How hand should be on basketball during shot
 
The discussion as presented on the internet regarding what parts of the hand should be on the basketball when it is shot, has been unneccessarily confusing; which reminds me that it seems that there are people who seem to have a talent for messing up the explanation of things, which might be related to the unconscious pleasure a teacher gets when a student is unable to understand something that in the teacher's mind is simple.
 
Apparently the wise men of basketball some time ago decided that when the basketball is released during a shot, the palm of the shooting hand should not be touching the basketball (http://www.breakoutbasketball.com/tipoftheweek_06182007.html). This then as advice traveled from person to person became distorted into the idea that only the fingertips should be used in a basketball shot. Seems that what the wise men of basketball originally meant, is that the fingers from the pads of the fingers below the first joint of the finger on up to the fingertips should be used in a shot; they did not mean that only the fingertips should be used in a shot. Nevertheless apparently there still exists a school of thought according to which, the fingertips only should be involved when the ball is propelled towards the basket.
 
Another source of confusion is that there is a (ignored) difference between the palm of the hand touching the ball at an early phase in the shot process before the ball is released, and the palm of the hand touching the ball at the time the ball is released.
 
By nature I rest the ball in the palm of my hand during a relatively early phase of my shot; but as a result of the ball being aimed upwards and backspin being imparted to the ball, the palm of my hand is not in contact with the ball at the time that the ball is released from my hand and propelled towards the basket; the ball travels from the palm of my hand to the area between the fingerpads below the fingers and the fingetips, and then finally to the fingertips alone as it is released. To me it seems almost impossible to shoot a basketball at an upwards angle, while backspinning it, and at the same time have the palm of the hand in contact with the ball as it is released from the hand.
 
Whether you start you shot with the palm of the hand on the ball, or with the pads of the fingers (at the upper edge of the hand) on the ball, or with only the fingertips on the ball, if you shoot with backspin and arc in all cases the fingertips are the last part of the hand to touch the ball.
 
If I am putting backspin on the ball and arcing the ball upwards as I shoot, the difference between starting the shot with the ball in the palm of my hand, and starting the shot with the ball on my fingers/fingerpads, and starting the shot with the ball on my fingertips, is limited. The difference is that when I start the shot with the palm of the ball in my hand, some of the force of the shot comes from body movement that occurs while the palm of the hand is on the ball, some while the palm is off the ball and the fingerpads/fingers are on the ball, and some while only the fingertips are on the ball; if I start the shot with the fingers and fingerpads on the ball, some of the force of the shot comes from body movement that occurs while the fingerpads and fingertips are both in contact with the ball, and some while only the fingertips are in contact with the ball; and if I start the shot with only the fingertips on the ball, all of the force of the shot comes from body movements made while the fingertips alone are in contact with the ball. In every case the fingertips are the last part of the body to touch the ball.
 
I see a pattern here. Looks like a false idea that the fingertips alone should be used in a shot has become widespread, because the discussions re the subject have ignored the question of at WHEN the fingertips should be on the ball, the reality being that the fingertips should be the last part of the body in contact with the ball when it is shot. Likewise, it appears that a false idea that the palm of the hand MUST NEVER be on the ball at any time during the shot has become widely accepted, because the discussions of the subject have ignored the question of WHEN it is acceptable or unacceptable to have the palm of the hand on the ball during the shot process.
 
This kind of confusion can lead to: an unneccessary obsession with what parts of the hand are touching the ball during an early phase of a shot, whereas the intended focus is on which parts of the hand are touching the ball when the ball is released; and misunderstandings wherein those who are not shooting the ball with the palm of their hand, but rather are resting the ball in the palm during an early phase of the shot, are persecuted as deviants.
 
Exaggerating the true level of difference between various shooting methods can lead to excessively critical attitudes that ignore that individuals naturally differ and that there are as many acceptable ways of shooting as there are excellent shooters
 
Sports may be relatively unimportant but they produce insights applicable to supposedly more important matters. It appears that something coaches and teachers in almost every field forget is that sure some value is to be found in almost any conceivable drill or experiment, but since we as humans have limited amounts of time and energy, we have to use that time and energy wisely and discriminatingly, focusing on the drills and experiments that produce higher rates of return. If we spend too much time when experimenting comparing two methods that are almost identical, we have less time to experiment with methods that significantly differ from each other. If we spend too much time attempting to modify methodological errors that cause zero or close to zero negative impact, we have less time and energy to work on errors that produce significant impairments.
 
 
Quotes from Internet Sources Re How Hand Should Be Placed on Ball During Basketball Shot:
 
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=basketball+shooting+fingertips
1) One-Handed Set Shot

Shot Set-Up

Before attempting to shoot, make sure you have your basic set-up done right. Your feet should be shoulder width apart with your weight spread evenly between both. Weight should also be slightly forward on the balls of your feet, knees bent slightly, hips relaxed. If you're right-handed, place your right foot slightly ahead of the left and stick your butt out slightly (if left-handed, place your left foot slightly ahead of the right).

Want to test whether you are properly balanced for basketball shooting? Once you have your lower body positioned as explained above, have someone push your chest. Your feet are too close together if you fall backward.
 

A lot of people will tell you to have your shoulders exactly square to the basket. We believe the basketball shooting hand side of your body should be turned slightly with your shoulder forward toward the basket and the non-shooting shoulder angled slightly back. Your head will be angled just a bit toward your shooting arm.

Now, hold the ball close to your chest and just below your chin. Your shooting hand should be positioned a little under the ball and and a little more toward the back. Non-shooting hand should be cupped, slightly under the ball and a little more toward the front.

You want your fingers and thumb well spread with the space between the forefinger and middle finger lined up with the middle of your face. The ball should touch your entire hand except for your palm.

Your hand, forearm, elbow, knee and foot should be in a straight line. Don't let your elbows stick out at your side. This will change the ball's rotation and might make it curve (there goes your basketball shooting accuracy!). Keep the elbow pointed at the basket and closer to the basket than your wrist. This prevents you from "pushing" the ball at the hoop.

Keep your head up and directly above the midpoint between your feet. Your weight should still be slightly forward on the balls of your feet, knees bent slightly, hips relaxed. Focus on the front of the rim before, during, and after your shot. Don't look away to watch the ball in flight (a key basketball shooting fundamental).

As you begin the shot, your weight should roll up onto the toes of your forward foot. Be sure you're releasing upward and toward the basket and not reaching forward as you release. It's OK to to leave your feet a bit as your back foot gives you a quick, upward push. Throw your head up and through and then land just ahead of the position from where you began the shot.

As the ball leaves your hand, the fingers and thumbs on each hand should be well spread with the palms almost facing one another. Snap your wrist to release the ball off your fingers and achieve the correct back spin necessary for a soft shot

In your follow through, the forefinger should be the last finger to touch the ball. This action will turn your palm out a bit as the ball is released. Visualize putting your hand into the basket as you follow through. This will help you get complete elbow extension and wrist flexion during the follow through.

Get these fundamentals down and when it comes to basketball shooting, you'll have one heck of a set shot going!

 

2) Jump Shot

Set-Up, Ball Placement, Elbow and Head Placement

Very much like the Set Shot. Follow the same instructions for set up and ball placement. You'll also release the ball much the same. Be sure your hand, forearm, elbow, knee and foot are in a straight line. Keep your elbows in just like with the set shot.

Also, just like you learned above with the set shot, keep your head up and directly above the midpoint between your feet. Your weight should still be slightly forward on the balls of your feet, knees bent slightly, hips relaxed. Focus on the front of the rim before, during, and after your shot. Don't look away to watch the ball in flight (a key basketball shooting fundamental).

You want to jump quickly and push off the leg opposite your shooting hand. For power, protection and balance, bring the knee of the shooting side leg up quickly. Your move should be up and toward the hoop (not out and toward the hoop) and you should land only a bit in front of the spot you launched from.

One of the keys to this shot is your quickness, not trying to out jump the defender. Your defender won't have enough time to react if you're off your feet and shooting in one quick motion.

In your follow through, the forefinger should be the last finger to touch the ball. This action will turn your palm out a bit as the ball is released. Visualize putting your hand into the basket as you follow through. This will help you get complete elbow extension and wrist flexion during the follow through.

Keep your head and forefinger pointed at the basket and land with good balance. You'll achieve good balance by keeping your feet spread and you'll be able to make your next move smoothly (in the unlikely scenerio that you miss the shot, you want to get that rebound for you next basketball shooting opportunity, right?).

In your follow through, the forefinger should be the last finger to touch the ball. This action will turn your palm out a bit as the ball is released. Visualize putting your hand into the basket as you follow through. This will help you get complete elbow extension and wrist flexion during the follow through.

Keep your head and forefinger pointed at the basket and land with good balance. You'll achieve good balance by keeping your feet spread and you'll be able to make your next move smoothly (in the unlikely scenerio that you miss the shot, you want to get that rebound for you next basketball shooting opportunity, right?).

-- http://www.basketball-plays-and-tips.com/basketball-shooting.html

 Use your fingertips, not palms, to hold and release the ball.

The position of the shooting hand's thumb is important. The shooting thumb should be pointing upward at about a 45 degree angle left (right-handed shooter).

and then you release the ball with a snap of the wrist, with the ball rolling off your fingertips. This will imparts backspin ("rotation") that all good shooters have.

-- http://www.coachesclipboard.net/Shooting.html

The fingers of the basketball shooting hand should be spread almost to maximum. To discover whether the spread is adequate, check the amount of daylight that can be seen between the ball and the shooting thumb and index finger. If more than one-half inch of daylight is showing, the shooter is placing the ball on a pedestal formed by his thumb and fingers. (At the same time, no part of the palm of the basketball shooting hand should be touching the ball except the pads nearest the fingers and the fingertips, of course.)

The ball should rest on the pads of the fingers, thumb, and callused parts of the palm of the shooting hand. Good basketball shooters don’t necessarily hold the ball in their fingertips, but they use their fingertips in guiding the shot. If the ball rests in the shooter’s palm, fingertip control will be reduced accordingly.

-- http://www.powerbasketball.com/080418.html

Free Throw Shooting
Follow these tips to learn the freethrow:...Grip the ball with just your fingertips. Your palms should not touch the ball. 
Hand Position on the Ball

One of the problems with young players being told to shoot with their fingertips is that they hold the ball on their fingertips. In order to control the ball, it has to rest on all of the pads on the shooting hand except the large pad under the little finger. Then, when shooting, the ball should come off the fingertips as it leaves the shooter´s hand.
 
 
 
The key to dribbling and shooting is in the fingertips
Many people use their palms to dribble and lose both control and access to their wrist power. When you shoot with your palm, you lose access to all your wrist power. The Naypalm is designed to teach you to use only your fingers and strengthen your fingers and wrists. The specially designed button has bristles that alert you when your palm is close to the ball. The Naypalm also helps you improve dribbling with your weaker hand by strengthening your fingers and helping you learn how to dribble the right way.

Additionally, if you have problem with your shot and use your palm, you can use the Naypalm to learn to keep your palm off the ball.
 
You control the ball with the fingertips. Keep the ball off the palms of the hand."
  - Michael Jordan
 
 
This article covers the subject of the hand on the ball in depth with diagrams.
 
This week's tip comes from Dick Baumgartner.

Finger-Tip Grip for Shooting Hand Incorrect. By just touching the shooting pads on the ends of the fingers a player gets less power and in turn less distance. A player also has less control when using less pads and in turn poorer accuracy when shooting from the outside.

Some shooting authorities have advocated gripping the basketball with just the shooting pads at the end of the fingers. The finger-tip grip is illustrated in picture 1. and is not recommended. It is incorrect and limits a player on what he can do with his or her outside shooting.

Tests show that more than just the finger-tips must touch the ball during proper gripping. As the ball is released, it comes off the finger pads at the ends of the fingers which is correct. But, as it is held, the basketball should be gripped with more shooting pads than just the finger-tip pads.

Any grip which controls the basketball successfully touches at least the finger pads and part of the pads below the fingers. If a player tries the finger-tip method, he or she will find that the farther toward the end of the fingers he or she holds the ball the less power they will generate with the fingers to propel the ball to the basket.

Palm of the Shooting Hand. Shooting authorities do agree that the palm of the hand should not be used. But what is meant by the palm is seldom explained. Illustration 2 shows the palm.

There are some grip gadgets on the market which keep the palm off the basketball. The main problem is that some of the gadgets also keep the player`s shooting pads below his fingers off the ball. Most of these devices teach a player an incorrect gripping procedure.

all a player has to do to keep the palm of the shooting hand off the ball is to spread the fingers and thumb properly.

The information that Coach Baumgartner has provided is based on observing and working individually with over 48,000 players on their shootng. He found that most of the good and very good shooters did not use the finger-tip grip. The ones that did had very limited range.

Picture 3

Picture 3. Correct and Most Used Grip

Most Used Grip. With this grip the player touches the finger pads and the pads below the fingers. The upper thumb pad is used but not the lower thumb pad or the side pad. This grip is also good to use around the basket area. With this grip a player can adjust the ball in his or her fingers easily.

Picture 4

Picture 4. Correct and Second Most Used Grip

Second Most Used Grip. This grip is similar to the grip illustrated in picture one except with this grip the player also touches the deep thumb pad. Players using this grip vary in the amount of pressure that is applied with the deep thumb pad.

Picture 5

Picture 5. Correct and Third Most Used Grip

Third Most Used Grip. This grip could be called the all pad grip. Of the three correct grips this would be the most controversial. After working with thousands and thousands of player`s shots, I have found that some very good outside shooters use this grip. Players using this grip usually like it because they feel they get better range when touching all of the shooting pads. This is not a good grip for around the basket. It is harder to make adjustments with the hands when all the pads are on the ball.

-- http://www.breakoutbasketball.com/tipoftheweek_06182007.html

re dribbling, contradiction of what jordan allegedly said:

First, let me say a few words about hand position.  Just as with shooting the ball, when dribbling your hand needs to cupped to a slightly sharper arc as the surface of the ball.  This will bring your finger pads (NOT your fingertips – which are the ends of your fingers) into contact with the ball first.  You do NOT want your finger tips or the palm of you hand in contact with the ball.  Fine control is only possible with the fingerpads.  Try dribbling with just your palms to see what I mean.

-- http://en.allexperts.com/q/Women-s-Basketball-3082/weak-hand-better.htm

1.) Dribble with your fingertips only
Basketball is a game that should be played with the ball on your fingertips. Whether you are shooting, passing, or dribbling, the ball should be on your fingertips only, and should never touch the palm of your hand. Think about it: if you go to pick something up, you don't put it between the palms of your hands. You grab it with your fingers. Same thing goes for basketball.

-- http://www.basketballsuccess.com/basketball_ball_handling_drills.html

4 Ball Handling Tips to Remember”

1) Always stay low when you are dribbling. The lower you are the more contact you will be able to absorb from the defender.

2) Always control the ball with your palm and fingers.

3) Be sure to dribble hard and under control.

-- http://www.basketball-drills-and-coaching-tips.com/basketball-dribbling.html

Don't let the ball touch your palm. hold the ball with your fingertips

Use the pads of your fingers and hold the ball in the center with your writing hand only. Make sure you can see light through all of your fingers. Next, place your other hand on the side of the ball. Then shoot

 
 Make sure (when dribbling) that you use your fingertips and the upper part of your palm to push the ball down into the floor. Take care not to 'slap' the ball with the palm of your hand, and do not push down too hard.
 
First of all, you have to make sure that you are holding the ball properly at the start of your shot. The key is to grip the ball with your fingers spread and the ball must not rest on the palm of your hand.
 
The ball should be resting on your fingers and the pads of your hand at the bottom of your fingers.
 
 

Use your finger tips to dribble, never the palm

 
 
USING THE FINGERS - The best dribblers never let the ball touch the palm of their hand.  The ball is best controlled with the fingers.  The top half of the fingers should touch the ball---not the palm and not the finger tips. The ball becomes an extenson of the dribbler and this is done by the "feel' the dribbler has of the ball. 

-- http://www.e-timeout.com/playersclinic/dribbling.html

5)DO NOT use your palm when dribbling. Only use your fingers, fingertips (main part), and your wrist.
-- https://www.angelfire.com/extreme3/ball_handling/

Hold the ball in the pads of your fingers. On the release the ball needs to come off your index and middle fingers. You don't want the ball in the palm of your hand because it will cause a flipping effect when you release it. When the ball is in the pads of your fingers you will notice a more natural, comfortable release. When the ball comes off the correct fingers you will get the correct rotation on the ball. If the ball comes off with a side spin then typically the ball is not coming off your fingers correctly.

-- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/basketball-shooting-principles-the-upper-body.html

Players (when dribbling) should work on controlling the ball with their finger pads, and not the palm of their hands.
 
 
@2008 David Virgil Hobbs