Researchers at Noah Basketball have been conducting studies for more than a decade to find the perfect angle and depth (into the rim) a shot should travel to score the most.
To reach a conclusion, Alan Marty of Noah Basketball worked with the likes of Jerry Krause, the National Association of Basketball Coaches research chairman (who also currently serves as Gonzaga University’s director of basketball operations); John Carter, now the CEO of Noah Basketball; and Dr. Tom Edwards, a NASA scientist. This team has spent years figuring out a substantive, physics- and neuroscience-based method for players to make more shots.
Their conclusion is that an average shooter who shoots with an optimal arc of 45 degrees (give or take two degrees) is going to make about 11 percent more free throws than a shooter with a high arc of 53 degrees (68 percent vs. 57 percent). The same holds true going the other way. That same average 45-degree shooter makes 12 percent more free throws than a flat-arc 35-degree shooter (68 percent vs. 56 percent).
The picture shows what a 35- (red line), 45- (green line) and53-degree (blue line) arc look like. For very skilled shooters, the same conclusion is found. A very skilled 45-degree-arc shooter averages a make-rate of 96 percent while the 53-degree high arc shooter makes 89 percent and a 35-degree flat-arc shooter makes 80 percent of his or her free throws. Clearly, very skilled shooters make many baskets but they could be making even more shots, which is why this research is so critical.
(Thanks Michael Austin)
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