Like most questions, there isn’t a definitive answer to “how many shots should I be shooting if I want to be great?”
My stock answer to “how many” is to smile and say “yes”.
That usually gets a strange look, and then I’ll explain. Is 100 shots a day good? Yes. Is 200 better? Yes. Is 500 better still? YES.
But there are certain things we need to be aware of.
#1 – The number of shots doesn’t guarantee anything. You can shoot 500 shots a day with terrible mechanics and improve more slowly than someone that shoots 100 shots a day with great mechanics.
#2 – What you are working on during those shots is more important than the number of shots.
#3 – The number of days is more important than the number of shots per day. I’d rather you shoot 100/day for 500 days than 500/day every 5th day for a year and a half.
#4 – To be GREAT you need to have a combination of all of those, plus be lucky enough to be naturally good at it, AND love it!
#5 – Some days it just isn’t possible. I’ve had days in the NBA where we did a 10 shot workout because the player was sick, or played 45min in double overtime the night before.
So, rather than focussing on a number, here is my advice.
Have one idea that you are working on and work on it consistently. Go into the gym with a plan, work for 45min on that habit, and get out of the gym. To THAT consistently. Hold yourself accountable to a new habit, not a number.
Be patient, but be relentless. And make no mistakes, all the best shooters I know where the guy that shot the most of all their friends. So as much as I say “being smart is more important than the number”, the best will put up a lot of smart shots every single day.
