The present study assessed the mechanics of the basketball jump shot to determine whether or not the “dip” increased shot accuracy. There remained a debate between coaches who believed “dipping” was too slow and coaches who believed “dipping” increased accuracy. A mixed design was used for the present study with elite high-school and university players all performing shots with and without the “dip” at four distances: the last hash mark before the free throw line (3.125 m), the length of an imaginary hash mark beyond the free throw line (4.925 m), the top of the free throw circle (6.025 m), and the three-point line (6.750 m). These distances best emulated where the majority of shots were attempted in a game. Thirty-six athletes completed the study, with accuracy and shot quality being measured using Hardy-Parfitt’s six-point scale. The results of the present study indicated that the “dip” led to approximately a 7–9% increase in accuracy of the jump shot for both high school shooters, and university shooters, suggesting that coaches should begin to teach the “dip” in a player’s shooting motion to improve scoring results.

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Introduction

In basketball, the goal is to outscore the opponent by scoring more baskets. One of the most common techniques to score is the jump shot (Knudson, 1993; Gryko et al., 2018; Okazaki and Rodacki, 2018). In order to optimize accuracy, a player must be efficient and consistent with his shooting motion. Therefore, an elite athlete will attempt to reduce movement variability, the noise that impacts performance, in order to achieve maximal success with shooting the basketball (Button et al., 2003).

Basketball is a dynamic sport, and as a result, there is a lot of variability that can impact a player’s shooting motion. Knudson (1993) states that there are six key biomechanical components to optimize shooting success: staggered stance and a vertical jump; aligned shooting plane to the basket; high point of release; proper angle of release; coordination of upper and lower limbs; and backspin on the ball. Identifying which components might be more impactful to improving any of these teaching points will ultimately help a team win a game. One such movement is the “dip” in the shooting motion of the jump shot.

The “dip” is defined as the movement of lowering the ball below a player’s shooting pocket, the area of the body when all parts of the shooting arm are in a vertical plane out in front of the shoulder holding onto the ball. By lowering the ball, the shooting fingers would leave the vertical plane, the “dip.” The “dip” decreases the chance of an angular release, a lateral movement from the shot path plane (Okubo and Hubbard, 2015). Without using the “dip,” an awkward lift to the player’s set point, the point at which the ball moves toward the basket, would occur. As a result, movement variability is reduced.

As a coach, it is important to recognize and understand one’s personal biases in what makes an effective jump shooter. Drysdale (1972) explained that until scientific evidence is provided to coaches, they will use their own interpretations and create their own hypotheses as to what makes an athlete a successful jump shooter. Each coach will focus on different components of the jump shot, from the “dip” to visual cues. These teaching points are often ones that are familiar to the coach. These different styles of teaching result in different styles of shooting, which may impact accuracy. This variety is often because the player develops a comfort for their specific shooting style. However, tweaks to a player’s shooting motion often occur, guided by a coach, as the player grows and develops. These decisions are always made in order to increase accuracy. Therefore, as more scientific evidence for different mechanics of the jump shot, like the “dip,” are researched, the more coaches will embrace and utilize the motion in their teachings.

The game of basketball provides many variations of a situation, such as a catch and shoot, off a screen, off the dribble, and defenders. In order to isolate the “dip,” the catch and shoot scenario allows the most control for studying and will create a foundation for future studies with more variables. The natural form of a shooter, whether a “dipper” or “non-dipper,” will be easily identified. The “dip” is often seen as a poor shooting decision by coaches because of increased shooting time once the ball is caught by the player. There is a subset of coaches who believe in the value of “dipping” because of anecdotal evidence of increasing accuracy. This belief is often backed by the fact that many elite shooters, including Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Ray Allen are seen “dipping” the basketball prior to shooting (see Figure 1). However, no scientific data exists on the efficacy of “dipping” the basketball. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the relationship between “dipping” the basketball in one’s jump shooting motion and shooting accuracy, regardless of position and current shooting motion. The hypothesis is that “dipping” will result to higher shooting accuracy.