Inside The Spurs

'It's a Mindset': Spurs SF Doug McDermott Gives Shooting Advice At Youth Basketball Camp

During the Spurs' annual team basketball camp, Doug McDermott took some time to impart wisdom on a young fan asking about the art of shooting a basketball, revealing what goes through his mind during the course of a game.

Matt Guzman

'It's a Mindset': Spurs SF Doug McDermott Gives Shooting Advice At Youth Basketball Camp
'It's a Mindset': Spurs SF Doug McDermott Gives Shooting Advice At Youth Basketball Camp /
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There isn't just one correct way to shoot a basketball. 

Sure, there is a recommended way and a certain technique that's been "proven" to increase success, but when it comes down to it, the best shooters — especially in the NBA — do what works for them, which isn't always the textbook way. 

San Antonio Spurs small forward Doug McDermott can testify to that. His late-release jumpshot doesn't work for everyone, but it's one of the reasons he's found success behind the arc, averaging a 41 percent clip on his career. 

Even more than that, however, is his mindset, which he says plays the most important role for a shooting specialist.

"Balance, short-term memory and ... mindset," McDermott told a young fan during the Spurs' team-sanctioned basketball camp. "It's more of a mindset than anything. Balance and how quickly you can get it off."

Ironically, McDermott's seemingly late release makes his advice interesting, but considering he's at the NBA level, it's certainly quick enough to accomplish the goal. Over his past two seasons with the Spurs, the veteran sharpshooter has averaged 10.8 points on 41.8 percent shooting from 3 — the highest on the team with over 1.4 averaged 3-pointers attempted per game. 

But while 40 percent is a very high bar, even for the NBA, it still means that McDermott misses a majority of his 3-pointers, and certainly has had his share of poor shooting days. 

"We all deal with it," McDermott told the fan. "[But] you know you're a good shooter, right? If you miss three or four in a row, the percentages are [likely] with you that you'll make one, so I always keep that in my head.

"If I miss five in a row, I'm a 40 percent shooter, so eventually the numbers are going to even out. When you start changing things is when it's going to go downhill."

In a way, McDermott is right. Unfortunately, the law of averages prevents that logic from being literally correct, but the 31-year-old knows what he's talking about in basketball terms. Maintaining his form throughout the course of the game, regardless of how it's going is imperative, and he's proven why.

Plus, if it works for him, then it works for the Spurs. After all, what team wouldn't want a 40 percent 3-point shooter on its roster?

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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