She Shoots, She Scores!

Caitlin Clark first rose to fame as the all-time leading scorer for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Her popularity had a huge impact on the WNBA when she joined the Indiana Fever last year. She’s credited with helping boost the average number of TV viewers per WNBA game from 500,000 in 2023 to 660,000 in 2024.

On the court, Clark is known for her ability to sink shots from behind the three-point line. What makes her such an accurate shot? She launches the ball so it approaches the hoop as slowly as possible, says John Fontanella. He’s a former college basketball player and is now a professor of physics at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland. If the ball makes gentle contact with the rim, it’s more likely to bounce into the hoop—not away, like a ball speeding fast would do. Read on to see how Clark makes three-pointers look easy—SWISH!

Caitlin Clark first became famous in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). She was their all-time leading scorer. Last year, she joined the Indiana Fever. Her fame had a huge impact on the WNBA. She helped boost the average number of TV viewers per WNBA game. It rose from 500,000 in 2023 to 660,000 in 2024.

On the court, Clark is known for sinking shots from behind the three-point line. What makes her so accurate? She launches the ball so it approaches the hoop as slowly as possible, says John Fontanella. He’s a former college basketball player. Now he’s a professor of physics at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland. If the ball hits the rim gently, it’s more likely to bounce into the hoop. A fast-moving ball would bounce away. Clark makes three-pointers look easy—SWISH! Read on to see how she does it.

LIFTOFF
Caitlin Clark’s leg muscles generate force, pushing her feet down against the floor. Thanks to Newton’s Third Law of Motion, the floor pushes back with an equal and opposite force, launching her into the air above defending players who might block the shot. At the top of her jump, Clark’s body is “paused” in midair, allowing for a steady shot.

OPTIMAL ANGLE
Clark pushes the ball toward the basket with her hands. The best launch angle depends on the location of the player and the height from which the ball is released. Over time, the top players get a feel for the best angle to release the ball.

BACKSPIN
As she’s releasing the ball, Clark pushes her fingers downward, along the ball’s surface. This force of friction between the two surfaces puts backspin on the basketball. This rotation helps stabilize the ball’s flight.

CURVED PATH
As the ball travels through the air, the force of gravity begins pulling it downward. This causes the ball’s trajectory to arc toward the basket. Drag, a force caused by air resistance, helps to slow down the ball.

SINKING THE SHOT
Backspin also alters the ball’s velocity by reducing its speed and influencing its direction after it hits the rim. A slower speed will soften the ball’s impact. Backspin also makes it more likely that the ball spins toward and into the hoop after making contact with the backboard, rather than bouncing away from it. Both factors make a shot more likely to score!

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. That’s the sound of a basketball being dribbled. Continuously bouncing the ball between one hand and the floor allows players to move with the ball on the court. When a player like Kiki Iriafen of the Washington Mystics, in Washington, D.C., dribbles toward the basket, she’s not just moving the ball—she’s also working to keep it away from the opposing team.

To do that, Iriafen bounces the ball fast and keeps it low to the ground—making it harder to steal. Great players like her also need agile footwork to quickly change direction, spin to pass, or make a shot. “When a player cuts to the left, she pushes off the floor to the right with her foot,” says Fontanella. In this case, the force of friction helps Iriafen grip the floor to shift or pivot as she pushes off the hardwood. Iriafen’s smooth moves have made her a likely WNBA Rookie of the Year candidate in 2025!

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. That’s the sound of a basketball being dribbled. Players bounce the ball repeatedly between one hand and the floor. That allows them to move with the ball on the court. Kiki Iriafen plays for the Washington Mystics, in Washington, D.C. When she dribbles toward the basket, she doesn’t just move the ball. She also works to keep it away from the other team.

To do that, Iriafen bounces the ball fast and keeps it low to the ground. That makes it harder to steal. Great players like her also use fast footwork. They can change direction, spin to pass, or make a shot quickly. “When a player cuts to the left, she pushes off the floor to the right with her foot,” says Fontanella. The force of friction helps Iriafen grip the floor as she pushes off the hardwood. That allows her to shift or pivot. Iriafen is known for her smooth moves. She is a likely choice for WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2025!

PUSH DOWN
Kiki Iriafen pushes the ball down toward the ground with one hand as she moves.

SMACK DOWN
When the ball hits the floor, its surface compresses inward from the force of the floor pushing back.

POP UP!
The ball resists this change in shape. It produces elastic force, which pushes on the floor and helps the ball expand back to round. The floor pushes back, causing the ball to bounce back up.

As a Louisiana State University Tiger, Angel Reese squared off against Caitlin Clark in the final game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The game catapulted women’s basketball into the spotlight. During her 2024 rookie season on the Chicago Sky, Reese led the WNBA in rebounds—retrieving the ball after a missed shot.

After making a rebound, Reese might pass the ball to a teammate. She could throw it, or she could use a bounce pass, which has less chance of being intercepted by a defender. Reese pushes the ball away from her body, so it bounces off the floor and into her teammate’s hands. To make it easier for her teammate to catch the ball, “good players sometimes put on backspin,” says Fontanella. This slows the ball. It also makes it bounce more vertically. Meanwhile, a ball passed with topspin moves faster and horizontally, making it harder to receive.

Angel Reese was a Louisiana State University Tiger. She faced Caitlin Clark in the final game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The game launched women’s basketball into the spotlight. In 2024, Reese played her rookie season with the Chicago Sky. She led the WNBA in rebounds, recovering the ball after a missed shot.

After Reese makes a rebound, she might pass the ball to a teammate. She could throw it, or she could use a bounce pass. That has less chance of being intercepted by a defender. Reese pushes the ball away from her body, so it bounces off the floor and into her teammate’s hands. She can make it easier for her teammate to catch the ball. To do that, “good players sometimes put on backspin,” says Fontanella. Backspin slows the ball. It also makes it bounce more vertically. A ball passed with topspin moves faster and horizontally. It’s harder to catch.

THE PUSH
Using both hands, Reese pushes the ball toward the ground at an angle so it hits the court about two-thirds of the way between herself and her teammate.

REVERSE SPIN
She uses her fingers to put backspin on the ball.

BOING!
The ball hits the floor, and the floor pushes up with an equal and opposite force. That’s Newton’s Third Law of Motion at play again!

NEW DIRECTION
Backspin makes the ball bounce up more vertically and mirroring the angle at which it hits the floor. This makes it easier for the receiver to catch because it’s moving more vertically and slowly after the bounce when compared with a pass with topspin.