Cool Tips On How To Become A Better Basketball Player

1. Shoot, Shoot, and Then Shoot Some More

”The weakest part of Michael’s (Jordan’s) game on the offensive end was his shooting and so he obviously mastered something everyone said he couldn’t do…and he did by shooting and shooting and shooting and shooting consistently. This guy said what are my weaknesses and how do I make them my strengths and he did it.” - Phil Jackson, on Michael Jordan’s shooting success.

If I could only give you only one piece of advice this would be it:

Become a good shooter!

In my opinion, becoming a good shooter is the most important thing you could ever do in order to become a successful basketball player.

Every NBA super star, every great college player, every playground legend…can pretty much attribute their success to one thing…their ability to shoot.

Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Allen Iverson, Larry Bird, Lebron James, Carmello Anthony, Reggie Miller, J.J. Redick, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and virtually all the other great players, are all exceptional shooters. Sure they have great athletic ability, but so do a lot of other guys. However their ability to put the ball in the basket is what separates them from others.

Being able to shoot a basketball is almost a license to be super successful and have lots of fun playing the game of basketball.

If you want to become a better basketball player, practice your shooting. Learn how to shoot the ball correctly. Learn how to catch and release the ball with proper motion. Learn how to follow through. Learn by watching the pro’s and learning from coaches. I guarantee it will be the most important basketball skill you ever learn!

2. Be In Great Physical Condition

When, I work with athlete’s through my Maximum Results Fitness programs, I am always shocked at how out of shape most athletes are. I see so many athlete’s that lack the basic strength and conditioning they need in order to perform at a high level.

Basketball is all about conditioning. The better physical condition you are in, the easier it is to perform and learn the basic fundamental skills that will make you a successful player.

Many players come to me asking me for tips on how they can become a better shooter or a better ball handler, but are shocked when I tell them, that their biggest problem really lays in their lack of conditioning.

I am a firm believer that you’re only going to be as good as your body will take you. I often see players with tremendous talent struggle, simply because they can’t run up and down the floor without losing their breath. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you’re not in the right shape, you’re going to struggle.

With many of my programs, I teach what I call the Forth Quarter Principle. That is you want to be as good at something in the forth quarter as you do from the very first play of the game. The only difference between the first play of the game and the last is the physical excursion that takes place in between.

If you want to become a great player and if you want to maximize your skill potential focuses on your conditioning. Good conditioning is a fundamental of basketball success.

3. A Little Practice Goes Along Long Way

One of the biggest misconceptions about becoming a better player is that you have to spend mega hours practicing and training. I am here to tell you that this simply isn’t true.

Obviously, if you want to become better at something it helps if you practice a lot. But, many times people misplace quantity for quality. I know a lot of players are under the misconception that to get better they are going to have to practice long hours before they start to see the results they are looking for.

The truth is results will s come quickly if you prepare in the right way. It’s much more important to have a consistent, high quality practice schedule or workout routine than it is to try and learn everything in one day.

Practicing only 20 minutes everyday will help you more than spending two hours once a week. With consistency, familiarity will start to develop. What you worked on yesterday will come easier tomorrow and even easier the day after that. When there is a large space between practice times or workout sessions, it is much more difficult to pick up where you left off. You often have to re-learn what you already know. This wastes valuable time, when you could be making progress.

Remember a little bit of practice today, makes success not too far away!

4. Know Your Footwork

One of the things that is really under taught and under empathized is proper footwork.

I define proper footwork as three things:

1. Being able to pivot.

2. Being able to stay on balance.

3. Being able to push off quickly (for running and jumping).

Pivoting is probably one of the most fundamental parts of the game. Being able to keep one foot planted while maneuvering with the other foot is extremely important. Being able to pivot properly will help you play all parts of the game better. The more you practice this the more it will become habit and it will help you develop a smoother flow to your game.

When pivoting it is also important to stay on balance and keep your body weight properly distributed at all times. When you combine balance with good pivoting ability you will become stronger and faster.

Good pivoting and good balance will ultimately allow you more explosive jumping ability and greater quickness. When you start to combine your pivot with good balance your footwork for skills like shooting and dribbling will become easier and help your game develop more quickly.

5. Dribble, Dribble, Dribble

The Cross-Over, Behind-The-back, Between-The Legs, all of these moves have one thing in common. They all come from mastering the dribble! If you want to become a good basketball player, then you must become a good ball handler.

Dribbling is one of the core basketball skills. It is also one of the funnest skills to practice and learn. Dribbling is also very simple to become good at it. All you have to do is start dribbling! Then Bingo in a short time you will become a much better player.

The thing I also love about dribbling is that you get to spend more time with the ball. Any activity you can do where you spend time with the ball doing multiple repetitions is going to make you a better player.

The other great thing about dribbling is that you can practice it almost anywhere. All you need to do is break out your ball and start dribbling. It only takes a few minutes a day to practice and soon you will see quick improvements in your game.

6. Finish Strong

One of the big mistakes I see a lot of players make is they learn to make spectacular moves, but then fail to finish the play and make the basket!

Developing moves and learning skills to get past your opponent is very important, but it doesn’t do you any good if you can’t make the basket at the end!

One of the main things that college and pro scouts look for is a player’s ability to finish the play. They know that it doesn’t do any good to make a great move and then miss the basket.

To train players to become good finishers I tell them to think about any move in two parts. First is the “move” part where they separate themselves from the defender and then, second is the “finish” where they concentrate on making the basket. When practicing, it’s often a good idea to practice them separately first and then bring them together. For example, if you were working on a behind-the-back dribble move you would practice the behind-the-back part first. Repeating it over and over again, without shooting. Then once you got it down you would start adding the “finishing” part, where you start adding the shooting part. Then you can see what part you need more development on, the “move” or the “finish”.

Remember, that if you don’t make the basket, it wasn’t a successful move!

7. Fake Your Way To Success

Want to make your moves twice as effective?

Then add simple fakes to your game! Faking is a very powerful way to get opponents off balance before you even start your move. Lot’s of times a quick and simple fake is all you need to get wide open for the shoot!

The great thing about faking though, is you can use them in almost every part of the game. In shooting, you can use pump fakes. When dribbling, you can use foot fakes. When passing you can give “no look passes”.

I really recommend that you start trying to add as many fakes as you can to different parts of your game. Once you do you will soon realize how effective they can be. After you keep practicing them and using them when your playing they will become so natural you won’t even know that you are using them!

8. Move Without The Ball

Let’s face it, having the ball in your hands is fun. It’s fun to catch and pass and shoot and dribble. We all like to touch the ball as much as possible, because it makes us feel that we are more involved with the game.

However, if you really want to become a better player it is very important that you learn to play without the ball. To become a complete player, this is a must.

In most games you will only have the ball in your hands about 10% of the time. That means the other 90% of the time you won’t have the ball! That 90% of the time can be spent doing other important things.

Learning to play without the ball can also give you the mental edge that you need when you have the ball. Many times players get frustrated, when they haven’t touched the ball in awhile. It’s important for you as a player to realize that it isn’t how much you touch the ball what, but what you do with it when you have it. Or in most cases what you do when you DON’T have the ball. Doing this will add confidence to your game and make your complete game more effective.

I hope that this article has given you some valuable information that you can use to become a better player. I am sure that if you apply these tips, all your basketball dreams will come true!

Good Luck and remember…Play with Confidence!