Klay Thompson, ShotTracker Continue Virtual Hoops Camp

One of the most prolific shooters in NBA history wants you to make more 3-pointers — and he has technology to help you do it.

Over the last two weeks, Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson hosted his second annual virtual basketball camp. The camp challenged ballers to a series of workouts designed by Thompson and his trainer, Charlie Torres. And campgoers could participate from anywhere thanks to ShotTracker technology.

ShotTracker is a wearable system that captures shot attempts, makes and misses. Thompson has worked with the company since 2015, both as a spokesman and the host of these virtual camps.

This year’s camp began with a live hangout with Thompson and ShotTracker co-founder Davyeon Ross. Thompson explained how he developed such a quick release, and why ShotTracker has been a great tool for him.

“It’s just about practice,” Thompson said during the hangout. “Mine didn’t develop overnight. It really is just repetition when it comes to a quick release. There’s not a better way to chart your progress than ShotTracker. That’s why it’s such a fun, unique way to train.”

Ross and fellow co-founder Bruce Iannioriginally developed ShotTracker in 2013. They saw that there was no automated way of tracking shots, and many players and coaches were spending extra hours in the gym manually recording data, Ross said. After launching as a method to help kids shooting in their backyards, ShotTracker’s products now range from an individual set of accessories to a full team system, which includes sensors on the court and in players’ shoes. 

​The solo technology is more common and accessible for young players. It features a wrist sensor that can learn your shot motion so it doesn’t account for passes or other movements and a net sensor to record makes and misses. The sensors compile the data into an app, which has workouts, shot maps, and a social network to connect with other shooters using the app. 

“That’s one of the things that ShotTracker does better than any other tool in the market — the ability to figure out, get your reps up, and understand the data of how successful you were with your reps,” Ross said. “Then we have tons of drills and different types of shoot-arounds and stuff within the app.”

If you need any proof that it works, just ask Kentucky coach John Calipari. Or Kansas coach Bill Self. Or Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. They have all endorsed the product. 

Ross compared statistical tracking to film study. Soon, it will be as normal for athletes to analyze performance with stats as it is to watch film of themselves. And with the rapid growth of the ShotTracker technology and support from great shooters like Thompson, Ross added he believes the product has a definitive place in the future of basketball.

“We think about ShotTracker is to the gym as WiFi is to coffee shops,” Ross said. “We think that in the future there will be ShotTracker in every single gym.”

Photos: ShotTracker