I went to many, many basketball camps as a kid. And one thing I heard over and over again was “son, stick your elbow under the ball.” So I obediently said the same to other players I’ve coached over the years, as it sounds right. But I have come to question this belief; Is it really correct to tell players to put their elbow under the ball? In the last 20 years I have watched shooters hundreds of times. So far I haven’t seen any, and I mean none, shooters who really “keep their elbow under the ball.” They each have their elbow a little to the side.
The advice to “keep your elbow under the ball” is not entirely useless. Some children have the firing elbow pointing violently to the side. That’s not going to work; you’ll be a terrible shot if your elbow placement makes you look like you’re flapping your wings like a chicken. So for those people who have ‘chicken wing syndrome’, the instructions to ‘put your elbow under the ball’ will at least get you started on getting the ball into a better position. But just because it helps some kids correct some problems, it doesn’t make the statement “keep your elbow under the ball” correct.
If you took the advice to put your elbow under the ball literally, it would hurt, not help your shot. It puts your arm in an unnatural position and creates unnecessary tension. In truth, your elbow should point about 20-30 degrees off center; If your arm were a clock, a right-hander’s arm would be around 4:30 or 5:30, and a left-hander’s arm would be around 7:30 or 8:30. If you try to force him lower….in other words, to go straight up and down (or 6:00 to continue the example), his shoulder would go up 16, the muscles would tense up and that kind of tension is an enemy to a relaxed and consistent shot.