Ray Allen: The Mechanics Of A Basketball Player

The shooting mechanics in basketball is intriguing not only for the basketball lovers or the kid in his backyard trying to imitate Ray Allen’s jumpshot to perfection hoping that one day they will be as great of a shooter as him, but to the scientist or the physicist who are equally interested in how Ray Allen exactly does what he does best. This subject can connect two people who without basketball wouldn’t care or understand what the other person had to say. Little does the kid know that when he plays he’s instantly calculating the best way to get the ball into the hoop and the physicist might not know that almost everything he studies can be related to how someone shoots a basketball. Everything a player does during a game is natural or

The height can change the optimal arc from shooter to shooter. The type of shot even dictates the amount of arc needed for a shot. “Those who watch basketball frequently may have heard an announcer comment on a high-archer or a flat shot. Basic laws of physics dictate that a basketball is in the air longer during a high-arch shot from ten feet away than during a flat shot from that same distance” (Machin n.p.). While a flat shot can work with hours and hours of practice this shot doesn’t help the shooter, but makes the shot even harder to make. “According to Dr. Gintaras Duda, the physics professor at Creighton University, if you would like to shoot a perfect three pointer, the ball must be released by at least 33 degrees from your hand for a slight chance to hit a shot” (Sun n.p.). 33 degrees is lower than ideal, but gives the shooter a chance. Some of the best shooters from the NBA have a much higher arc on their shot. Ray Allen arc is usually about 48 degrees. “Using Ray Allen as an example, this person explained the physics behind shooting a perfect three pointer like Ray with a series of calculations. Although this study had seem impractical to apply to reality, it quantified the process and also showed that the highest point Ray Allen’s three point shot reached was 13.76 feet in the air. Therefore further supporting the hypothesis that the arc of releasing a ball is vital to a three point shot” (Sun n.p.). Some people may think “Well if that’s true then the more arc I have the better shooter I’ll be right?” It doesn’t work that way. At a certain point the shooter will lose control on their shot if they try for too much