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BASKETBALL pros can use another player’s little finger to predict whether their shot will swoosh through the basket or bounce off the rim.

Neuroscientists led by of the University of Rome showed 10 Italian league players videos of missed and successful shots, frozen at various stages from before the ball left a player’s hand to the instant before it reached the basket. Coaches, experienced basketball journalists and novice players watched the same footage.

Unsurprisingly, the pros were quickest to call which shots would go in. For video frozen less than half a second in, when the player still cradled the ball, the pros correctly predicted the fate of the shot at a rate well above chance. The others were only able to guess correctly when footage was frozen as the ball left the player’s hand (Nature Neuroscience, ).

The pros’ secret may be an ability to mentally play the shot, allowing them to make a call just by looking at the player’s body. When the team measured brain activity, they found that for shots predicted early on, activity in an area controlling the pinkie finger varied in pros according to whether a shot went in or not – indicating this region was involved in the decision. For the others, activity was the same regardless of the shot. Aglioti speculates that pros read the spin imparted on the ball by focusing on the flick of player’s pinkie.