Basketball 101: The Essential Guide

Want to improve your basketball skills in the hopes of impressing your friends or perhaps even turning pro? Well, you are certainly not in the minority.

Basketball is one of the most beloved sports out there, and you would be hard-struck to find a sport that more people fantasise about making their chosen career. 

Luckily, there are so many simple ways you can employ to give yourself an edge over the competition, and the reality is, even just a few slight changes can make a huge difference in your performance.

In this article, we will be talking about all-things basketball as well as giving you a few tips and tricks that will allow you to easily become a better player and win out the competition.

Competitiveness is The Secret Ingredient

Being competitive is often somehow seen as a negative trait by society now, but the reality is, a healthy dose of competitiveness is essential when it comes to basketball.

Having the correct mindset is essential for success, and if you do not have the drive to win, you can almost guarantee you will not.

There is a classic quote that portrays this idea perfectly; Henry Ford once famously stated:

…“The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both right”…

 When it comes to actually applying this philosophy, there are a variety of routes you can take.

For example, you could take the infamous route of looking at college basketball betting lines in New Jersey, if gambling and betting is your thing.

Alternatively, if you find yourself wanting to take a more hands-on approach, then having regular practice games with friends can do wonders.

Whatever your approach, ensuring that you develop the right mindset for success is paramount when it comes to improving at anything, especially basketball.

The 10,000 Hour Rule

Something you have more than likely heard time and time again over the years is the simple statement that practice makes perfect. Furthermore, this idea could not be closer to the truth.

The more you practice, the better you get.

In reality, the discussion of whether or not the 10,000-hour rule is true is a fruitless debate. There is no set number of hours you need to repeat something in order to become a master, and in truth, this mindset can actually end up hurting you in the long run.

As long as you are constantly practising and working to improve upon your craft, you really can not go wrong.

Sure, it can be easy to become disheartened when you compare yourself to someone else who is far superior in skill. However, the likelihood is that they have just practised more than you, and if you were to have played as long as them, you would be at a similar skill level. 

Even if you take and apply the two tips we gave you to the best of your ability, there is no guarantee that you will become a pro overnight.

However, as is the rule with everything, over time you will be able to improve your skills exponentially, and soon you and your former self will not even be on the same playing field.

Never give up.