Introduction: Drum roll please.

Mechanical analysis of a basketball free throw

     Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports out there. Since basketball does not require a lot of equipment to play, it is often the most popular sport to start. All it requires is a basketball hoop, gym shorts and a ball. Also, basketball can be played indoors and outdoors which makes the sport playable in every season. Compared to sports like skiing where it is only possible in the winter season. Basketball is a team sport but can also be played by yourself. One important factor that can decide which team will win or lose is the free throw shot. A free throw shot is essential in basketball because the bio-mechanics is used throughout the sport. Take for example a jump shot, it takes its form from the free throw shot but instead you are in motion and suddenly stop to jump and release the ball. Even though free throw shooting looks fairly easy without a defender or time clock, the National Basketball Association has a rough average of only 75% success rate in the past 50 years. (Branch, J. (2009) For Free Throws, 50 Years of Practice is No Help. Online, The New York Times). One of the articles we use, concludes that the shooter should release the ball at an optimal angle that minimizes the speed of the ball coming off the hand, and attempt to maximize the backspin on the ball. (Brancazio, P.J. (1979) Physics of basketball. Am J Phys., 49(4), 356-365). The act of a free throw differs from each individual motion and also uses different joints of the body for the movement. By examining body movements of skilled shooters by Hudson*, he concluded that the most important factors are stability and ratio of release height to standing height. (Hudson, J.L. (1982) A biomechanical analysis by skill level of free throw shooting in basketball. In: Biomechanics in Sports. J. Terauds (Ed.), Del Mar, CA: Academic Publishers. 95-102). The free throw shot is a complex movement involving coordination of numerous joints throughout the body.

This project is intended to focus on the bio-mechanical analysis of a basketball free throw shot by using an experiment from an article that uses players of any experience to attempt a free throw shot. At the same time, the researchers are able to come to a percentage based on the way the players shoot the ball and if they miss or not. Our goal is to identify why most players have a specific bio-mechanic pattern throughout the free throw.