How to Become a Great Basketball Player

If you dream of being the best basketball player in your league, or at the gym you play at then listen up! To be the best you have to train hard, practice with perfection, and play strong.

Basketball skills like shooting, ball handling, rebounding, stealing the ball, setting picks and screens, defense, keeping the post or boxing out, passing, blocking shots, moving without the ball, and foot-work are going to be your foundation especially a good jump shot.

Now if you want to get to the next level of competition you must perfect your basketball skills and practice drills like you were playing in a game. Don’t ever get sloppy in your training or practice; it’s better to have quality practice time than slopping quantity practice.

Here are some great practice tips to make you the best you can be:

1. One-Spot Shooting – Shot continuously from one spot on the court until you hit 90% of your shots, then move to a new spot and repeat. Eventually you will be able to hit shots at incredible accuracy from anywhere on the court. Practice jump shots, lay-ups, hook shots, fad away jumpers, and standing shots with each hand. Practice dribbling before the shot, fake before the shot, basically shot as if you had a defender in your face.

2. One-hand Dribbling – use one hand to dribble with, go through your legs, around and behind your back, over your shoulder, back and forth, side-to-side, high powerful bounces and low fast bounces. Do this with one hand at a time.

3. Plyometrics – You must be able to jump. You will most likely get a lot of jumping practice while playing, but to really unleash you full potential do some plyometrics. Try repetitive jumping from one spot bend down to your jumping angle and explode back up as high as you can, stay on the ground for only enough time for you to gather enough energy to jump as high as you can.

4. Squats and Leg Presses – You need major strength in your legs if you want to jump higher, hold the post, set better picks and screens. So you will need to be able to lift 2-3 times your body weight for squats and at least double that for your leg press. This will be painful, but you will gain tremendous strength, which will elevate your game quickly.

5. Upper Body Press and Pulls – Don’t forget about your upper-body. Fast hands means better dribbling, more steals and blocked shots, and a quick release shot. To increase your hand speed do push-ups, chin-ups are excellent for hand speed, shoulder presses, handstands, and shadow boxing. Now go out there and grab the rock!

6. Sprints – The best way to Increase HGH (Human Growth Hormone) is by running 5-10 second sprints. Sprints or any intense exercise will increase your HGH by as much as 300% for a few hours. What this means is that you will get faster, stronger, bigger muscles to take your basketball skills to the next level.

Now go practice your skills with perfection and build you speed, and strength. You are well on your way to dominating in your league or local gym, Good Job!