Devin Booker is one of the best scorers in the NBA. He’s able to shoot in a variety of ways and in a variety of areas. Here’s a drill that can help you develop shooting skills like his.
On March 24, 2017, Devin Booker did something that very few NBA players have achieved -he scored 70 points in a single game.
By sinking all those buckets, he became the sixth player in league history to score 70 or more points in a regular-season game.
Booker was extraordinary in this game. He just clicked on all cylinders offensively.
He attacked the basket, splashed pull-up jumpers in defenders’ faces, sank a handful of catch-and-shoot 3s, and made a bunch of free-throws.
He ended the game making 21-40 shots. He also made 24-26 free-throws.
You can check out his handy work here:
Unfortunately, his big game for the Phoenix Suns was spoiled by a loss to the Boston Celtics.
How to Score Like Devin Booker
So, how was he able to score so many points? How is he such a good scorer?
Well, Booker has a lot of talent. He also has a knack for scoring.
He’s able to score from so many areas on the court and can do so in a variety of ways, which keeps defenders on their toes and guessing.
They rarely ever know how and where Booker is going to shoot.
So, the best way for you to develop a variety of shooting skills is with the 3-6-9-12-15 Shooting Drill.
What is the 3-6-9-12-15 Shooting Drill?
The 3-6-9-12-15 Shooting Drill is a basketball drill that develops shooting, cardio, and clutch shooting.
It’s great for helping you improve your ability to shoot and make shots when you’re tired. It’ll help you build stamina and focus because there’s a lot of running and clutch shooting in this drill.
Watch the tutorial below:
The video tutorial above showed the drill as a 3-point shooting drill. But I’m going to change it up a bit (or maybe a lot) to suit our goals (which is to be able to score in a variety of ways like Booker).
So, instead of shooting just from 3-point land, I’m also going to add in other types of basketball shots as well, such as layups, close-range shots, and mid-range shots.
And instead of starting from 3 all the way to 15, I’m going to reverse it.
You will do the drill starting at 15 shots. But don’t fret. You won’t be shooting 15 3s to start off to drill.
Here’s my variation to the 3-6-9-12-15 Drill:
- Start by shooting 15 layups. You will do 8 on your non-dominant side and 7 on your dominant side (that adds up to 15 right? It should because I’m Asian and should be good at math).
- Next, you shoot 12 close-range shots. This will be the area in between the free-throw line and the rim. Similar to the original drill, you will shoot in the center, then on the left or right side, then on the opposite side. Are you with me so far? Okay, good.
- Then after that, you are going to shoot 9 mid-range shots. This will be in the areas inside of the perimeter, but outside of the paint. For the center shot, it will be at the free-throw line.
- Next, you are going to do the same thing as the previous step, but with only 6 shots.
- Lastly, you will shoot 3 3-pointer shots.
Other than those arguably major rule changes, everything else will remain the same. If you miss shots, you will have to run and shoot free-throws.
This drill will be simpler if you have rebounders.
But if you don’t because you don’t have friends (just kidding… or am I?), then just toss the ball to yourself for the catch-and-shoot jumpers (the mid-range shots and 3-pointers).
Additionally, if you don’t have a lot of space to run, then just run lines or shuttle runs (you can learn how to do them and their benefits for basketball here).
For example, if you miss one shot, then you have to run one lap of lines. If you miss two, then two laps, and so on and so on.
Benefits of the 3-6-9-12-15 Shooting Drill
The benefit of this drill (or my version of it anyway) is that it’s a great cardio and stamina workout that will help you improve an assortment of shooting skills.
You get to work on your driving, close-range shooting, mid-range jumpers, and 3-point shooting all in one drill.
You also get to work on these skills under pressure and train yourself cognitively with operant conditioning -if you miss shots, you will be punished with running laps, and thus missing shots consecutively is bad.
The most important part of the drill, in my opinion anyway, is you get to work on your shooting mechanics when you’re tired.
Many times, when you get tired, you will put form to the side when shooting the basketball. You, most likely, will just chuck it rather than shooting with proper form.
This drill will work to correct that. The reason why is because taking the time to shoot properly is a whole lot better than shooting incorrectly, missing the shots, and then having to run laps when you’re dead tired.
This will translate to games because you will remember the dread of having to run laps after taking bad shots (operant conditioning) and hopefully make better shot decisions.
Final Thoughts
The 3-6-9-12-15 Shooting Drill is a fantastic way to work on all of the fundamental shooting skills. It will improve your conditioning and basketball skills.
These feats are something that Devin Booker has because he worked tirelessly to attain them.
So, if you want to be a killer on the offensive end like him, add this drill to your regimen.