How to make Overwatch’s basketball shot with every hero

Theo Salaun
overwatch doomfist basketball shot

While most fans wait for Overwatch 2, it’s never too late to perfect your craft in the original game. So, in case you still haven’t figured it out, here’s how to make the basketball shot with every hero in Overwatch.

Look, Overwatch made its way into the community’s heart by being a tactical, team-based shooter blended with a MOBA. That was enough to make a splash in 2016, but the opportunity to make baskets has always been a nice touch.

Three Overwatch spawn rooms have basketballs and a basketball hoop: Ilios, Lijiang Tower, and Nepal. In each, you can hit the balls to score a basket for good luck and a bunch of confetti.

If, after around five years, you’re still having trouble making that shot – you’re not alone and we’re here to help. Forget the new trick shots, here’s how to successfully shoot Overwatch’s basketballs with practically every hero.

How to make basketball shots in Overwatch

overwatch basketball hoop
Do not be intimidated by the hoop. It is not match for our tutorial.

For a brief overview, here’s how you make a shot with the central basketball:

  1. Stand near the left side of the table, just in front of the ball
  2. Position your crosshair around the middle of the net
  3. Click melee to “shoot” the ball
  4. Act humble once your teammates see the confetti

But, in case that explanation isn’t detailed enough, let’s dive in a little deeper.

How to score Overwatch’s basketballs: Hero positioning

overwatch mccree positioning basketball
This is how you should position your hero horizontally to shoot the basketball.

Back in 2018, a Redditor by the name of ‘metallica3790’ explained the process perfectly. The first step is quite literal: placing your hero’s feet and body in the right place.

Basically, you want to stand by the left of the table so that, when your crosshair is in the middle of the net, it is also lined up as close to the middle of the ball as possible.

Scoring Overwatch’s basketball: Crosshair placement

overwatch mccree basketball crosshair placement
Your crosshair should be in the middle of the net, with its height depending on hero height.

The next step is your crosshair placement. Once you’re positioned correctly, you want to line the crosshair up horizontally centered on the net – but vertical placement depends on hero height.

For average-height heroes (like McCree), you want the crosshair vertically centered as well. For taller heroes (like Zarya), you want the crosshair vertically placed just below the rim. And, finally, for shorter heroes (like Ana), you want the crosshair placed toward the bottom of the net.

If you follow all of these steps, you should be able to score the basketball from the central table with almost every hero with close-to-100% accuracy. Heroes like Brigitte and Reinhardt are exceptions, since they melee sideways with weapons.