How to Become a Great Basketball Player

Becoming a great basketball player requires a certain genetic predisposition to athletic talent. Assuming the natural attributes are in place, it is important for you to evaluate yourself to determine your strengths and what position you should play. After this, you must work on vital parts of your game. Exercises for speed, strength, and agility should all be performed. Shooting from the field can be practiced extensively on your own, but there are also aspects of your game which can only be honed with another player present.

Things You'll Need

  • Another player
  • Weight room
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Determine your strengths and weaknesses as a player and decide the position at which you will excel. While great athletes in many sports shift positions mid-career, they always have an idea of what it is they are and what it is they want to be. Someone who will not grow over 6'2 is probably limited to the guard position. Someone who is over 6'10 is probably best suited to a center or forward position. Of those in between heights, quicker ball-handlers usually play guard, while physically stronger players are at forward. Honestly judge yourself, and ask coaches and friends what they think your greatest strengths are.

    • 2

      Perform exercises to supplement your skills and make you a more complete athlete. This includes weightlifting, distance running and sprints. One of the most common basketball drills involves setting up a series of tape marks across a basketball court, running to the closest one and back, running to the next farthest and back, and so on until all the marks have been touched. These are called suicide drills. Agility drills involve dribbling around cones, chairs, and other obstacles. Practice maintaining control of the ball while moving through traffic at great speeds.

    • 3

      Shoot from the field on your own, at any time, as much as possible. Take your time in practicing foul shots, but attempt to make many other shots quickly, to replicate the pressure you will be under in a game time situation. No one has time to get set, consider the basket, and take a balanced shot during a serious basketball game. Being able to drain three pointers when you have all time in the world can even be considered a matter of muscle memory, not unlike bowling or golf. To make shots while being defended and harried is what separates gym class heroes from varsity athletes and beyond.

    • 4

      Practice playing good defense with another person. Every person guards differently, but there are universal rules. Your hands should always be up, so as to swat away a potential pass or alter a shot. You should always be standing on the balls of your feet, in order to move quickly, at a moment's notice, to cover your man. And you should always keep your eyes on your opponent's hips, not on the ball or on the eyes. This prevents the offensive player from faking you out with a head bob or even a crossover. No matter the move made, the hips will move definitively in the same direction.

    • 5

      Practice one-on-one or in simulated games with another person to develop your skills in relation to another person. Learn whether you play better shooting from the outside, or penetrating to the hoop. Practice defending against another player, and discovering your defensive comfort zone.