I’ve previously shared resources about the science and math of baseball, football, and soccer. This morning I’d like to share with you the science and math of basketball’s three point shot. In the video below Sport Science evaluates why Ray Allen is one of the most consistent three point shooters in the history of the NBA. The video demonstrates the roles of angles, velocity, and rotation in making a three point shot in basketball.
Update: the original video hosted by ESPN has gone offline, but the same video was found on YouTube.

Applications for Education
This video could be a good introduction to a simple geometry lesson for students who aren’t interested in math, but are interested in sports. You might even take students down to the school gym and have them measure and test the angles of shots from different distances on the court.