How to Improve your Basketball Game

When I was younger I never envisioned myself as a basketball player. Whenever I did play basketball it was an exercise in futility featuring me swiping at the ball, missing jump shots, and looking really horrid. As such, I realized that basketball was not my thing, nor could it ever be . I just didn’t have the desire or the ability.

As I got older, I realized that I could keep myself out of basketball games by being in the wrong places at the right time. In layman’s terms, that means always arriving late for pickup basketball games, and always leaving before a new game could begin. If by some chance I ended up playing, I had a solution for that as well:

Run away from the ball.

Typically, when players want the basketball they keep their hands high in a position to catch the ball. They also run to open spaces on the court to put themselves in a position to catch the ball. I knew I did not want the ball, therefore, I knew that if I ran to spaces that were occupied and kept my hands low that I would never be in a position to change the ball or be humiliated. Amazingly enough this anti-basketball strategy actually led to me learning how to mask my deficiencies and be a competent basketball player.

Let’s say that you are a beginner or intermediate basketball player. You don’t know much about basketball. You know how to dribble and you know how to shoot, but that is about it. How do you convince your teammates that you are a better basketball player then you really are?

Number one — if you are not a very capable offensive player put yourself in positions to be successful. For example, if you can only shoot within 10 feet of the basket, make sure that all of your shots are within 10 feet of the basket. If you can only lay up with your left hand, make sure that you put yourself in positions to lay the ball up what your left hand. In other words, don’t put yourself in positions to shoot outside your range, and don’t try to do things that you can not easily do.

Number two — if you are not a very strong ball handler don’t try to take the basketball up to court. Many people dribble way to much. You should only dribble when you are trying to get closer to the basket for a better shot, get yourself into a better position for a pass, or to bring the basketball up court. We have already established that bringing the basketball up the court will not be an option for you. Therefore, you are left with two options:

A: Dribble to get a better shot

B: Dribble to get a better pass

Number three — Be a Defensive Demon. When you play defense you should keep your eyes on your opponent’s torso at all times. Do not watch the ball. Do not watch your opponent’s feet. Keep your eyes exclusively on the middle of your opponent’s torso. Doing so will allow you to stay in front of your opponent, and ensure that he or she will not be able to get easy scores.

Don’t worry about going for steals or attempting to block shots. Going for a steal or block is a high risk – high reward maneuver. It is high risk in the fact that if you miss the steal or the block, you put yourself out of position to defend your opponent. Being out of position will make it easier for your opponent to either score or pass the ball to someone that is in a better position to score. For most players the risk far exceeds the reward, as most players do not have the foot speed or agility to recover once the block/steal is missed.

KISS

Finally, when in doubt remember to KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. Basketball is usually not a life or death experience. Minimize your mistakes, stay within your skin, but above all, just try to have fun.