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BASKETBALL FREE THROW

BASKETBALL FREE THROW

Nate Taurence, Stephan Vigier, Joe Simon, Adam Mattford

Northern Michigan University

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BASKETBALL FREE THROW

The free-throw shot is a motion that most basketball players will perform tens or

even hundreds of thousands times in their lives, and yet the league average... in the

National Basketball Association, was only 76.3 percent. (Bradley & Martin, 2012) The sport

specific skill or movement we have chosen is a basketball free throw. A basketball free throw

is a basketball shot worth one point. A player usually gets two attempts at a free throw

whether or not they make the first one. Though it does not involve intense muscle

contractions there are still many muscles the body must use to perform the proper

basketball free throw. Being that we have four people in our group, we have decided to

break up the basketball free throw into four phases: stationary phase, preparation phase,

action phase, and follow thru phase.

When shooting a free throw there are two forces that influence the basketballs

projectile: air resistance and gravity. Air resistance is negligible, but gravity is not. Gravity

pulls down the ball at about 9.8 m/s. With gravity acting on the ball, the amount of

acceleration and velocity the ball has when it leaves the players hands plays a factor on the

result of the shot. The three factors that influence the projectile motion of the basketball are:

projection height, projection angle, and projection velocity. The projection height is the

difference between projection height and landing height. When a player shoots a free throw

their feet stay planted on the basketball court so it is just the distance from the floor to the

point of release. The projection angle is the direction of projection with respect to the

horizontal. If a player shoots a ball at 90 degrees the ball will reach maximum height but it

will not move forward. If a player shoots a ball at 45 degrees the ball will travel maximum

distance with medial height. Complements that add to 90 degrees will travel the same

distance. When shooting a free throw the recommended angle of projection is about 51

degrees. (Tan & Miller, 1980) A higher arc shot has a greater probability of going through

the hoop versus a lower arc shot. Projection velocity is the last factor that influences the

projectile motion of a basketball free throw. The projection velocity is the instantaneous
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velocity of the shot at the moment of release. In similar terms, its basically the speed of the

basketball in the air. A basketball player wants to make sure to put enough velocity on the

ball to get it to the net, but not too much where it will rebound out of the net or off the rim.

The spin of a free throw is also very important. The spin will not only affect the

projectile motion of the ball but it will also affect the rebound of the basketball. When a

basketball player shoots a free throw they put back spin on the ball. Backspin spins causes

the basketball to rise because there is a lower pressure above the ball. As stated earlier, a

higher trajectory is better for a free throw because it has a better angle to enter the net. The

ball spins around the frontal axis. Free throws are not always perfect. Some players rebound

the ball into the net off the backboard rather than shooting the ball directly into the hoop. A

basketball with backspin will create a higher than normal rebound angle. A basketball with

top spin will create a lower than normal rebound angle. A basketball with no spin will

rebound at the same angle. This is very important to basketball players because sometimes

players need to miss on purpose to get the ball back. Knowing the type of spin the shooter

plans on putting on the ball will only increase the probability of the offensive team getting

the ball back.

When shooting a free throw our bodies use many muscles groups. These groups

include the knee extensors, hip extensors, shoulder flexors, ankle extensors, elbow

extensors, and the wrist flexors. Every one of these groups plays a major role in a basketball

free throw. We will start with the stationary phase.

Stationary Phase(Adam Mattford)

The first phase is the stationary phase. During the stationary phase the basketball

player establishes his base before shooting the ball. The stationary phase consists of the

basketball player creating a base with their feet by staggering them about shoulder width

apart. That means one foots toes are on the free throw line and the other one is slightly
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behind. There is no movement in this phase because the player is preparing to shoot the

ball. All the muscle groups and joints are in a state of isotonic contraction. The body is

practically in anatomical position.

Preparation Phase (Nate and Stephan)

The second phase is the preparation phase. During the preparation phase the

basketball player combines the stationary phase with this new phase. The preparation phase

consists of the basketball player holding the ball in front of their body with two hands about

head level with their knees slightly bent in the athletic position. To move from the stationary

phase to the preparation phase, muscles, tendons and joints must work together. When a

basketball player shoots a free throw they do not jump. They keep their feet planted on the

free throw line. In order to shoot the ball they must slightly bend their knees for balance.

The joint that assists with knee flexion is the knee joint. There are two types of muscle

groups that are involved in knee flexion. The agonist muscle group that flexes the knees is

the hamstring muscles: semitendinosus; semimembranosus; and bicep femoris. The

antagonist muscle group that assists with knee flexion is the quadriceps: rectus femoris;

vastus lateralis; vastus intermedias; and vastus medialis. The hamstring muscles contract

eccentrically; the muscles actively lengthen as the basketball player flexes their knee. The

quadriceps muscles are stabilizers; they contract isotonically. The quadriceps does not

lengthen or shorten. The flexion of the knee breaks the sagittal plane and rotates on the

frontal horizontal axis.

KNEE FLEXION

Agonist Antagonist
Semitendinosus Rectus Femoris
Semimembranosus Vastus Lateralis
Bicep Femoris Vastus Intermedias
Vastus Medialis
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BASKETBALL FREE THROW

Continuing with the preparation phase, a basketball player also uses their ankle joint,

also known as the talocrural joint. The angle between the foot and the basketball players

tibia decreases, creating dorsi flexion in the ankle. The muscles that contract concentrically

during dorsi-flexion are: tibialis anterior; extensor digitorum longus; peroneus tertius;

extensor halluces longus. The antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically during dorsi

flexion are: gastrocnemius; soleus. Dorsi-flexion in the ankle joint breaks the sagittal plane

and rotates on the frontal horizontal axis.

DORSI FLEXION

Agonist Antagonist
Tibialis Anterior Gastrocnemius
Extensor Digitorum Longus Soleus
Peroneus Tertius
Extensor Hallucius Longus

During the preparation phase, the basketball player must hold the ball out in front of

their head with their elbows slightly bent. The elbow joint flexes when they bend their

elbows. The agonist muscles that contract concentrically to flex the elbow are: bicep brachii;

brachialis; and the brachioradialis. The antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically during

elbow flexion are: tricep brachii; anconeus. The elbow joint breaks the sagittal plane and

rotates on the frontal horizontal axis.

ELBOW FLEXION

Agonist Antagonist
Biceps Brachii Triceps Brachii
Brachialis Anconeus
Brachioradialis

When the basketball player holds the ball out in front of their head their shoulder

joint flexes. The agonist muscles that contract concentrically with shoulder flexion are the:

anterior deltoid; upper pectoralis major. The antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically

with shoulder flexion are: teres major; and the latissimus dorsi. The shoulder girdle elevates
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and upper rotates during shoulder flexion. The shoulder joint breaks the sagittal plane and

rotates on the frontal horizontal axis.

SHOULDER FLEXION

Agonist Antagonist
Anterior Deltoid Teres Major
Upper Pectorial Major Latissimus Dorsi

Holding the basketball with the correct form is very important in the basketball free

throw. In the preparation phase, the basketball player must hold the ball. They are not

physically shooting the ball just yet. The wrist joint extends which allows the basketball to sit

in the palm of the shooters hand. Whether a basketball player is right handed or left handed,

the strong wrist must pronate for proper form. The non-dominant wrist stays in the neutral

position. The agonist muscles that contract concentrically to extend the wrist joint are:

extensor carpi ulnaris; extensor carpi radialis longus; extensor carpi radialis brevis. The

antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically to extend the wrist joint are: flexor carpi

ulnaris; flexor carpi radialis; palmars longus. The wrist joint breaks the sagittal plane and

rotates on the frontal horizontal axis.

WRIST EXTENSION

Agonist Antagonist
Extensor Carpi Ulnaris Flexor Carpi Ulnaris
Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus Flexor Carpi Radialis
Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis Palmaris Longus

Action Phase(Nate and Stephan)

After the preparation phase is complete, the action phase is next. During this phase,

the basketball player must perform the basketball free throw. The action phase uses many of

the same muscles and muscle movements as the preparation phase. Though there are

many joints that are involved during a basketball free throw, we will examine the five main
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joints used. The five joints we feel are most important are the knee joints, the ankle joints,

the elbow joints, the wrist joints, and the shoulder joints.

During the preparation phase the basketball player had to bend their knees creating

knee flexion. But in the action phase, the basketball player extends their knee joint. The

agonist muscles that contract concentrically extend the knee. These muscles are the

quadriceps: rectus femoris; vastus lateralis; vastus intermedius; vastus medialis. The

antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically in the knee during knee extension are the

hamstrings: semitendinosus; semimembranosus; bicep femoris. The knee joint extends in

the sagittal plane and rotates on the frontal horizontal axis.

KNEE EXTENSION

Agonist Antagonist
Rectus Femoris Semitendinosus
Vastus Lateralis Semimembranosus
Vastus Intermedias Bicep Femoris
Vastus Medialis

In the preparation phase, the ankle joint dorsi-flexes. But in the action phase, the

ankle joint plantar flexes. This is because the angle between the tibia and the foot increases.

Though the players feet still do not leave the ground completely, they lift their heel to

create plantar flexion. The agonist muscles that contract concentrically during plantar

flexion are: gastrocnemius; soleus. The antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically during

plantar flexion are: tibialis anterior; extensor digitorum longus; peroneus tertius; extensor

hallucis longus. Plantar flexion breaks the sagittal plane and rotates on the frontal horizontal

axis.

PLANTAR FLEXION

Agonist Antagonist
Gastrocnemius Tibialis Anterior
Soleus Extensor Digitorum Longus
Peroneus Tertius
Extensor Hallucius Longus
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Holding the ball during the preparation phase causes the elbow joint to flex. During

the action phase the dominant hands elbow joint extends. The non-dominant hands elbow

joint stays flexed from the preparation phase. The agonist muscles that contract

concentrically to extend the dominant elbow joint are: triceps brachii; anconeus. The

antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically to extend the dominant elbow joint are:

biceps brachii; brachialis; brachioradialis. When the elbow joint extends it breaks the sagittal

plane on the frontal horizontal axis.

ELBOW EXTENSION

Agonist Antagonist
Triceps Brachii Biceps Brachii
Anconeus Brachialis
Brachioradialis

The shoulder joint stays flexed during the action phase, just like it did during the

preparation phase. When the basketball player holds the ball out in front of their head, their

shoulder joint flexes. When they shoot the ball the shoulder joint stays flexed. The agonist

muscles that contract concentrically with shoulder flexion are the: anterior deltoid; upper

pectoralis major. The antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically with shoulder flexion

are: teres major; and the latissimus dorsi. The shoulder girdle elevates and upper rotates

during shoulder flexion. The shoulder joint breaks the sagittal plane and rotates on the

frontal horizontal axis.

SHOULDER FLEXION

Agonist Antagonist
Anterior Deltoid Teres Major
Upper Pectorial Major Latissimus Dorsi

The wrist joint helps the basketball player to hold the basketball. During the

preparation phase the basketball players wrist joint extends to hold ball with proper form. In

the action phase, the wrist joint of the dominant hands wrist flexes. The non-dominant
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hands wrist joint does not change. The joint stays extended. The agonist muscles that

contract concentrically during wrist flexion for the dominant hand are: flexor carpi ulnaris;

flexor carpi radialis; palmars longus. The antagonist muscles that contract eccentrically

during wrist flexion for the dominant hand are: extensor carpi ulnaris; extensor carpi radialis

longus; extensor carpi radialis brevis. The wrist joint breaks the sagittal plane and rotates on

the frontal horizontal axis.

WRIST FLEXION

Agonist Antagonist
Flexor Carpi Ulnaris Extensor Carpi Ulnaris
Flexor Carpi Radialis Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus
Palmaris Longus Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis

Follow Through Phase (JOE SIMON)

The final phase of shooting the free throw is the follow through. A successful follow

through starts from the toes. The toes should be flexed and the shooter must be on the balls

of their feet so that they are balanced. This will make the shot more consistent. The muscles

used to flex the toes are the flexor hallucis longus and the flexor digitorum longus. This

causes the ankle to be in a plantar flexed position. The muscles that generate this position

are the gastrocnemius and soleus. Most of the power during the free throw comes from knee

flexion in the follow through. The knee has to be fully extended and the agonist muscles

must extend the knee. They are the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius,

vastus medialis. The hips are extended and are squared to the basketball hoop. The muscles

used to extend the hip are the gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and the

semimembranosus. The shoulder is flexed in the follow through from the anterior deltoid and

the upper pectoralis major muscles. Shoulder flexion causes the shoulder girdle to elevate.

The muscles used to create elevation are: serratus anterior and trapezius. The most

important joint used in a free throw is the elbow joint. It is fully extended in the follow

through by the triceps brachii and anconeus muscles. The elbow must be pointed toward the
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basketball hoop along with wrist and finger flexion. This flexion creates backspin on the ball.

The muscles used during flexion are the flexor carpi ulnaris and flexor carpi radialis in the

wrist and the flexor digitorum superficialis, flexor digitorum profundus, and flexor pollicis

longus in the hand. All the joints used are fully extended. The ankle, knee, and hips are

vertically lined up along with the shooting arm. The shooting shoulder is flexed to 140-150

degrees. It is important that there is no extra movement in the follow through so the shooter

remains balanced. The elbow and hand should look like a swans neck at the end of a free

throw.

The basketball free throw does not involve intense muscle contractions but there are

still many muscles, joints and tendons that must work together to complete the shot. We

have broken the free throw into four phases: stationary phase; preparation phase; action

phase; follow through phase. As you learned, the basketball free throw involved these

muscle groups: knee extensors, hip extensors, shoulder flexors, ankle extensors, elbow

extensors, and the wrist flexors. Each group played a significant role for proper form of the

free throw. Our hope is that as a reader we created a better understanding of the

biomechanics involved in the basketball free throw.

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STATIONARY PHAS \E PREPARATION PHASE

ACTION PHASE FOLLOW THROUGH PHASE

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References

Bradley, S., & Martin, J. R. (2012). Biomechanical Analysis of Basketball Free Throw
Shooting. Unpublished raw data, Pennsylvania State University,, Pennsylvania
State University,, University Park, PA, USA. Retrieved from
http://www.asbweb.org/conferences/2012/abstracts/69.pdf

Tan A & Miller G, Am J Phys 49(6), 542-544, 1981.

http://home.comcast.net/~saintjohnboscooffice/images /martikean/articles/20.pdf

Brancazio PJ, Am J Phys 49(4), 356-365, 1979.

Sarah Breen, PE 212 Anatomical and Mechanical Assessment of Human Movement, 2012.
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