basketball players to be involved in community service. However, it still stands that basketball is a sport of concentration, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Studying how to shoot higher efficient shots allows the game to be fun for the pro players and everyone else as well.