How to Be a Good Basketball Player
Improve your ball handling skills., Improve your passing ability., Improve your shooting., Condition your body.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Improve your ball handling skills.
Some experts believe the ability to handle the ball well is the most important skill in the game.
You shouldn’t have to think too hard about dribbling the ball if you practice a lot.
A good way to improve this skill is through dribbling drills.
Practice with circle dribbles.
In this drill, you use one hand to dribble the ball in circles around your right foot.
Then switch to the other hand and leg.
Practice dribbling between cones or chairs.
Try doing figure 8 dribbles, in which you dribble the ball in and out of your legs, using a figure 8 motion.
Bounce the ball from one hand to the other.
Practice your dribbling with both hands so you can more easily change directions on the floor.
Dribble suicide drills condition you while improving drilling ability.
Start at the baseline.
Dribble in a sprint to the closest free throw line and back.
Then dribble to mid court line and back.
Then dribble to the farthest away free throw line and back.
Finally, dribble all the way to other side of the court and then back.
Start at one end of the court.
Dribble the entire length of the court and make a layup or a jump shot.
Get your own rebound, and do the same thing, moving to the other end of the court.
Do this three times as fast as you can. -
Step 2: Improve your passing ability.
Passing is a skill that basketball players must master.
There are two basic ways to pass.
One is a chest pass in which you throw the ball to your teammate without it bouncing.
The second is a bounce pass, in which you bounce the ball once when throwing it to your teammate.
This is the hardest pass for a defender to intercept.
Players working on passing abilities might want to play a pickup game that uses no dribbling at all so they can focus more on passing.
Practice passing with two hands.
This will give you more control over the ball.
Put your weight into the pass by stepping into it.
This will improve ball speed and control.
Aim for your teammates’ hands when passing to them.
Pass to a specific team member rather than throwing the ball in the direction of their voice.
Your thumbs should point down at the end of a pass, and you should follow through.
Otherwise the ball will be harder to catch because it won’t have the right back spin.
You don’t have to pass a ball with great speed.
Don’t forget the easy pass.
If you get too tricky, you might provoke more turnovers.
Don’t jump when passing.
If you do this, you can’t land with the ball so it’s harder.
Move toward the ball when it’s being passed to you.
That makes it harder for a defender to intercept it.
Try to catch it with two hands. , The shooters get a lot of the glory, and they are obviously critical to the game.
But you don’t want to be in a situation where people are blocking your shots or you miss a lot of them.
That will land you on the bench.
Use your fingertips.
This helps you maintain proper control of the ball when shooting.
Bend your legs and stay small when you begin the shot.
Then, spring up, and end tall, with your body straightened and hands up in the air.
When players start shooting while standing straight, they can lower their shooting percentage.
The legs are critical in shooting.
In fact, you should play the entire game with your knees mostly bent.
Go for the higher percentage shots.
Don’t always try to shoot the tricky shots.
Figure out which shots are difficult for you to make, and focus on the easier shots.
This will make you seem like a better shooter overnight.
Point the elbow toward the middle of the rim, and keep it in, as well as your middle finger when you follow through.
Finish your shot as if you are dipping your hand into the rim.
Proper follow through also means that your fingers should hang down, not be together or pointed.
Fully extend your arm at the end of your shot, with your elbow snapping back.
And keep your elbow at the level above your eyes when you release the ball. , You need to perform practice drills that condition your body in a way that is designed for basketball offensive play, not just exercises like you might do for fun.
Coaches look for players with good conditioning
- an explosive first step or who can jump 2 feet (0.61 m) in the air.
Use a pre-planned workout.
There are many basketball conditioning plans that will help you get in shape and improve your stamina.
Even 45 minutes three times a week can make a big difference.
Some conditioning workouts suggest exercises like skipping rope, sprinting from the free-throw line to the net and slapping the net with the hands, shooting for one minute from different spots on the court, and performing defensive slide moves. -
Step 3: Improve your shooting.
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Step 4: Condition your body.
Detailed Guide
Some experts believe the ability to handle the ball well is the most important skill in the game.
You shouldn’t have to think too hard about dribbling the ball if you practice a lot.
A good way to improve this skill is through dribbling drills.
Practice with circle dribbles.
In this drill, you use one hand to dribble the ball in circles around your right foot.
Then switch to the other hand and leg.
Practice dribbling between cones or chairs.
Try doing figure 8 dribbles, in which you dribble the ball in and out of your legs, using a figure 8 motion.
Bounce the ball from one hand to the other.
Practice your dribbling with both hands so you can more easily change directions on the floor.
Dribble suicide drills condition you while improving drilling ability.
Start at the baseline.
Dribble in a sprint to the closest free throw line and back.
Then dribble to mid court line and back.
Then dribble to the farthest away free throw line and back.
Finally, dribble all the way to other side of the court and then back.
Start at one end of the court.
Dribble the entire length of the court and make a layup or a jump shot.
Get your own rebound, and do the same thing, moving to the other end of the court.
Do this three times as fast as you can.
Passing is a skill that basketball players must master.
There are two basic ways to pass.
One is a chest pass in which you throw the ball to your teammate without it bouncing.
The second is a bounce pass, in which you bounce the ball once when throwing it to your teammate.
This is the hardest pass for a defender to intercept.
Players working on passing abilities might want to play a pickup game that uses no dribbling at all so they can focus more on passing.
Practice passing with two hands.
This will give you more control over the ball.
Put your weight into the pass by stepping into it.
This will improve ball speed and control.
Aim for your teammates’ hands when passing to them.
Pass to a specific team member rather than throwing the ball in the direction of their voice.
Your thumbs should point down at the end of a pass, and you should follow through.
Otherwise the ball will be harder to catch because it won’t have the right back spin.
You don’t have to pass a ball with great speed.
Don’t forget the easy pass.
If you get too tricky, you might provoke more turnovers.
Don’t jump when passing.
If you do this, you can’t land with the ball so it’s harder.
Move toward the ball when it’s being passed to you.
That makes it harder for a defender to intercept it.
Try to catch it with two hands. , The shooters get a lot of the glory, and they are obviously critical to the game.
But you don’t want to be in a situation where people are blocking your shots or you miss a lot of them.
That will land you on the bench.
Use your fingertips.
This helps you maintain proper control of the ball when shooting.
Bend your legs and stay small when you begin the shot.
Then, spring up, and end tall, with your body straightened and hands up in the air.
When players start shooting while standing straight, they can lower their shooting percentage.
The legs are critical in shooting.
In fact, you should play the entire game with your knees mostly bent.
Go for the higher percentage shots.
Don’t always try to shoot the tricky shots.
Figure out which shots are difficult for you to make, and focus on the easier shots.
This will make you seem like a better shooter overnight.
Point the elbow toward the middle of the rim, and keep it in, as well as your middle finger when you follow through.
Finish your shot as if you are dipping your hand into the rim.
Proper follow through also means that your fingers should hang down, not be together or pointed.
Fully extend your arm at the end of your shot, with your elbow snapping back.
And keep your elbow at the level above your eyes when you release the ball. , You need to perform practice drills that condition your body in a way that is designed for basketball offensive play, not just exercises like you might do for fun.
Coaches look for players with good conditioning
- an explosive first step or who can jump 2 feet (0.61 m) in the air.
Use a pre-planned workout.
There are many basketball conditioning plans that will help you get in shape and improve your stamina.
Even 45 minutes three times a week can make a big difference.
Some conditioning workouts suggest exercises like skipping rope, sprinting from the free-throw line to the net and slapping the net with the hands, shooting for one minute from different spots on the court, and performing defensive slide moves.
About the Author
Carolyn Reyes
Brings years of experience writing about pet care and related subjects.
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