The Adaptable Athlete Podcast Why Most Players Never Develop Elite Shooting | NBA Shooting Coach Dave Love
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Apr 8, 2026 
Dave Love, an NBA shooting coach and researcher who blends biomechanics with motor learning. He explains why chasing a repeatable shot is wrong. Short takes cover the sandbox analogy, PoST periodization for skill training, designing practice with intentional variability, and his positive vs negative power framework.
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No Two Shots Are Exactly The Same
- No two basketball shots are executed exactly the same by a human shooter.
- Even Steph Curry's free throws show subtle but important differences in start position, release distance, and timing across repeated shots.
How Bird And Miller Show Functional Diversity
- Larry Bird and Reggie Miller illustrate that different mechanics can share functional attractors.
- Dave would preserve their physics-based attractors and guide exploration around them rather than forcing a standardized form.
Sandbox Metaphor For Functional Shooting Solutions
- Use the sandbox metaphor to define functional versus dysfunctional shooting solutions.
- The middle of the sandbox represents robust, adaptable mechanics; guide shooters toward it while expanding their exploration, not forcing a single perfect form.