Becoming a Better Basketball Player

Becoming a better basketball player requires you to analyzing yourself and understanding both athletic and basketball skill development. This requires hard work in combination with understanding what to focus your time on. Give your game direction, and instead of just working hard, learn to work smart. Use these basketball training tips to help elevate your game and to become a better basketball player.

Understand Your Position and Role

When each person contributes, maximizing their best skills, great things can be accomplished in basketball. Each player is important to a team’s success. Each position has specific, related skills and athleticism. The better you can understand what your role is on the team and how to maximize it, the more value you will add to your team.

This list of skills by position will help you come up with a foundation of what you should be working on. From here, you can build it out and better personalize it to what you need to do for your team.

Guards and Wings

Basketball Intangibles

• Vocal/Communication/Leadership.
  • Great point guards in basketball are great leaders.
  • Guards are an extension of the coach and must get everyone else to buy into what is best for the team.

Passing the Basketball

• Chest pass, two-hand overhead, bounce, etc.
  • As a passer, you need to be proficient in every type of pass.
  • Different types of passes will be required throughout the course of a game.

Dribbling the Basketball

• Be able to handle the basketball with both hands equally well.
• Be comfortable executing different dribble moves during a game.
  • Crossover move.
  • Between the legs move.
  • Combo dribble moves.
  • Etc.

Shooting the Basketball

• Must be able to consistently shoot the basketball and knock down open shots.
  • Work on three-pointers, mid-range, and free-throws.
• You don’t have to shoot the ball every time, but you need to be at least able to make the defense pay if they leave you open.

Basketball Athleticism

• Develop quickness, footwork, balance, joint mobility.
  • This all translates into playing defense, rebounding the basketball, etc.
• Must be willing to spend time doing basketball drills to work on this regularly.

Basketball Game IQ:

• The better your basketball IQ is, the easier the game will be for you.
• You will be able to anticipate, read the defense, etc.

Basketball Post Players

Basketball Post Moves

• Master the basketball fundamentals of post moves and then counters to those moves.
  • Hook shot.
  • Drop step move.
  • Pick and roll, space, etc.

Passing the Basketball

• Being able to outlet pass can get the offense started and in transition.
• Pass out of the post to hit shooters and make the defense pay for doubling or over helping.

Shooting the Basketball

• Be able to hit open shots within your shooting range.

Rebounding the Basketball

• Have good rebounding fundamentals on defense and finish plays.
• Create extra scoring opportunities with offensive rebounds.

Basketball Athleticism

• Develop your strength, power, footwork, joint mobility, etc.
  • The more you can develop these areas, the better you will be able to post up, rebound, finish at the basket, etc.

Basketball Game IQ:

• Learn to think the game so that you can anticipate and exploit the other team.

Understand Your Basketball Strengths and Weaknesses

“Your weakest area will limit your ability to take advantage of your strongest area.” – Steve Pavlina.

After reading through the above list, you now need to create a list of strengths and weaknesses. These weaknesses are based on the requirements for your position and role. If your weaknesses are detrimental to your performance, add basketball drills that will work on these different areas. You need to come up with a game plan to develop these weaknesses into strengths.

However, understand that you can’t be good at everything; you will only be great at a few things. To determine which drills and exercises to perform, first determine if your weakness is due to any of the following:

Incorrect Understanding of the Particular Skill

• If this is the case, use feedback from coaches and videos to better understand what’s needed to obtain/enhance the skill.

Poor Physical Strength and Coordination

• If this is the case, adding basketball exercises to your program to increase your motor control and coordination is necessary.

Understand Your Strengths By:

• Acknowledging what you are good at.
• Thinking back on multiple occasions where you have performed your strengths.
• Ask your coach for confirmation/feedback.

Short vs. Long-Term Basketball Training Goals

Short-term goals are something that you can achieve in the near future. Long-term goals are hard to keep due to the inability to focus and sometimes negative energy. Many skills require a significant amount of time to develop. Focus on perfecting your strengths. However, understand that your weaknesses will take longer to develop. Remember that some skills will take years to develop, so be consistent.

• Create a ritual (when, where, and how to improve).
• Make a plan for improvement.

Improve Your Basketball Skills

What skills are necessary for your position? For example, a point guard in basketball has to dribble and pass effectively with both hands.

Tips:

• Learn Skills through Observation (Video, YouTube, Live).
• Perform the skill regularly.
• Reflect and learn from flaws.
• Utilize videos to capture and analyze your strengths and weaknesses.

Improve Your Basketball Athleticism (Strength and Conditioning)

Improving your athleticism prepares your body for the demands of basketball. As you improve strength, power, mobility, strength, agility, and speed, you will also expand your court skills and performance. Add these general guidelines for athletic improvement:

• Add resistance training 2-4 times per week.
• Concentrate more on functional training and less bodybuilding.
• Research the basics about lifting weights before starting; if available, ask for an experienced gym-goers helps.
• Balance push vs. pulls and hip vs. knee exercises.

**3:2 Back to Chest exercise ratio **3:2 Hamstring/Butt to Quad ratio